SODIUM:5 Assault (18 page)

The wide beige colored hallway went straight for nearly half a kilometer in either direction. We turned to the right and proceeded to explore. Holo-posters on the walls lit up as we walked along with each new poster showing something that I deemed the equivalent of an advertisement. Each new poster seemed to be geared towards different types of physical entertainment. There were ocean-going boats, individual hover-pods, target shooting, and one which looked distinctly like an adventure race where the contestants had to fend off various wild animals. I wondered if we had stumbled onto an interstellar cruise ship.

The next room we came to had the appearance of a bar and lounge. As we entered, low level blue lighting turned on and soft music began to play. I walked up to the bar and stood peering at it as it was at eye level. Hershen was just able to see over its top. As we continued our search down the hall the other scientists, excluding our linguistics expert TR Harris, began the jump over to the station. Once in the hallway they proceeded to explore in the other direction. I was happy with their choice.

We eventually made our way into a control room lined with desks and holo-screens. As I looked at the controls I asked TR if he had made headway with the translations. He had and my helmet computer was soon busy with the partial translations of holo-screen displays in front of me.

One screen showed the ship’s stores, another power levels and maintenance tasks and a third had personnel supposedly on duty. All slots were empty. I asked Hershen what he thought and was again startled when a voice from the holo-screen in front of me attempted to reply. It was unable to identify my query and immediately asked for an identification number. I replied with 555.

The machine was silent for only a moment when the room was suddenly lit by four beams that swept the area as if scanning. The words on the screen before me read "Unidentified". A low audible alarm next sounded and the holo-screens before us shut down one by one. A warning notice displayed on the only screen remaining that read "Please Wait for Assistance". The door quickly closed and locked behind us.

I looked at Hershen and could see the same thoughts in his eyes. We turned and blasted the door with our pulse guns, pushing it hard into the wall on the other side of the hallway. Before exiting we dialed our suits up to offer the maximum defense while maintaining a minimum of gravity. We sprinted further down the hall while giving the order for the other scientists to leave immediately.

A one meter tall robot on treads entered the hall in front of us with lights flashing in a threatening manner. A gravity pulse from Hershen brought its intimidating move to an abrupt end. Next, two more entered and green bolts of power swept down the sides of the hall towards our position.

We blinked out, stepping through the wall beside us as the bolts approached. We then used our BHD gloves to thrust through several more rooms before coming out in the hallway behind our foes. Two quick gravity pulses once again cleared the hall of any menace.

As we continued our sprint a much larger bot materialized in front of us. Our gravity pulses were met with an orange glow as they were absorbed by whatever defensive shielding the larger bot had at its disposal. A return pulse was fired nearly overwhelming our active skins. We again blinked out and moved through the wall to our left.

Once through, we were immediately confronted by another large bot and an unknown field rose up around us before we could flee. Our BHD glove would not cut through it. A shot from our pulse guns was absorbed leaving us with the inevitable conclusion... we had once again been captured.

Our science commander soon came on my QE comm channel asking our status, they had made it safely back aboard the ship. I told him our current situation and asked that he put the ships defenses on full and for him to move a safe distance away. Before he could react a field like the one that had surrounded us enveloped the ship. We were all captives of the alien vessel.

I set my helmet computer to translate my words into the words of the alien bots. They quickly revealed that we were being held for safety and security reasons and that our patience would be appreciated. I then asked the alien bot where all their people were. It took a moment to respond. They had passed into an unknown field 1,234,455 Geks ago. The ship was awaiting their return. My helmet computer quickly displayed the number of Geks being the equivalent of almost 3,200 Earth years.

After answering a series of questions the alien bot determined that we were not a threat to its masters. The captive field holding us in place was soon released. We were then escorted to a lower deck where non-Mundari visitors belonged. There was no record of our request to board in the ship’s logs so we would therefore be held until such time as our request cleared. In the meantime we would be allowed all the comforts of a standard guest.

We were given free run of all the rooms on the deck we were on. The captive field would be surrounding the deck until such time as our request cleared. I asked if we could return to our ship and leave to which the bot responded that it did not have the authority to make that decision.

I then asked the bot if there was any further information available on filing a request to board, or of the Mundari themselves. A holo-screen popped up in front of me with a request for questions. The ships computer would be happy to answer any questions that it was allowed to give information on.

My team soon assembled in the lounge on our deck and 19 holo-screens were brought online for our individual questions. I asked for the location of the Mundari home-world and was quickly told that information was not eligible for release. I next asked what the ship we were aboard was for and received the response that it was an Adventure Craft of the Jessian people, the planet below us was named DaCuban.

I asked who the Jessian people were as related to the Mundari. I was next shown a diagram of the 34 star systems in the Mundari Effort. The Effort was an equivalent to our empire. The Jessians were the third largest population with 46 billion citizens inhabiting their three star systems.

I then asked if the Mundari had any enemies to which the computer took a moment to respond. When the response screen appeared I reacted by stepping back. There was no known image of the alien beings known as the Ogle, but their ship was the same red color and shape as the one that had destroyed Hale and the Borten worlds.

I called over the rest of the team to show them my discovery. When they assembled around me I asked the alien computer for any information it had on the Ogle. It responded that the Ogle had destroyed several lesser planets that had good trade relation with the Mundari and that one allied planet had been attacked by the Ogle before their ship was driven back.

The alien computer then posted a response before my next question was asked. The annihilation of the Frekkin and the Borten worlds was being added to the data on the Ogle, the data had been stripped from a scan of our science vessel’s computer. Those worlds had no relation or contact with the Mundari but the locations would be logged.

I then asked if the Mundari knew of the planet from which we had come. The response came back that all the information from our ship’s computer was in transit to the Mundari capital planet of Langrel. I asked to fill out the visitor request form and it quickly appeared on the screen in front of me. The computer assisted in answering the questions and my request was soon logged.

I asked for an estimated response time to my request to which I was told approximately 37 Geks which was the equivalent of 39 Earth days. My repeated questions as to the means of the Mundari communications transfers went unanswered as did many of our questions during our captivity.

I wondered if the Mundari would have interest in an alliance with the AMP. If they were able to drive off an Ogle ship their defenses were much stronger than ours. But we knew little of the Mundari and their culture. Were they overlords like the Frekkin? Were they evil like the Ogle? Would they demand subjugation for offering protection? These were all questions I did not have the answers to. I was no longer the Supreme Commander of the AMP, but perhaps I could be of service as its ambassador.

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