SC-149 AKA Meroien orbit, Sirius C system
May 22, 2050, 02:02 SST (Sol Standard Time)
The Carl Sagan dropped out of sub light speeds on one side of the ocean world of Meroien, the Architect’s ship did the same on the opposite side baked in sunlight, the side being the location of Chevallier’s emergency signal. A single transport ship piloted by Chang left the underside of the Carl Sagan and plunged toward the surface of the planet beneath its clouds, while Williams sat up front at helm control, the joys of rolling with a rookie skeleton crew.
He looked down at the controls, buttons, flashing lights, and computer screen and recalled his training and simulator runs. As tempting as it was to simply have EVE take control, he needed her processors working at maximum power to create an algorithm that could allow them to fully translate the Lyonria and Poniga language. Chang transmitted that he was in the clear and away from any action that was about to unfold in space.
Williams’ fingers raced across the terminal, he began to acquire a target on the other side of the planet; the Architect’s ship. ESP data acquired from Tolukei updated the Carl Sagan’s sensor data in regard to the exact location of the ship. Battle station alarms blared as Williams launched twelve plasma missiles into space, Tolukei’s psionic powers formed a protective overshield around the Carl Sagan, as his mind took control of the missiles and forced them to arc up and over the horizon of the planet. Twelve white contrail lines stretched around the planet as the twelve missiles rammed into the Architect’s ship in a glittering display of emerald explosions. The process required complete focus of Tolukei’s psionic powers, and as such the artificial gravity he conjured for the bridge shut off, weightlessness becoming a reality once again.
New data appeared on William’s screen on the missiles payload delivery, generated by Tolukei as it was his ESP that scanned what happened not the Carl Sagan’s sensors. The data that he read was both good and bad news. The good news? The Architect’s ship wasn’t destroyed, after all their attack was to disable it, Foster was still aboard and needed to get out. The bad news? It suffered no damage at all, like the Carl Sagan the Architect’s ship was under the protective grace of a psionic overshield.
“Chang, no pressure, but everything is now on those slick flying skills of yours,” Williams transmitted to him as he saw the Architect’s ship come about and face them with its weapons ports open.
“Commander, this ship of the Architect. It has overshields,” Tolukei said.
“I’ve noticed. The other ships we encountered didn’t have regular shields let alone overshields.”
Tolukei began to focus by shutting all four of his eyes. “There is a psionic aboard that ship. No; several in fact, one of their minds is familiar, however.”
The Carl Sagan viciously rumbled in the aftermath of taking several direct blows to its forward shields. “Define familiar?” Williams said as he began to arm and fire the rail guns.
“I can speak to him. And he can speak to me.”
“Who?”
“The Architect.”
23 CHEVALLIER
Derelict Linl colonization ship, Adrift in the ocean
SC-149 AKA Meroien, Sirius C system
May 22, 2050, 01:22 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Chevallier’s mouth produced blatantly fake smiles every time she forced herself to consume the putrid soup Juloo had made. Rediscovering the wormhole couldn’t come soon enough. She emptied her bowl of soup to the best of her ability and checked the status of her suit’s power via its diagnostic screen, 23 percent. The jerry-rigged power charges Juloo had latched onto it were taking their sweet time.
She entered the cockpit and watched as the tiny Qirak woman took control of the Linl colonization ship turned boat, sailing it through the choppy waters of the planet. It had taken them nearly two days to get to this point, tsunamis streaking across the ocean world’s surface were a common encounter. Juloo had to make eight detours during their trip to avoid getting hit by the torrential waves.
The journey provided Chevallier the chance to follow-up on the data left behind by the first generation Linl colonists, saving the data into the computers built into her suit. She hoped that someone aboard the Carl Sagan would find it useful. The Carl Sagan, she groaned upon thinking about that ship convinced that she might be stranded on this world forever, unless there was a skilled Qirak out there that could figure out how to repair her human-made equipment.
“Ah! The gate draws close!” Juloo exclaimed, forcing Chevallier to gaze out the windshield.
Amber light from the skies shined into the cockpit while moisture built up along the sides of the windshield due to the extreme humid temperatures around them. She saw the oval-shaped gateway to other worlds seemingly float up top of the surface of the water, unaffected by the tsunami that struck days earlier.
“Sure you don’t want to stay?” Juloo said to her. “Many, many old junky ships lay around with profitable items still inside.”
Chevallier grimaced and shook her head dejectedly. “If I can’t get back to my ship I might have to take you up on that offer.”
SHALLOW OCEAN
SC-149 AKA Meroien, Sirius C system
May 22, 2050, 02:23 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Chevallier bid her farewell to Juloo as she leaped off the ship onto the shallow clearing next to the wormhole. She was back in her combat armor sans the helmet, though its power and shields still had not fully recovered. Her heavy footsteps slashed through the waters leading her toward the control interface of the wormhole.
Before she activated it, she spun around and gave one final wave goodbye to Juloo. The ship turned boat sailed off to the horizon, the white flames from its rear engines providing it just enough propulsion to propel the ship, and take Juloo toward old Linl tech to raid and sell to the Poniga and Undine.
She returned to the control interface of the wormhole and took a few seconds to recall what Juloo had told her in regard to operating it. Its tiny holographic display appeared along with holographic buttons for her to push, her finger pushed downward to key in the open command.
Then stopped.
She heard strange noises come from the deep of the ocean.
She stood up on the edge and readied her rifle, two figures floated up from the waters covered in a protective psionic barrier. One of them was Pierce, or at least she thought it was, he looked roughed up, dirty, his head full of unkempt head and facial hair. But his uniform as ripped up and messy as it was, it was clearly one of a member of IESA.
The person with him, however, she was an unknown, a half-naked woman wearing an opened and soaking wet maroon robe with a glowing staff in her hands. She had long black-blue hair and looked directly at Chevallier as if they were old friends that hadn’t seen each other in years. The two dashed and splashed their way over to Chevallier looking back behind them every so often, the standard signs someone was being chased.
Chevallier held onto her rifle and checked the status of her suits shield recovery.
They had risen to 32 percent. Better than nothing.
“Chevallier?” The strange woman called out to her. “Soul of the goddess, is it really you?”
How the hell do you know my name? “And you are?”