Chapter 26

The gate exited facing Midgard, a beautiful blue-green planet that looked like most other inhabited planets, but was very similar to Earth as far as the layout of the continents.

What made this area different, though, was the nebula snaking its way through space, rather than just being a cloud—it was like a rainbow-coloured space river. Likely the source of the fabled rainbow bridge that tied the nine realms of Norse mythology together as Annabelle had been talking about. They formed a ring around the planet, making it look Saturn-like, but the ring had tendrils that branched off to the various rifts. The streams seemed to be directional, with the brightest stream appeared to be the one heading toward Midgard. All the other streams appeared faded by comparison.

Councillor Perry asked, “That’s it? You just travelled twice the distance we travelled before—in the same time?”

“Yup, the gates make it a lot easier to protect a larger area without requiring a lot of resources.”

Mark then spoke to Cricket as her hologram appeared on the bridge. “Take us to the rift that leads to Vanaheim, and do you know the status of the two Sentinels or Commander Northrop?”

Cricket smiled and said, “Aye, sir! I actually sent the Sentinels through to all the planets, but the Midgard one was also sent to Vanaheim. The Cleito just entered the rift when we were preparing to leave Earth. Hopefully, we’ll all exit around the same time. It’s odd though, I can still communicate with all those ships—I think these rifts differ greatly from the other ones.”

“You mean we might have real-time communication beyond these rifts? Maybe we could do a virtual bridge without having to go there?”

“I’ve instructed Sentinel 18 to begin constructing a hyperspace gate as that’s the next logical test. I can now detect the Destructor ships, but they also seem different from the ones we’ve encountered in the past.”

“How so?”

“These appear to have some sort of externally mounted weapon on the top and they’re moving faster than before.”

“We attack from the underside anyway, so just stay clear of the top.”

Mark turned to the councillor’s. “It looks like we might be able to do a virtual bridge without having to travel through. These rifts must be different, as we can still communicate with the ships that are already en route and we can now detect the Destructor ships on the other side.”

“While we wait for our ships to reach the other side, Junga, what can you tell us about this area?”

Junga was happy to be called upon for his experience. “I have travelled to all nine of these planets with Fleet Commander Ka’Ryll and after talking with Queen Annabelle, I think she may have assumed correctly.”

Cricket popped up and said, “My research of the Earth mythologies and the merged star charts from the Norn have led me to the same conclusions. The planet names the Norn had collected match those of the Norse myths on Earth.”

Mark smiled, “Send a message to Annabelle and tell her she was right about the Vikings. That will make her happy.” A micron later he said, “Belay that message. We’ll tell her after we deal with the Destructors.”

Junga took a moment to remember what he could before continuing. “There are nine planets that are connected by these streams, err rifts, but these rifts differ from the nebula rifts—instead of being surrounded by a nebula, the nebular gases form a stream that flow through the rifts between all the planets. As you’ve probably surmised, the streams are directional and each of the planets has a ring of these gases that encircle the planet. All the planets have two rifts, one incoming rift and one outgoing, except Midgard, which has rifts that go to the other worlds, and the only planet we know the actual location of.”

Mark asked, “So you have used these rifts lots?”

“Yes, we have and still do because their people use them all the time. One planet has a simplistic space program capable of sub-light speeds only, but all the planets have many ships that transport cargo and passengers. We think they use the gases in the streams for fuel, which means they can’t actually get off the streams.

In our ships, the time to travel the rifts varied depending on the destination. Vanaheim, if I remember correctly, was one of the medium trips, along with Muspelheim and Niflheim.”

“So any idea how long?”

“I’m still learning your time increments, but I would estimate the trip should take about 2 centares since your ship is similar in size to ours. Asgard was the quickest, Jotunheim and Alfheim would be about half of this trip, then Helheim and Svartalfheim would be roughly double the time. Helheim, Muspelheim and Jotunheim are not nice planets, sparsely populated and have harsh climates. Well, Helheim actually isn’t too bad, but I think they use it as a prison planet—and part of Jotunheim isn’t too bad if you stay near the equator.”

“So you’ve been using their rifts along with their own traffic and you never speak to them?”

“Oh no, we have spoken to them many times—we check in with the Aesir when we are in the area. They aren’t very friendly toward us and they’ve never agreed to meet with us. As we use the rifts, they ignore us. They are from Asgard and claim to be the protectors of these planets, but we’ve detected no weapons that would be capable of actually defending against a genuine threat.”

“I was just going to ask why you protect them if they have their own protection, but that explains it. They sound like Earth in that regard. They think they are powerful, but in reality they are not.”

Junga laughed in the weird way the Norn did. “They are very much like your Earth leaders. To quote an Earth saying—all bark and no bite.”

Councillor Jean then asked, “So, the people you talked to are Mazjik?”

“No, they are the Aesir.”

“Aesir, is a Mazjik word meaning powerful ones. I wonder if maybe they are one of the lost Colonial Project expeditions?”

Mark said, “We’ll have to ask them when we meet them, but that will have to wait until after we deal with the Destructors.”

Councillor Jean suggested, “Since it looks like we have some time, maybe we could discuss how the Federation could work with a planet accessible only through a rift?”

As they moved to the meeting room behind the bridge, Cricket popped into existence with a grin on her face. “I’ve come up with a basic solution that provides messaging service to existing wrist devices, library access and sensor network functions, without actually giving them any technology. It’s an old store-and-forward setup. Then for communications we can leave tablets that can access the library, but can also send and receive messages.”

As they all sat around the ready room, Mark brought Cricket into the meeting. “This is unfamiliar territory for us, but Cricket has informed me she has a workable option.”

Cricket smiled. “Yes, I’ve run several scenarios for what I’ve termed rift-connected planets. All solutions require having BOTH the entrance and exit rifts in monitored Federation space. The technique New Mazjorca used with the unmanned patrol ship provided the basis for the scenario I have devised.”

Most of the Mazjik councillors smiled at learning part of the idea came from them.

Cricket continued. “We use three devices. A communications hub on each side, while a tiny communication beacon travels through the rift.

The beacon would pickup data from the planet side and carry it out through Rift 33, then exchange data on the Federation side and bring new data back through Rift 34. Hopefully, with the beacon being so small, it won’t actually spend much time in transit. The minimum delay is however long it takes for it to go through the rift.

This would allow the Federation to monitor and protect the area beyond the rift, and provide delayed communications between known citizens with tablets. Though, the library terminals would have none of the personalized functions available when they are in monitored space.

She then waited a moment for everyone to absorb what she just explained before continuing. “For other Federation services, we could build an embassy or a space station near Rift 34, then have a small version of a hyperspace gate that leads directly to Rift 32 to return to the planet. Transit routes can be setup using shuttle-sized ships to ferry people from the planet to the space station, where they can experience a variety of Federation services or even travel on to other planets.”

Mark looked around, seeing shared astonishment between everyone in attendance—Mazjik and crew alike.

Councillor Jean just smiled. “That’s so well thought out and detailed. I really don’t think our simple minds could come up with anything better if we talked for sectons. So your sensor network protects us and basic communication is all we can do, but everything else we can just travel out to Federation space?”

Mark contemplated for a micron. “Yes, and you’ll have a Sentinel ship in orbit for planetary defence as well. Cricket, is that really all we can do?”

“Well, we could do almost anything and the knowledge that they have developed a light drive may open up more opportunities. With delayed communication, we can give tablets to those of you that have gone into a medibay and have identification. The tablets will allow you to send and receive messages as well as access the Federation library.

I would not attempt any structures and items without a permanent AI. If something were to happen with the connection, those items could fail. The Sentinel has an AI, but it’s not designed to control anything other than itself.”

Mark then looked around at everyone. “Is everyone here in favour of Cricket’s plan?”

Everyone nodded, still flabbergasted at the detailed plan, as Mark asked, “Well, that was a productive meeting. Was there any other business to discuss, or shall we relax and relish our success?”

The councillors and crew all laughed. The meeting had taken mere centons when they were expecting an extended brainstorming session, but they all agreed to dismiss the meeting. Anything else they eventually thought of could be brought up later or even once the store and forward network was setup.

With over a centar to wait, the rest of the councillors asked to go into the medibays, so they could be identified and get Federation tablets.

As they got out of the medibays, they went to the courtyard for drinks, snacks and to play games.

As the Cleito exited the rift, Mark contacted Commander Northrop and said they were not coming, but that this proved communications worked through these rifts.

They were still in contact with the Cleito when the Sentinels emerged and the virtual bridge was activated.

Everyone stood there in awe, looking at the planet beyond the rift.

Vanaheim was a beautiful blue-green planet with the colourful gases forming a ring around the planet with its two tails heading off to the rifts.

Skye said, “This is incredible. It’s like we’re actually there.”

“This is one reason the Norn ask us for help. Sentinel security ships are completely automated, yet these virtual bridges allow for communications and risk no lives.”

There was a host of smaller local ships still traversing the rainbow path, but what caught their attention were three larger local ships that departed the rainbow path and started heading toward the Destructors.

As they passed near the Sentinel, it was obvious they were incapable of detecting cloaked ships. As Mark turned to Junga, he preemptively said, “Those would be the Aesir protector ships. They are the only ones that appear to have ships capable of movement away from the streams.”

Almost everyone laughed at the prospect of those tiny ships trying to defend a planet, so Mark instructed Commander Northrop to remain cloaked and follow them at a distance, as the Sentinels left to intercept the Destructors.

The Aesir ships were roughly the size and shape of an Explorer, but sporting armaments, most of which looked like energy-based weapons since the ship wasn’t large enough to store much physical ammunition, though there were several missile looking appendages on the ship’s hull. They were in a V-formation on a direct path toward the incoming enemies, and they actually had good speed, so it wouldn’t take them very long to reach the intercept point. Fortunately, their communications appeared to be using an ancient Mazjik protocol, which was easily monitored by the Federation.

The leader outlined their plan to talk first, and they weren’t to power up their weapons until ordered. One ship asked, “Didn’t Ka’Ryll say they would take care of these ships?” Then the other ship asked, “Why are we risking our lives? Obviously, the Norn are afraid of these guys. We should probably fear them also!”

Since that looked like an opportune time to reveal themselves, Mark asked Cricket to hail the ships, but not reveal themselves yet. As the call connected, Mark found himself looking at three men wearing golden helmets with wings on the sides.

Before they could start with their inevitable questions, Mark just started speaking. “I am Mark Phoenix, King of the Atlantean Federation. You went right by us on your way to intercept those ships and we decided to just tag along, since Fleet Commander Ka’Ryll is who asked us to come take care of the threat. Ambassador Junga of the Norn is with us, if you want to ask him yourselves.”

Junga sat down beside Mark, so he was in the frame. “Greetings from the Norn. We would suggest staying back and out of the way so the Federation can take care of the intruders.”

The men on the ships were flabbergasted, obviously not prepared to contact another ship or another Norn representative.

“Greetings Ambassador! The Norn have talked to us frequently and we respect your knowledge. Ka’Ryll informed us of this threat, but said that he had to go get help to deal with them. We figured we might assist. Is he coming back?”

Junga shook his head. “Fleet Commander Ka’Ryll will return after we eliminate the threat. When he told you he was going to get help—the Federation was who he asked. You really should stay out of the way. I do not believe your little ships will do much damage.”

“These are the most advanced ships we have ever built. Sure, our ships aren’t as big as yours, but we have powerful weapons. Speaking of your ship—we do not see it, and why would the Norn ask humans for help? Is it because they are simple and expendable?”

“For starters, you can’t see us because our ships are cloaked, you have no hope of surviving against the invaders when they can see you. Second, life should never be expendable, with the exception of these ships that don’t communicate and destroy planets. You should know that humans protect most of the known universe. They even protect our home world and we work with them to protect your planets now.”

The men all broke into laughter. “Humans protect the universe? That’s crazy talk!” Then he realized what Junga said. “Wait! Why weren’t we consulted before making a decision like that? We don’t want to be protected by humans!”

“Your race is still considered primitive and until you prove you can defend yourself against a genuine threat, there is no use involving you in matters that are beyond your influence. The Norn hadn’t asked for your permission to protect you before. We protected you because you couldn’t. Nothing has changed, except the Federation can protect you much better than the Norn could.”

The Aesir, on a direct path toward the Destructors, reached the point where the enemy took notice and launched their fighters.

The leader said, “Sit back and watch while we deal with these pests. We’ll show you we can take care of ourselves.”

The three ships headed straight toward the incoming fighters, releasing a barrage of energy beams in every direction as the tiny fighter ships exploded all around them. They emerged victorious, but they all took damage, so either they either did not have shields, or had shields that were completely ineffective against the opposing weapons.

“See? We can take care of ourselves. We don’t need the help of humans.” The man said with an air of confidence and a smug smile. A smile that vanished seconds later when shots came from the new weapons atop the Destructor ships and obliterated all three of the tiny warships.

With all their ships destroyed, Mark asked Cricket if she had a recording of the interaction and of the ships being destroyed, since someone would likely blame them for losing those ships and people. Cricket confirmed she had the recording.

Commander Northrop said, “They wouldn’t listen! We recorded the conversation and their destruction, since we’re probably going to get blamed for it.”

“We recorded it as well. Now let’s take care of those things and get out of here.”

The Destructors then started firing in the direction of the Cleito, like they could almost track the cloaked ship, or maybe they had a partial track, as they kept shooting in the general direction of the Cleito, prompting them to increase speed and veer away from the enemies.

Once the Cleito was far enough away, the Destructors started firing at the faster moving Sentinels as they neared. Their shots definitely weren’t accurate and the Sentinels simply moved further beneath the ships, hoping to escape the firing arc. The Destructors changed the angles of all their ships to allow for a wider range of attack.

The Cleito increased speed and performed a flanking manoeuvre as the Sentinels started their strafing runs. From the virtual bridge of the Sentinel, they witnessed the impacts of the mass drivers as they struck two of the ships and then, a centon later; they struck two more ships, then moved away.

Cricket then popped up and said, “All mass drivers fired. It will take roughly 15 centons to reload.”

With the remaining ship concentrating on the Sentinels, Commander Northrop headed toward the remaining ship and fired both mass drivers, but from that distance it would take a centon for the ordinance to reach the destination.

Seconds after the Cleito fired, the Destructor ship fired in their direction, clipping the Cleito and disconnecting the call.