said, “but I can’t see you on my sensors. Please respond.” After about ten seconds had passed, he spoke again. “Repeat, this is the freighter Ivory Eagle. I have your cargo, but I do not see you on my sensors. Please respond.” The response was not at all what he was hoping for; the ship shook as Xargan projectiles impacted its unshielded hull and a small group of Xargans emerged from the asteroid field. “Damn it!” He powered up the shields and weapons and took evasive action. “This is the Terran freighter Ivory Eagle to any ships in the area; I am under attack from Xargan forces and need immediate assistance. I repeat, the Terran freighter Ivory Eagle is being attacked by Xargans!”
*** Present day, Tarhedia ***
“How did you get out of there?” Jackson inquired.
“Well, the Xargan ambush definitely damaged the ship, but all the fights I’ve been in against them made it a lot easier for me to figure out what I was up against - and once that was done, I could try to use the asteroids and the Xargans’ own weapons against them. Besides, the Eagle’s got a few surprises in it; let’s just say dropping explosives in a dense asteroid field is bound to cause problems even for things as small and maneuverable as Xargan swarmers.”
******
As the Eagle dodged asteroids and Xargan projectiles alike, it released a bomb, which quickly detonated against one of the roaming asteroids, causing a movement in the asteroids which crushed several of the fragile, high-speed Xargans before they could react. The remaining two creatures kept bombarding him, though - and the shields had just failed. “I repeat, I am being attacked by Xargans and need immediate assistance!” The next bomb killed the Xargans - but it also sent several smaller rocks at the Eagle’s engines and communications array; the ship, having been on a course out of the asteroid field and close to the edge, drifted out. Lanis was stranded.
About a day later, Lanis had managed to repair the sublight engines; the hyperdrive, however, had taken too much damage in the initial attack. It, like the comm system, would have to be replaced - or fixed at a properly-equipped spacedock at the very least. Fortunately, contrary to his expectations, no Xargans had arrived to finish the job - and now, the Eagle’s sensors were picking up a massive ship nearby. As far as he could tell, it wasn’t Xargan; perhaps if he could get to it before it left the system, its crew would take him to a friendly starport. If they didn’t kill him first, that is.
******
Lanis continued telling his story, providing a detailed account of his landing on the Tarhedia and the events that led to its arrival here. “So what you’re saying,” Jackson asked when the story was over, “is that the Petran government has been infiltrated by these new Xargans?”
“That’s the thing - we don’t know it’s just the Petrans. There was at least one of those things on the Tarhedia before we landed - must have been a stowaway on the Eagle - and I’m guessing I met up to half a dozen spies during my time on Petra. For all I know, you might be one of them too; the only way we can know for sure is if we test you, and it’s far from impossible that they’ll figure out how to get around whatever tests we came up with.”
“I take it you’ve already tested everybody in your fleet?”
“Indeed we have, Admiral,” Hatos answered, “But as Lanis said, we cannot be completely certain that the tests we have devised are accurate. Nonetheless, if the Terran chain of command has been equally compromised, it may be too late to prevent a war. As your own stance on the Petrans and Lanis’ explanation of the Carthan Wars suggest, if the conflict is reignited, it is possible that it will not end until it is too late.”
Jackson’s expression suddenly changed from that of an intrigued tactician to that of someone who had just realized he was doing something terribly wrong. “Then we have to
*** Present day, Tarhedia ***
“How did you get out of there?” Jackson inquired.
“Well, the Xargan ambush definitely damaged the ship, but all the fights I’ve been in against them made it a lot easier for me to figure out what I was up against - and once that was done, I could try to use the asteroids and the Xargans’ own weapons against them. Besides, the Eagle’s got a few surprises in it; let’s just say dropping explosives in a dense asteroid field is bound to cause problems even for things as small and maneuverable as Xargan swarmers.”
******
As the Eagle dodged asteroids and Xargan projectiles alike, it released a bomb, which quickly detonated against one of the roaming asteroids, causing a movement in the asteroids which crushed several of the fragile, high-speed Xargans before they could react. The remaining two creatures kept bombarding him, though - and the shields had just failed. “I repeat, I am being attacked by Xargans and need immediate assistance!” The next bomb killed the Xargans - but it also sent several smaller rocks at the Eagle’s engines and communications array; the ship, having been on a course out of the asteroid field and close to the edge, drifted out. Lanis was stranded.
About a day later, Lanis had managed to repair the sublight engines; the hyperdrive, however, had taken too much damage in the initial attack. It, like the comm system, would have to be replaced - or fixed at a properly-equipped spacedock at the very least. Fortunately, contrary to his expectations, no Xargans had arrived to finish the job - and now, the Eagle’s sensors were picking up a massive ship nearby. As far as he could tell, it wasn’t Xargan; perhaps if he could get to it before it left the system, its crew would take him to a friendly starport. If they didn’t kill him first, that is.
******
Lanis continued telling his story, providing a detailed account of his landing on the Tarhedia and the events that led to its arrival here. “So what you’re saying,” Jackson asked when the story was over, “is that the Petran government has been infiltrated by these new Xargans?”
“That’s the thing - we don’t know it’s just the Petrans. There was at least one of those things on the Tarhedia before we landed - must have been a stowaway on the Eagle - and I’m guessing I met up to half a dozen spies during my time on Petra. For all I know, you might be one of them too; the only way we can know for sure is if we test you, and it’s far from impossible that they’ll figure out how to get around whatever tests we came up with.”
“I take it you’ve already tested everybody in your fleet?”
“Indeed we have, Admiral,” Hatos answered, “But as Lanis said, we cannot be completely certain that the tests we have devised are accurate. Nonetheless, if the Terran chain of command has been equally compromised, it may be too late to prevent a war. As your own stance on the Petrans and Lanis’ explanation of the Carthan Wars suggest, if the conflict is reignited, it is possible that it will not end until it is too late.”
Jackson’s expression suddenly changed from that of an intrigued tactician to that of someone who had just realized he was doing something terribly wrong. “Then we have to
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