Chapter 67: Orbital Station

A while later, I left my cabin in search of Jem. Ship directed me to the lido.

I entered the lido and found Jem relaxing in her favourite hammock. She smiled at me.

“Hello, Brian. Feeling better?” asked Jem.

“Yes, thank you. I needed to recharge,” I replied.

I walked over to a chair and sat beside her.

“So what are our plans?” I asked.

“Do we need to pay the Aenat a visit?” she asked.

“I think we wiped out most of their offensive capacity. They won’t be back here soon,” I replied.

“I agree. They are off our list. Do we return to Yastri?” asked Jem.

“If you want to visit the new island resort, I’d say yes. Otherwise no,” I replied.

“So we go somewhere else,” said Jem. “Do we know the home system for the Varech?”

“I don’t think so. Ship, did you decode the Varech computer core yet?” I asked.

“Negative, Commander,” replied Ship.

“So we can’t deal with the Varech, at least for now. Do you have a system you need or want to visit next?” she asked.

I scratched my chin.

“I don’t have anything specific, just not Gober or Dentra or the Ori Confederation or Quard. In fact, I’d like to go somewhere new, where we won’t run into any of our enemies,” I said.

Jem smiled at me.

“Quon, do you need further help in defending this system?” asked Jem.

“Negative, Commodore. I have plenty of resources, and I can deal with similar sized threats.

“I would also mention that analysis of the Commander’s strategies against the Aenat has given me additional tools I can use,” replied Quon.

Jem smiled at me again.

“Ship, we are ready to depart. Select nearby star systems we haven’t visited before, and take us to the first one on your list,” said Jem.

I nodded.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Goodbye, Quon,” said Jem.

“Goodbye, Commodore,” replied Quon.

And that was it. Jem didn’t need to get up from her hammock. Ship accelerated to the edge of Earth’s system until the hyper drive cut in and we winked out of normal space.

I took an elevator to deck fifteen and entered the gymnasium.

Laine was already there, working out on an exercise machine. She saw me enter and smiled and waved at me.

I waved back, then I ducked into the changing room and changed into an exercise outfit.

I came out and started on a machine near her.

“Hello, Brian,” said Laine.

“Hello. How are you?” I asked.

“Good thanks, keeping myself fit,” she replied.

I smiled. I decided not to get into a discussion about her fitness.

Working out on the machine, I focused on the wall ahead of me. Thankfully, Laine did the same. We worked out in silence together, for a while at least.

“So we’ve left the Earth system?” asked Laine, after a while.

“Quon had cleanup under control. There was no reason to stay,” I replied.

“It might have been nice to meet Cathy again,” she said.

I stopped and looked at her.

“Cathy is part of a primitive civilization. We isolate them from space-faring races like us for their own protection,” I said.

“I know. I just thought since we were in the system...” she replied.

“She returned to her family. She is off limits,” I said.

I resumed my exercise, at least for a while.

“If the Tians didn’t abduct your mother, you’d be living there too,” she said.

“Yes, I would have grown up a part of their primitive civilization. The Tians took that choice away from me,” I replied.

“Do you regret not growing up as a primitive?” asked Laine.

“I don’t know. I can’t miss what I never had,” I replied.

“Well you successfully protected the Earth system. You paid a price for their safety. If the Tians hadn’t abducted you, the Aenat would have conquered Earth,” she said.

We both stopped, and I looked at her again.

“I really don’t care about Earth. I have citizenship on several worlds, and Earth is not one of them,” I replied.

“If you don’t care about Earth, why protected them?” she asked.

“While I am serving aboard a Baglogi vessel, I follow their ways. We protect the weak from those who cause harm,” I replied.

Laine looked me in the eye, searching for something. I waited for her next question, but it didn’t happen. We resumed our exercise.

Eventually, we finished our exercise. We returned to the changing room. We showered and changed into jumpsuits.

After that, we left the gymnasium and went our separate ways.

The next day I visited the garden again. I found it amusing that recently I had created several destinations aboard Ship, for the good of all.

I entered the double doors and followed the path to my favourite spot. Mina was elsewhere, so I had it all to myself. I took a seat on the bench and relaxed.

I smiled. We travelled through hyperspace between star systems, and I was relaxing in a garden. Two incompatible events, but here I sat.

I breathed in and noticed a light fragrance from the nearby plants. It wasn’t the richer fragrance from the more mature gardens on Dentra or Gober. In time, I expected it to develop further.

I recalled the recent conversation with Laine. A unique sequence of events led me to the life I had. A life that enabled me to save the primitive inhabitants of Earth.

What events would unfold next? My life wasn’t over yet.

I needed this alone time, in my sanctuary, away from the madness that somehow found us too often. Here I could recharge.

By the time I left the garden, I felt much better.

Several days later, the hyper drive went offline and Ship decelerated to sub-light speed as we approached our next destination.

We sat and waited, watching the tactical display.

“Ship, deploy probes and explore the system,” Jem said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship. We saw several blue dots on the tactical display emerge from Ship and move into the system.

“Ship, what data do you have on this system?” asked Jem.

“It is an unnamed system, one that we haven’t visited before,” replied Ship.

Soon, information on the system populated on the tactical display.

“Any signs of life in this system?” asked Jem.

“Negative, so far, but exploration is incomplete,” replied Ship.

We sat and waited for more results. I was getting bored.

“Attention,” said Ship.

“Go ahead,” replied Jem.

“Probes detect signs of a former advanced civilization on the fourth planet. No signs of life, though. They also discovered a derelict orbital station,” said Ship.

Jem looked at each of us.

“If an advanced space-faring race inhabited the fourth planet, why isn’t Ship aware of them?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Ship?” asked Jem.

“My records are extensive, but you specified a system not visited before,” replied Ship.

“Perhaps we should investigate then?” asked Jem.

I shrugged. I remember visiting Baglogi prime and the ruins there. Not much fun.

“There might be something of interest on the derelict orbital station,” said Laine.

“I agree. Ship, take us into the system and orbit the fourth planet. Find out what you can about the derelict orbital station,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Within a few hours we entered a matching orbit around the fourth planet. We were approaching the derelict orbital station ahead of us.

“That thing is huge!” said Mina.

“It looks bigger than the Trading Post,” said Laine.

“Attention,” said Ship.

“Go ahead,” replied Jem.

“My sensors cannot penetrate the outer hull of the orbital station. There is no power signature,” said Ship.

“Ship, send out a hail on all the usual frequencies,” ordered Jem.

“Confirmed ... No response, Commodore,” replied Ship.

Jem looked at me.

“We need to go over and explore the orbital station if we want more answers,” said Jem.

“I suggest we send only two, for safety,” I said.

“I agree. Take Laine. She might be of help if you find a working computer system,” said Jem.

I turned to Laine, she was smiling at me.

“Ship, Laine and I need space suits equipped with shields and stun guns,” I said.

“I’d like a tool kit and a portable power pack,” said Laine.

“Confirmed. Your equipment will be ready for you. Shuttle two is ready for departure,” replied Ship.

“Thank you, Ship. Laine, time for some exploring,” I said.

“Come back safe, Commander,” said Jem.

Laine and I got up and left the main bridge together.

In decontamination, all our equipment was waiting as promised. Laine and I got suited up and checked each other for leaks.

I pulled open my visor.

“Ready to go?” I asked.

“Ready, Commander,” replied Laine.

We gathered the rest of our equipment and left for the shuttle bay. We entered the shuttle via the airlock, and I did my pre-flight checks as Laine stowed our equipment.

Ship depressurized the shuttle bay and opened the outer door. With slight thrusters we were outside Ship and moving along towards the giant orbital station ahead of us.

“Commander, I located an airlock hatch and programmed it into your navigation,” said Ship.

“Thank you, Ship,” I replied.

We drifted along to the airlock. It appeared compatible with the one on our shuttle.

“I have a positive latch on the airlock. Docking successful,” I said. I shut off the thrusters on our shuttle.

“Be careful in there. If our sensors cannot penetrate the hull, we might lose communications with you,” said Jem.