“A transport’s worth, no more than that.”
“I’ll make the call.”
Williams established a connection with the Carl Sagan, still unreliable due to the storm, and informed the team still in sickbay to prepare to receive wounded. Kostelecky returned to scanning her patients, the strange robed people that fled from the wormhole earlier. “Co to kurva!” she said, cursing in Czech.
“Doc?”
“Tell them to hurry up, Commander,” Kostelecky said, eying the results of her medical scanner display. “There’s something very odd about these people and I don’t think my scanner is going to be able to tell me the full story.”
ESRS CARL SAGAN, Bridge
SA-139 orbit, Sirius A system
May 21, 2050, 14:59 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Williams glared at the white spinning clouds of the hurricane that continued to pummel the region where the Lyonria structure was via the bridge’s forward windshield. He was impressed how well the transports with modified shields handled during their trip as they transferred Tolukei, Kostelecky, and a handful of wounded into sickbay. Rivera was unquestionably a great asset to the team, and he felt bad for grilling her about her choice to not engage in combat alongside him.
“Commander, I have some important data regarding your recent encounter with the aliens,” EVE said, seconds before he was about to strap in his weightless body to the captain’s chair.
“Well, let’s hear it.”
“Please direct your attention to the star charts.”
Williams glided over to the rear section of the bridge and was greeted by EVE’s holographic appearance as well as a large projection of the entire trinary Sirius system.
“What am I looking at, EVE?”
“When the Lyonria wormhole was opened I was able to briefly scan the interior of the alien ship. There were windows in which the stars were visible. Using our data of the star constellations here in Sirius, I was able to extrapolate the approximate location of the ship at the time of your encounter.”
EVE changed the hologram into that of a closer view of the orbits of Sirius B and C. A flashing dot appeared between the orbits of the two stars as an arrow in front of the dot glowed showing the estimated trajectory of the ship.
Williams was impressed. “It’s local, huh?”
“That is correct, Commander. The ship appears to be on a course to Sirius C.”
“How come we didn’t detect it earlier?”
“Unknown, Commander, it is possible scans were blocked by larger celestial objects such as the gas giants or Sirius A when the ship was traveling behind it from our point of view. Furthermore, Tolukei’s ESP range is limited; he cannot scan the entire system.”
“This could be a problem. The aliens have a wormhole of their own on that ship, what’s stopping them from using it again and invading the planet along with the colony?”
“Nothing, Commander, if they have the capability to reopen it, they can, and will, pass through.”
“Not if I can help it,” Williams said before establishing a link to Rivera via the intercom. “Chief, how many more of those upgraded transports you got?”
He heard Rivera moan over the communication before she gave her reply. “Something tells me you’re gonna request a lot more.”
“I want enough to send every military personnel and their equipment down to the surface, ASAP.”
“All of them, sir?”
“Yeah.”
“As in, we’ll be defenseless?”
Williams hesitated to answer as he began to question if he was making the right call. He sensed that the bridge crew behind him was watching and listening in, his body language projected the message of self-doubt and his hesitation. He stood up straight and took extra care to ensure nobody was able to detect his indecisiveness in the matter.
Damn it, Becca I need you back, he thought, then gave Rivera his reply. “Yeah, all of them, protecting the colony is our top priority.”
“I’ll get right on it . . .”
“Let me know when you’re done.” Williams added, then cut the link. “Mr. Chang, set a course to Sirius C once all military personnel have left for the surface.”
Chang’s fingers began to input a series of commands into his terminal. “You know, Commander, I’m part of the military too.”
“You’re also my helmsman until further notice,” Williams said to him. “Don’t worry, you ain’t going anywhere.”
“No worries, I’m totally cool with that, you know, being on a ship with no security.”
Williams grimaced at Chang’s comment. “You have a problem with my call?”
“No, not at all. I’m Siriusly cool with it.” An awkward silence followed. “Get it? Siriusly?”
Williams face-palmed. “Oh my god . . .”
“Not a single laugh?” Chang twisted his leather chair around facing the rest of the bridge crew. “Come on, we all need a bit of informal humor given what’s happened lately.” Williams shook his head. Bad jokes were never his thing. “Commander, why so Sirius?”
“Sickbay to bridge,” Kostelecky’s voice played in the intercom. Williams moved to reply to her message.
“Williams here.”
“Commander, you have a sec?”
“Absolutely, doc.”
“OK, one, it’s doctor not doc. Two, please join me in sickbay. Got something you’re going to want to see.”
Williams groaned as his magnetic boots carried him to the exit. “Be right there.”
“Damn, I guess the doc is a Sirius person too.” Williams stopped in his tracks, glaring at Chang. “All right, all right, I’ll shut up and fly the damn ship.”
ESRS CARL SAGAN, Sickbay
SA-139 orbit, Sirius A system
May 21, 2050, 15:34 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Williams entered sickbay, his body thankful for the artificial gravity created by the rotating habitat ring. Inside, he saw Tolukei alive and awake resting on a medical bed alongside the wounded helmsman, still recovering from his injuries from their first encounter with the hostile aliens. Further up were medical beds where the robed people they rescued from the ship were recovering thanks to the aid of Dr. Kostelecky.
Williams stood next to Tolukei’s bed and looked down at him as Kostelecky neared them. “How’s he doing doc—tor.”
“He was seconds away from death,” Kostelecky said, showing him Tolukei’s brain scans via a computer screen next to his bed. “Turns out there was a strong wave of psionic energy that was overloading the psionic chip implanted in his brain. In any case, he’ll be on his feet in another hour or so, though he might want to give his brain a good rest before using any of his powers.”
Williams looked at Kostelecky. “Where was it coming from?”
“The Lyonria fortress, Commander,” EVE replied instead. EVE’s holographic likeness appeared directly behind Williams startling him in the process.
“EVE! Give me a heads-up when you’re going to do that!”
Kostelecky snickered. “EVE’s data has surprisingly been helpful considering none of my patients here are human.”
“Thought you knew a thing or two about xenobiology?” Williams asked Kostelecky.
“I do, but when does Radiance let me treat one of their own back at Earth? Tolukei is my first non-human patient.” Kostelecky pointed her thumb back at the injured robed personnel. “Then we got these folks here, don’t even get me started on them.”