Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel 1: The Deimos Artifact
Read Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel 1: The Deimos Artifact Online
Authors: Phillip Nolte
Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel: Book One
The Deimos Artifact.
by Phillip Nolte
Cover image by
A. Wirth
(
[email protected]
)
Dedication.
This book is dedicated to my Uncle Erwin L (Irv) Nolte (1914-2014).
The Deimos Artifact
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Phillip Nolte
Special thanks to good friend and artist, A. Wirth for her superb artwork and Jill Randall, Lucinda Nolte, Chuck Mullen, Darrel Beebe and Sybil Beebe for their invaluable assistance with editing and proofreading.
Contents
Chapter 3. Financial Meltdown.
Chapter 4. Uncle Marv's Spaceship.
Chapter 5. Pilots and Problems.
Chapter 6. Outfitting and Departure.
Chapter 10. Star-tortoise vs Star-hare.
Chapter 12. Shoddy Merchandise.
Chapter 17. A Nondescript Container.
Chapter 18. Technicolor Dreams.
Chapter 20. Decisions and Preparations.
Chapter 23. Answers and Questions.
Chapter 25. A Minor Altercation.
Chapter 27. Home of the Brave.
Chapter 28. Expedition Deimos.
Chapter 31. Partially Decoded.
Chapter 33. Negotiations and Decisions.
Chapter 36. Lopsided Altercation.
Chapter 40. Chamber of Secrets.
Chapter 42. The Teachable Moment.
Sol System, somewhere on planet Earth. February 4, 2675.
{...In the pitch black darkness of The Resting Place, after centuries of silent waiting, a small, solid object in the shape of a regular tetrahedron is finally nudged out of dormancy. Within the artifact, a series of nano-circuits are activated as the object is, at long last, removed from the pedestal it had been placed upon so many years before.
The little device begins to emit a subtle communication signal which is undetectable by any human-based technology. In orbit around the planet Mars, the Sentinel Construct comes to life in response and begins emitting far more powerful signals of its own...}
***
Deep Space, somewhere in the Altair star system, February 11, 2675.
{...Alone in her heavily-stealthed scoutship, currently patrolling the fourth quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy, Galactic Sentinel Guardian Third Class, Symantia L'proxa is called away from her daily routine to respond to an alarm. One of the previously dormant Sentinel devices has begun to emit an initiation signal. The low-ranked Guardian checks the source of the signal and discovers that it is originating near an unassuming backwater star called "Sol" by its inhabitants and that the star is several hyperjumps away from her current position.
A quick check of the records indicates that this system had been all but written off as a lost cause several millennia ago by L'proxa's superiors. As such, it comes as a bit of a surprise that the Sentinel Key placed in this system so very long ago has been found and removed from its original location. L'proxa records the time that she detected the signal and dutifully sends the information up the chain of command. She then sets course for this "Sol" system, not knowing what she will find when she arrives...}
***
Grand Amalgamation of Galactic Civilizations Supreme Council Chambers,
First Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy, April 24, 2676.
Almost directly across The Milky Way Galaxy from the obscure system of Sol, the Supreme Council of the Grand Amalgamation of Galactic Civilizations had been convened for their periodic meeting, which occurred once every thirty solar days. The Supreme Council consisted of five Councilors, one from each of the founding races of the Grand Amalgamation. The meeting was being presided over by Chief Councilor Naift, who was an Avean and was currently at his customary station on one side of the chamber behind a massive desk. Arrayed around the oval chamber and facing him from their own smaller but still very impressive stations were the other four members of the Supreme Council, Helspar of the Hylidians, Neasterum of the Sauropsids, Joroaster of the Lycans and Her supreme Honor sub-queen Sithia of the enigmatic Thenarim aquaticus race.
The Supreme Council had reached the point in their lengthy agenda where all of the old business had been taken care of and the Council had just returned to the chamber after a short but well-deserved break. All except sub-queen Sithia, who as a mature Thenarian, was sessile and had ordered the shades drawn over the transparent walls of her luxurious aquarium for the duration of the break. The time had come to move on to new business. Chief Councilor Naift called the meeting back to order...
"It has come to my attention that there have been some disturbing recent developments in the primitive fourth Quadrant. Our most esteemed Councilor Joroaster has responsibility for reporting upon that Quadrant. My dear Joroaster, would you be so kind as to present your report?"
"It will be my honor to do so," most exalted Chair. The graceful canine-looking councilor came forward. He could easily have been some sort of offshoot from the wolf family of Old Earth by his appearance, except that his physique was adapted to bipedal locomotion and his forelegs had, at some distant point in the evolution of his species, developed an opposable digit. He went to the front of the room, took his place behind the podium and began his report immediately, without preamble, as was the way of his race.
"The key for the Sentinel Device has been removed from the Sanctuary on the home planet of a fledgling race called 'Humans,'" he said, "It was removed just over a year ago."
The announcement was received with a stunned silence.
"Are you certain, Councilor Joroaster?" asked Helspar, his iridescent crest semi-erect in denial of what he had just heard, "That race has long been thought to be a lost cause."
"It is certain," replied Joroaster. "The signal has been detected by at least five additional Guardian Monitors."
"I and the others here had almost given up hope," responded sub-Queen Sithia over the intercom from where she was immersed in her aquatic tank, "What has changed?"
"I confess that I do not know," replied the distinguished Lycan, "At least one of my informants is of the opinion that the Custodian race has been meddling again. The matter is being investigated by the Guardians, but I regret that there is insufficient evidence at this time to render a judgement. You have a question, Neasterum?"
Neasterum, ever the realist, flicked his forked tongue before stating the obvious, "I do not know why we should be concerned over these developments," he said, "If I remember correctly, these Humans are not very strong candidates for membership in our Grand Amalgamation anyway. They have already violated several of the most basic precepts and the apparent discovery of the Sentinel Device Key is almost fifty centuries later than our original projections."
"The Articles for the Incorporation of New Species are very clear on these matters," said Naift, ruffling the barred feathers of his breast in an effort to appear more formidable, "This race, no matter how contemptible, must be allowed an attempt at membership." It was his duty, as Chair of the Supreme Council, to ensure that the other members of the Council remained mindful of the regulations.
"But the savages have used nuclear weapons against their own kind on their home planet!" responded Neasterum, "Their planet, 'Earth' they call it, has been rendered almost uninhabitable by these despicable actions!"
"I concede that such an atrocity reduces their viability considerably," said Naift, "but all races must, at the very least, be afforded the opportunity for membership. You know the rules as well as any of us."
"I will be greatly surprised if they can even discover how to employ the key," said Neasterum, "They have been at war among themselves since the first of their benighted kind descended from the trees where they were spawned! Even now that they have managed to colonize a few worlds outside their ruined home planet, they continue to wage war on one another! They are a hopeless cause."
Chairman Naift acknowledged the Sauropsid's somewhat lengthy and vehement tirade, "Your points are well taken, Neasterum. Time will tell if your fears are justified."
The Chief Councilor returned his attention to the Councilor at the podium, "These creatures are mammals like yourself, Joroaster, are they not?"
"Yes, most exalted Chair, they are descended from a branch of the mammals called 'primates.'"
"Then it is safe to assume that the members of this species must regularly submit to lengthy rest periods and that their brains generate random thoughts during these periods?"
"The rest periods are called 'sleep' and the random thoughts are called 'dreams,' exalted Chair. These activities are also mandatory for my own race, so I am quite familiar with the process. Humans are known to experience very active dreams and many of them place a great deal of emphasis on their significance."
"In keeping with our own regulations, this race must have an opportunity to properly employ their Sentinel key. Would you be so kind as to initiate the appropriate dream programming on their planets? They will respond or not, but at least they will have been presented with the opportunity."
"I shall initiate a series of dream programs for the Humans, most exalted Chair. I thank you for your consideration."
"It is our duty," replied Naift, "Thank you, Joroaster. We will expect an update on this situation at our next meeting."
"As you wish," answered the Lycan. He left the podium to resume his normal station in the meeting chamber."
That unpleasantness now behind them, it was time for the Council to move on the next item on the agenda, "And now on to the matter of our latest candidate civilization," said Naift, "a most unusual race called 'the Hordea.' I understand that they are, in fact, intelligent plants..."
***
Fourth Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy, April 26, 2676.
{...Upon receiving a new set of orders, Symantia L'proxa, goes about the task of placing a network of Morpheus omnicast devices near the hyperlink points of the Sol system, origin of a species that calls themselves "Humans," and the other twenty or so star systems that this race has managed to colonize. She then activates the Morpheus network and sits back to await developments...}
***
Central Planets, Nova Philadelphia, May 7, 2676.
Miriam Love billed herself as a psychic medium. Like her mother before her, she was able to eke out a modest living employing the time-honored tools of her trade: tarot cards, palm readings, dream interpretations, numerology and the like. She had even been known to preside over the occasional séance. When plying her craft, Madam Love followed the same simple guidelines that she had been taught by her mother, who had been a highly-regarded medium herself while she was alive. In her own heart, Miriam didn't feel as though she was as intimately connected with the spiritual powers of the Universe as her mother had been, but she took solace and a measure of pride in the fact that what she did actually helped people to get by.
Her mother had taught her to keep a close eye on the news at all times to remain informed of current events. Such things must be taken into account when casting convincing and timely readings for her clients. Madam Love was, for the most part, content with her life and more than willing for it to continue on its current course, neither wanting nor expecting anything to change.
All of that was rudely altered in the early morning hours of May 7, 2676.
The night before, according to her daily routine, Miriam went to bed after diligently combing through the day's news and taking extensive notes. She remembered feeling a little unsettled after watching several of the newscasts but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
Miriam was accustomed to having dreams but that night she had a dream, an astonishingly vivid and powerful dream unlike any she had ever experienced! In her dream, she saw a small pyramid. Technically, it was a special type of pyramid made up of three identical triangular sides on an identical triangular base called a "tetrahedron." This pyramid was a little bigger than a breadbox and had smooth, featureless sides. The dream only lasted a short time but, unlike so many of her other dreams, this one didn't rapidly fade away after she woke up.
Miriam didn't think any more about the vivid dream as the day wore on until she was in the middle of performing a tarot reading for one of her wealthiest clients, Mrs. Ellen Dawson, wife of the distinguished Senator Everett Dawson of Nova Philadelphia. Miriam had been concentrating on the cards as usual, waiting for her subconscious to decipher the various meanings, when she suddenly segued into the same vivid dream, only this time she was fully awake! As the little medium fell into the trance-like state, she assumed an upright posture, her spine rigid while she stared wide-eyed into space. Very disturbing to her client was the fact that she displayed the rapid eye movements so often associated with dreams except that her eyes remained wide open! The trance, if that's what it was, lasted for nearly fifteen seconds.
"Madam Love? Is everything alright?" asked her alarmed client.
"Ah...yes, I think so," replied Miriam as she swam out of the trance and back to reality, "The...ah, spirits are very strong today. I confess that I just had the most unusual vision."
Miriam told her client about her vision. Mrs. Dawson listened in open-mouthed wonder and responded, "Remarkable! I had the very same dream last night! I meant to ask you about it today."
Miriam's stock as a medium had just gone up immeasurably in the eyes of her wealthiest client.
A rather shaken Miriam Love managed to stammer out, "I...I will have to ponder what the meaning is. I...I must consult the stars. Perhaps at our meeting next week?"
"Please, Madam Love, take whatever time you need."
After Miriam stretched the discussion out a little longer to buy herself some time to regain her composure, they completed the session and the client left, even more convinced than ever that her psychic was the real thing.
Over the course of the next several days, multiple reports of such visions occurring to "sensitive" individuals began to come in from all three of the Central Planets and, indeed, from all of the more remote Human-settled planets as well. The reports were so pervasive that investigations into the mysterious phenomenon were instigated by a number of skeptical but concerned government officials.
***