Chapter 19: More Foe?

Not enough time. Jem won’t give up this system, so we must defend it. The problem is that another race believes it to be theirs. It has been in their possession for about one thousand years. They have more and bigger vessels, with superior weapons and a bad attitude. It’s only a matter of time before they send more vessels.

We were three beings and one vessel against an unknown number of foe and vessels. The odds were against us, bordering on impossible. If only we had more time.

Later, Ship announced the departure of the probe for the foe system. I watched it on the tactical display as it proceeded towards the edge of the system. Jem and Koluna were elsewhere, probably in our cabin, I figured.

“Ship, how are you doing with the derelict vessels?”

“I’ve recovered one of the memory cores from the vessel for analysis,” said Ship.

“Please examine the bodies of the crews over there. Did you detect any Baglogi amongst them?”

There was a pause while Ship queried the probe.

“Negative. All bodies are of an alien race,” said Ship.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t know what Ship would do if I had killed any Baglogi. It had a protocol to preserve the Baglogi species. I was also glad I asked this without Jem present.

“Ship, it’s likely Jem is the last Baglogi. Even with my close genetic match, what is your assessment of the chances of restoring a population of Baglogi in this system?”

I didn’t know if Ship could answer this question.

“The chances are low, Commander. We don’t have enough Baglogi. Plus, the hostile environment doesn’t allow for it,” said Ship. I agreed with his assessment.

“OK, new topic. Ship, you said you could gather raw materials from within the system to manufacture probes. Could you reclaim materials from the destroyed extra node on the planetoid? And perhaps the derelict vessels?”

“Affirmative. They contain refined metals, which I’d need the most.”

“Ship, can you build a separate manufacturing facility on that planetoid? I’d like it to gather and recycle materials from within the system. It can then build adequate system defences tailored to work against the foe. As we gain more data and improved weapons or defensive capabilities, we can pass them on to the facility.”

Some lights blinked.

“Affirmative, Commander. I can build a probe with construction bots to complete the task.”

“Please do so.”

“Confirmed. Probe will be complete and deployed in 2 hours,” said Ship.

“Thank you Ship. This will create our system defences that will improve our security. We must hold the system against invaders until that time,” I said.

“Confirmed.”

I found Koluna and Jem in our cabin, talking. They greeted me with hugs.

“Hello Brian, how are you doing?” said Koluna.

“Good thanks. I’d been neglecting you two for long enough.” I said with a grin. That earned me some smiles.

“Any news?” asked Jem.

“The probe has left, en route for the foe system. I watched it on the tactical display for a while. How about you?” I replied.

“We were just talking, nothing important,” said Jem. Uh-huh? Like I believe that.

“I was working on a project with Ship to establish a permanent system defence. Early days yet. If we don’t get interrupted by more foe vessels, we should see improvements in a few days,” I shared.

“Excellent!” said Jem.

“Well, I knew you’re unlikely to concede this system to the foe. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, I gave you command authorization because I trust you to use it wisely. Just keep us updated,” she said while smiling at me.

“Of course,” I nodded my head.

“Have you eaten?” asked Koluna.

“Not yet,” I replied. She got up and wandered towards the food dispenser.

“How about some of my favourite Ori stew? I can dial down the spices for you,” said Koluna.

“Sure. Jem?” I asked.

“We’d actually been talking about getting some dinner together before you came in,” Jem said. Koluna placed a big bowl of stew on the middle of the table and arranged some serving bowls. I took a seat and Koluna served me out a portion. I think she liked to share some of her culture with us.

We enjoyed a pleasant meal together. I tried to remain attentive to my partners, although the discussion topics were not my first choice. These days I didn’t know when my last meal was. I’d be present for each one until my last.

“Attention, multiple vessels are arriving in the system,” said Ship. We’d just finished our meal and were sitting back at the table. Crap!

“Ship, we’re on our way to the main bridge. Please have a more detailed report waiting for when we arrive,” said Jem. I wondered if that probe had left for the planetoid on the other side of the system yet.