Chapter 23: The Storm
Captain Brezinski had completed another training session and was halfway through her needed rest period. One of the long-range drones had detected a radar signal. Martha who was on watch called Eric-Peter for confirmation. By the time Eric-Peter had arrived an additional signal had been detected. The limited amount of data appeared to indicate that their quadrant of space was being swept by radar from two ships. Captain Brezinski was aroused from her rest. She began her ascent up the access tunnel and was asking for updates the whole time. Mike reported that he needed at least two more hours to complete his emergency repairs. The Chief reported that the nuclear warheads were ready and the drones prepared. By the time Captain Brezinski arrived at the control center, Eric-Peter had been able to triangulate the position of their threat. He estimated an arrival time of less than 1 hour.
Captain Brezinski reviewed the data. They were not yet prepared. The rotation had been almost stopped and emergency hatches secured. She ordered all crew members not involved with repair of the ship to transfer to the arachnoid structure immediately. Construction personnel were to carry pressure suits with them at all times. Their miniature sub would transport Martha and the baby, but the remaining crew would need to use the stairway. Captain Brezinski ordered the Chief to return to the arachnoid structure.
He objected saying, "Captain, I would be of more help working with the crew to finish the repairs."
Captain Brezinski replied, "Chief, as second in command, it is essential that you man the control room. I know your value to the repair efforts, but security of the ship requires one of us to remain in the arachnoid structure."
The drones were now reporting regular radar contact. Soon the sensors aboard the ship also were recording radar contact. Captain Brezinski knew that it would be mere minutes before they were detected. The sweeping contact was replaced by a steady signal. They had been found.
Captain Brezinski glanced at the clock 1650. Mike would not have the ship ready until after 1800 hours. She needed more time. Radio contact was made. Somehow the invaders knew their ship's primary communication frequency. Tom looked up at Captain Brezinski for instructions. She told him to ignore the signal. The messages became more aggressive demanding a reply. Captain Brezinski told Tom to act very sleepy when he responded. Tom sounded just like someone who had fallen asleep on his watch. Tom responded "This is Petty Officer Tom Akers acting as watch officer aboard the U.N. space vehicle Genesis, with whom am I speaking? Over."
The invader responded, "Connect us to your Captain immediately."
Tom responded, "The Captain is sleeping, but I will awaken her. She will be here shortly."
Captain Brezinski stalled for an additional 15 minutes. Tom kept explaining that she was on her way to the demanding invader. At 1720 hours she responded to the invader, "This is Captain Brezinski please give your identification."
The invader responded, "We are a representative of the Galactic Federation of Planets."
Captain Brezinski asked, "What is your purpose?"
"We have been sent to neutralize the mistake of your mission."
Captain Brezinski responded, "What is the mistake?"
"The decision was made not to allow Earth beings to participate in the effort you refer to as Genesis. Our review indicated that your species is too aggressive and must be restricted."
Captain Brezinski asked, "Why did The Visitor send us on this mission if we are too aggressive?"
"The one that you refer to as The Visitor acted without proper authority. Your evolutionary time was too short and your nature to aggressive. These genetic characteristics must be restricted. Only the genetic lineages of approved races are allowed to expand."
Captain Brezinski said, "I will need to verify this with The Visitor."
The invader replied, "All communications to the Earth or to the ones you call The Visitor are prohibited. Any violation of this order will result in the immediate destruction of your ship."
Captain Brezinski asked, "How are we to comply with your request?"
"All genetic equipment, embryos, infants and pregnant females are to be placed in the ship ‘New Beginnings'. Control of your computer will be transferred to our ships. Following compliance with this your crew and ship will be allowed to return to Earth. Upon return to Earth all data files and drive information will be destroyed."
Captain Brezinski asked, "What will happen to the equipment and people aboard the ‘New Beginnings'?"
"That is no concern of yours."
Captain Brezinski asked, "If we do not comply with your commands?"
"You and your ship will be destroyed."
Captain Brezinski responded, "I will need to have a series of decision-making meetings with my crew that will require at least 24 hours to complete."
The invader replied, "You have 1 hour to comply or destruction of your ship will begin."
Captain Brezinski closed the COM link without responding. She addressed the computer, "You have five minutes to explain what is going on or I will scrub this mission."
The computer responded only after another mysterious pause, "The battle that The Guardian was involved in was part of a great war. Many civilizations had evolved to the point that they are now dependent upon their machines for survival. They found the creation of new civilizations increased the amount of chaos in the world. This group decided to discontinue the work of the Ancient Ones. The remaining group wanted to continue the work of the Ancient Ones and felt that complete dependence upon machines was not right. The philosophical argument progressed until actual conflict ensued. The group supporting the work of the Ancient Ones was theoretically the lesser power. They were, however, eventually victorious, but only at great cost to both sides. The peace settlement allowed them to continue the work of the Ancient Ones. They agreed not to infringe upon those regions in space closely associated with the other group. Occasionally disagreement exists but it is settled in a local fashion."
Captain Brezinski allowed the entire crew to share in this discussion. She asked, "I presume that I would be right in saying that the support we have received from the Ancient Ones and the presentation of these two invading ships is the method of settlement in a local fashion?"
The computer responded, "From my analysis you are correct."
Captain Brezinski asked Mike for an update. Mike replied, "We are spraying the interior of the patch with sealant foam now and still have to connect the oxygen system. The work will be complete by 1800 hours."
Captain Brezinski opened an audio link command conference by first summarizing their predicament. "We are given a choice of abandoning our mission and our baby in return for safe passage back to Earth, or trusting in the apparition and fighting to continue our mission. The Guardian will be operational in a very limited manner before our deadline passes. We have no defenses other than our protective layer of ice. Our offensive weapons are minimal with only two small nuclear warheads and our construction lasers and drones. The capability of The Guardian is uncertain and the pilot untested. I will not ask anyone to risk their lives without voting unanimously to proceed."
Captain Brezinski asked Mike for his input. Mike responded, "Captain, I am not sure that our engines are robust enough to withstand two de-accelerations and an additional period of acceleration. The time frame required would mean that at best we would return as old men and women, assuming the engines were capable of surviving the required stresses. A more significant issue is the quarantine that we would be accepting for humanity."
The Captain turned to Doc Jules for his input. He said, "I have already lost two children. I was unable to protect them and have lived with that burden. To lose another child, whom I may be able to protect, would be unbearable. I choose to resist the demands of the intruder."
Captain Brezinski's eyes were filled with tears listing to Doc Jules' discussion. Her voice broke as she asked for additional comments. Hea
ring none she asked all those in favor of resisting the demands of the invaders to say aye. Her ears were filled with ayes and when she asked for those opposed she heard only silence. She announced that they would refuse the invaders offer for safe passage back to earth and defend their child. A lone aye was then heard. Captain Brezinski recognized Brother Simon's voice and asked him to say again.
Brother Simon responded, "Captain, I vote aye. I have been wrestling with my conscience about accepting violence. The need to protect the baby has won. I will oppose these invaders and willingly give my life to protect this child and the future he represents."
Captain Brezinski gave her orders prior to adjourning the command conference. One of the nuclear warheads was to be attached to the residual asteroid at the end of their rotation cable. The cable was to be released as if it had been severed from the attack allowing the hidden bomb to float innocently towards their enemy. The other warhead was to be loaded aboard The Guardian.
The computer objected saying, "The use of nuclear weapons is prohibited by the peace treaty."
Captain Brezinski asked, "Did I or any of my legal superiors on earth sign this treaty?"
The computer response was a brief, "No."
Captain Brezinski stated, "I declare that we are not bound by this treaty and we will use whenever means we have to preserve our mission."
Captain Brezinski asked if there were any other questions or comments. Tom raised the issue of communication. He said, "Captain, it would appear that a communications officer is required aboard "The Guardian". The neuro-navigational unit isolates you from the communication system. It would also appear that the invaders understand our communication protocols and a code system should be used when the ships are beyond the range of our internal communication system."
Captain Brezinski replied, "I acknowledge your concern, but only one seat is available and the risk is too great."
Tom replied, "Captain, I took the liberty of having the auto supplier build a replacement seat as a low priority task. The seat is pretty rough but functional. The risk would be lessened with someone available to assist you. Martha has taught me enough of the Sherpa language that we could use it as a code. She could translate for the Chief and I for you."
The Chief added his support to Tom saying, "Captain, the mission would seem to require the second crew member. I would encourage you to accept Tom's offer."
Captain Brezinski replied, "We are all risking our lives and if Tom is willing I will accept his help aboard The Guardian. The oxygen supply will be reduced from eight hours to four, but that should be plenty."
Captain Brezinski and Tom loaded the nuclear warhead the autosupplier had delivered to the village aboard a cart. Their acceleration from rotation was all but stopped. The bomb was almost weightless but its mass and inertia persisted. Tom was perplexed by the small size of the warhead. He had envisioned nuclear warheads being large monstrous affairs. They carefully guided their weapon through the air locks and into the access tunnel. The lift moved them to the end of the tunnel and they secured the warhead prior to suiting up in the emergency habitat module.
Mike's construction team was leaving as they entered. Everyone gave them a thumbs up sign. Captain Brezinski thanked them for their efforts and admonished them to expedite their return to the arachnoid structure. Mike helped them secure the warhead between the airlocks of The Guardian. Before departing he said, "I wish you smooth sailing with fair winds and following seas. We have done our best. If Brother Simon's God does exist we could use his help now. Good luck, Captain." With that Mike joined his remaining crew members on the lift and headed for the relative safety of the arachnoid structure.
Captain Brezinski connected to the neuro-navigational unit and began her pre-launch checklist. Before separating from the ship she checked to make sure that Tom was secure. She had to smile at the seat he was using. It consisted of a framework of metal tubing padded with pillows, much like a lawn chair with fluffy cushions. The seat appeared well anchored to the cabin floor and the restraining harness seemed substantial but crude. She said, "Tom, are you ready?"
With Tom's affirmative answer she separated from the docking bay and moved The Guardian slowly around to the back side of their ship. They had less than 10 minutes before the deadline was to pass. Captain Brezinski began a check of the armaments available. This was her first "live" interaction with the ship. The reality was similar to the simulations except for the armaments. Her simulations had been with full armament status. Her present inventory revealed only a few photon torpedoes and one workable laser. She found herself swearing in Russian and had to apologize when Tom asked her what the problem was.
Tom asked her what the apparition had said about weapons. She replied, "We were promised weapons and a propulsion system. We have about 10 percent of the normal armaments available, no main propulsion, and no shield. How we are to defeat two larger ships is beyond me."
Their discussion was interrupted by a call from Brother Simon. He apologized for interrupting their work and said, "I needed to say that our prayers are with you and remind you that the apparition said "only faith will bring success". You are loved by us and we trust in you."
Captain Brezinski thanked him for the prayers and the reminder about faith. The deadline passed and without further radio communication the attack began. Their ship was struck with high energy laser cannons. The energy vaporized large sections of their protective ice shield. The individual explosions created small shudders throughout the ship. The regular pounding created a steam cloud. Eric-Peter worked to keep their propulsion system protected and to keep the vapor cloud between them and the invaders. The steam cloud dissipated some of the force, slowing but not stopping the destructive force of the attack. A hit in the aft quadrant was used as an excuse to release the connecting cable. Eric-Peter used the thrusters attached to the asteroid to gently and discreetly accelerate it towards the nearest ship. It would require nearly 1 hour to reach the enemy ship.
Captain Brezinski concentrated her efforts on trying to formulate a battle plan using their minimal capabilities. She was stymied by their lack of an adequate propulsion system. She became aware of an aberration in her gravitometer readings. Tom relayed the message that the landing platform had been hit directly. It and "The Egg" appeared to have been destroyed. Captain Brezinski did not respond. She had become aware of a significant change in their capabilities. Her system revealed a new capability of travel in the fifth dimension. She remembered that one of the simulations included something about the fifth dimension. She had ignored it. Now she needed it. She informed Tom of the change and he said, "It would seem that the drive waited until its movement would be hidden by the destruction of "The Egg". I think this means we are supposed to utilize surprise as one of the weapons we were promised."
Captain Brezinski told him to advise the Chief that she needed to complete her training in fifth dimensional navigation before they would be operational. The Chief receive the message from Martha but was not sure of the meaning. He asked Eric-Peter if he knew what they were talking about. Eric-Peter became excited as he explained that our commonly perceived three dimensions were associated with the fourth dimension of time. A fifth dimension had been postulated that was coiled up around our existing dimensions. He explained how this dimension was critical for solving the mathematics of Einstein's equation of general relativity. The actual existence of this extra dimension was completely theoretical. He tried to explain how the gravitational aberrations they noted with the arrival of "The Egg" and again with the movement of the drive could be explained by a transformation in these dimensions. The Chief looked at him somewhat bewildered and asked, "Are they going to actually disappear into this extra dimension?"
Eric-Peter shrugged his shoulders and said, "I would assume that when they enter the fifth dimension we will lose all concepts of them." He added, "I would hope our invaders also lose all awarenes
s of them."
Captain Brezinski immersed herself in the simulation. At first she was completely disorientated by what seemed to be a huge void. She became aware of a surface-like characteristic. She felt as if she were in the submarine below the surface and was viewing the water-air interface at night. She could sense that another world existed outside her reality, but she could not interact with it. The surface undulated and curved much like waves viewed from below. The undulations were far bigger than any wave she had ever experienced. The folding and curvature of the surface was a response to the quantity of mass that was present in that section of the universe. She thought it would be similar to what an ant inside a deflated basketball, that was partially collapsed, would experience. Once her mind accepted the illusion of being below the surface of a vast ocean her disorientation improved. She learned to navigate along the undulated surface. The mass of objects in the common dimensions produced a dimpling of the surface proportional to their mass. This was like viewing the hull of a surface ship from below as it distorts the surface of the water.
She practiced identifying specific structures by their characteristic dimples. She learned how to "pop out" of the fifth dimension next to specific objects. The final navigation was critical because small changes in the fifth dimension represented huge distances in the common dimensions. She needed to feel the gravitational force of her target and slide up directly alongside it. There were no compasses or stars to navigate by. She could sense the relative mass of the universe around her and thereby determined a relative position. She knew instinctively that with enough time this would provide a universal navigational ability but at the present this was beyond her capability.
The Chief was becoming concerned about the amount of ice protection they had lost. The frontal surface was being eaten away in a steady fashion. The ice was still protecting them, but becoming thinner all of the time. Mike suggested that they use their drives to add additional steam to the protective vapor cloud. The Chief agreed and added another navigational challenge to Eric-Peter. By using their drives they also moved away from the hidden bomb that was floating slowly towards the invaders. The Chief called Tom to relay their plan and report the deteriorating situation. Tom informed them that the Captain was still immersed in her training. The Chief replied, "Let's hope she finishes before our hull is breached."
Captain Brezinski felt fairly comfortable controlling the drive and navigating around known structures. She had not accomplished the wide area navigational section, but felt that she needed to move ahead. She stopped the simulation and asked Tom for an update. She then described her plan. They would slip into the fifth dimension and emerge next to one of the enemy ships. Hopefully, they would be able to strike a disabling blow before the ships became aware of them. They would then retreat to the fifth dimension and continue diversionary activity until their hidden bomb floated close enough. If needed, they would use their second bomb. She did not tell Tom that the delivery of the weapon may require sacrificing themselves. She expected that he already knew.
Tom relayed the Captain's plan to the Chief. The Chief agreed with the plan and asked that they expedite their attack because the thinning of the ice was becoming critical. Tom translated the response and the Captain replied, "Well, let's get going and take some heat off of our ship."
Captain Brezinski timed her engagement of the dimensional drive with a direct hit. She hoped the gravitational fluctuation would be hidden by the energy of the explosion. The drive immediately transported them to the large void with the undulated folded surface. Tom was aware only that his sensors no longer detected the violence that was being perpetuated against their ship. He could no longer appreciate the radio transmissions or other signals he had been monitoring. His immediate surroundings in The Guardian were unchanged. Captain Brezinski was concentrating fully and he could tell she was working the controls. Captain Brezinski relaxed momentarily and said, "We're going to emerge on the far side of the second ship. I will fire one of our photon torpedoes into the starboard thruster. We will then hide before they have a chance of shooting at us."
Captain Brezinski returned to her state of intense concentration and suddenly Tom's external viewer was filled with the side of the enemy’s ship. Even at wide angle viewing he could not appreciate the whole ship. Captain Brezinski aligned her sights with the chosen thruster and just as the system was locking on she changed her mind. She turned and fired at a bland looking section of the hull. Their enemy was operating without the use of their defense shields to increase their effective fire power. The photon torpedo struck the hull and the burst of electromagnetic energy penetrated to the main electrical grounding bus. Like lightning striking a radio tower the energy released traveled along the ships electrical circuits destroying everything along its path. At nearly the speed of light the invading ship's electrical system was destroyed. This potent weapon began to glow with the energy released from the short circuiting of its own power system.
Captain Brezinski became aware of surveillance from the remaining operational ship and slipped back to the fifth dimension. She relaxed momentarily and stretched her muscles that had been held so rigid during the maneuver and attack. Tom asked her, "Why did you change your planned target and how did you know that you could penetrate into their electrical system?"
Captain Brezinski replied, "My conscious analysis had identified the thruster as the best target. I had a sudden intuition and changed my target. I have to presume that somebody was helping us."
Captain Brezinski brought them back to the protected side of the ship and had Tom contact the Chief for an update. He reported that the other ship had raised a dense radiation shield around itself as soon as their attack became apparent. The bombardment resumed shortly after, but the energy of the laser canon was slightly reduced by the energy field. The rate of destruction had slowed considerably. They had sustained damage to the inner airlock of the access tunnel and had a minor air leak. The hull remained otherwise intact and they had been successful in protecting their drives. Captain Brezinski asked for a time estimate on the arrival of their hidden bomb.
Eric-Peter replied, "The hidden bomb continues to close but we will need an additional 23 minutes to close within striking distance. The computer simulation however says that we have a 80 percent probability of sustaining significant hull damage within that time frame."
Captain Brezinski had Tom relay their intention of buying some more time. She had Tom confirm his time setting. His watch now varied several minutes from the previously synchronized time. He was perplexed by the variance. He assured Captain Brezinski that they had carefully synchronized their times. Captain Brezinski replied, "I had a feeling time varied depending upon our location within the fifth dimension. We will need to design a method of tracking the ship's time."
Captain Brezinski returned to the fifth dimension. Tom was as before aware of the transition only because his instruments stopped detecting any radio signals. The Captain positioned The Guardian in front of the remaining invader and gradually edged closer to the surface. She could detect a ripple on the surface produced by the energy of the laser canon. She concentrated on the firing rhythm and began to slowly rock her ship in cadence with the firing. She moved ever closer to the surface until she actually popped through. She immediately fired her lasers through the temporary tunnel which had been created by the invader's weapons energy transmission. She rocked her ship below the surface before the enemy had an opportunity to fire upon her. She knew her laser had penetrated through the energy shield but did not know if she had produced significant damage.
She continued to feel the surface with her sensors for changes that would indicate renewed firing. She was pleased that the intermittent high energy pulses of the laser canon, had subsided. The invader had substituted a continuous laser beam. It carried less destructive energy but required a smaller tunnel in the energy field. This tunnel was essentia
lly completely filled with the laser beam itself preventing further retrograde attacks.
Captain Brezinski moved her ship to the far side of the enemy. She decided to attempt penetrating the shield with a photon torpedo. It was obvious that the enemy ship was becoming very sensitive to the gravitational fluctuations they produced. She had no sooner surfaced into the common dimensions when the energy field thickened significantly on her side of the ship. She fired her photon torpedo, but the energy was completely dissipated by the energy shield. She retreated back to the fifth dimension. She relaxed again slightly in the protected void. Tom had witnessed the ineffective attack and they discussed possible methods of penetrating the shield. Tom expressed concern that the shield would be capable of deflecting even the energy of their small nuclear warhead. Captain Brezinski agreed and decided to return to the ship for a conference with Eric-Peter.
She guided her ship up against the aft section of the gravity well that she could sense and they returned to the protected side of their now much smaller comet. Tom began explaining to Eric-Peter the effectiveness of the shield. Eric-Peter was very interested in the way the shield responded to The Guardian. The Chief suggested it would be necessary to create a diversion inorder to weaken the shield enough. Captain Brezinski was concerned that the shield reacted quickly enough that timing would be critical. The variance between Tom's watch and the Chief's was again obvious. They could not depend on time to synchronize their activity. Mike suggested that if triangular stresses could be brought to bear on the energy shield almost simultaneously that thinning and disruption of the continuous protection would probably occur.
Captain Brezinski decided that she and Tom would deliver the second nuclear warhead and that the Chief would take charge of the detonation of both weapons. She would then bring The Guardian into attack on the third point of the triangle. They would need to begin their attack slightly before the nuclear explosions in order to have distorted the energy shield enough. The plan was agreed upon and they would depend on a count down from Martha to determine their retreat time.
Captain Brezinski brought them back into the void and maneuvered The Guardian into position 60 degrees from the projected point that the hidden bomb would reach. Tom positioned himself in the airlock and strapped himself to the wall. He loosened the retaining straps on the nuclear warhead. Captain Brezinski brought their ship through the barrier and back to the standard dimensions. Tom opened the outer airlock and used his legs and back to push the warhead out of the airlock. As soon as the outer door was closed Captain Brezinski began attacking the enemy ship with her laser. The energy shield had already thickened dramatically. Her attack was futile as she knew. When she sensed the enemy scanners localizing her she slipped back into the fifth dimension. She continued her cat and mouse game of challenging the far larger enemy. The destructive laser continued unabated, eating away at the little remaining ice that protected her crew.
Martha was singing a Sherpa lullaby that contained a series of numbers. Whenever Captain Brezinski brought her ship out of the fifth dimension Tom would synchronize their time based on Martha's song. Captain Brezinski maneuvered The Guardian to the third point of the triangle. She did her best to estimate the timing sequence. She popped through the barrier and fired her last photon torpedo into the enemy. The force shield molded itself against the attack. Captain Brezinski added her attack lasers and continued to bring pressure on the enemy ship. She could sense her enemy’s awareness of The Guardian and knew that they were in danger of being targeted. Tom continued Martha's count down and at the zero mark announced, "Detonation!"
Captain Brezinski slid back into the fifth dimension as both nuclear weapons exploded. The shield reacted by thickening against the bomb that Tom had delivered further thinning the opposite corner. The second nuclear blast forced itself against the shield pushing it tightly against the ship, but it held. The radiation and shock wave hammered the enemy hull. The invading ship was thrown about by the shock waves, but enough of the shield persisted to prevent complete destruction. The residual of the asteroid that had hidden the bomb was fragmented by the explosion. One large fragment followed the shock wave and slammed into the hull. This massive high-speed projectile acted like an old-fashioned cannon ball. It tore through the shield and the hull structure. This physical damage overwhelmed the shield and it failed. The residual shock waves now pummeled the ship. The structure of the invading ship collapsed.