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Authors: Todd M. Stockert
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moons in this solar system to
choose from, but that would require a prolonged landing presence.”
“Speaking of water, that’s not a problem,” decided Adam. “This is a Colony-Class exploratory vessel. We’ll be
able to recycle and reuse the water on board almost indefinitely.”
“The fuel isn’t as much of a
problem as you’d think, either.” Mary spoke up. “Glen told me that once he and
Thomas get the CAS Drive on-line we’ll be able to use the power from the
artificial singularity to recharge the system’s batteries prior to opening a
wormhole for transit. In other words, once we get the CAS Drive working it
should be self-sustaining… and the Pathfinder will only need to use the
liquid fuel for basic maneuvering.”
“Good to hear,” acknowledged
Kaufield. He turned to face Mary. “The Command Center looked pretty functional
last night when I went off-shift. I take it everything is on-line and functioning?”
“Perfectly,” Mary replied.
“Almost too perfect, if you ask me. The communications board is completely
blank. We can’t hear anything from anybody out there. It’s like the rest of our
people have all been completely wiped out.”
“Blown back to the Stone Age,
more likely,” grunted Adam.
“Very few attacks in history
have annihilated an entire population,” the Captain pointed out.
“However, with our limited ability to fight, I have absolutely no idea how we
can possibly help our comrades right now unless we find other surviving ships
to support us.” He took a deep breath and glanced at Colonel Neeland. “What
everyone needs to know is that yesterday Murray and I,” he gestured in the
Colonel’s direction, “met with a very human-looking male back at the airlock on
Khyber Base. The man told us that he was a member of this so-called Brotherhood
of the Dragon. We discovered, during a brief fight, that he was almost
certainly genetically enhanced.”
“A genetically enhanced human
being?” Dr. Simmons spoke up. “Doesn’t that violate treaty?”
“Yes it certainly does,” the
Captain confirmed. “He claimed he was a member of this Brotherhood, and he
backed up his claim by demonstrating super strength and speed. He almost took
down four of us before we could react. He claimed that he represented no
nation, but that this Brotherhood wants to eventually rule Earth.”
“He might be an android,” Adam
decided. “The Russians and Chinese are pretty secretive about their technology
just as we have always been, but I know they have at times researched the
possibility.”
“I don’t think he was an
android,” replied Kaufield. “He was shot multiple times and appeared to have
human organs and red blood just like ours.” He paused, thinking back to the
incident. “He also appeared to ‘die’ from the gunshot wounds. My guess is that
he was a human being… just like us. However, he was obviously someone who has
received genetic or technological enhancements of one sort or another.”
“Perhaps both,” Karen
suggested. “Did you bring his body aboard? If so I would be very interested in
examining it.” She noticed Kaufield grimace as she spoke.
“Unfortunately,” he told her
slowly, “I didn’t think of that. I could kick myself if it would help, but with
everything happening so fast it just slipped my mind.”
“You mean like making sure you
helped me get my wounded Corporal to safety,” Murray interjected. “Captain,
during a combat situation like that all kinds of things happen and even when
we’re carefully trained… sometimes your instincts still just take over.
It’s what keeps us alive, the adrenaline rush that overrides our normal
tendency to be curious.”
“Thanks, Colonel, but it is
still a wasted opportunity,” the Captain decided. He sat back in his chair and
took a deep breath. “Okay, where were we?”
“This Brotherhood wanted to
kill us too?” replied Adam.
“That’s right, unless we
surrendered immediately and
choose from, but that would require a prolonged landing presence.”
“Speaking of water, that’s not a problem,” decided Adam. “This is a Colony-Class exploratory vessel. We’ll be
able to recycle and reuse the water on board almost indefinitely.”
“The fuel isn’t as much of a
problem as you’d think, either.” Mary spoke up. “Glen told me that once he and
Thomas get the CAS Drive on-line we’ll be able to use the power from the
artificial singularity to recharge the system’s batteries prior to opening a
wormhole for transit. In other words, once we get the CAS Drive working it
should be self-sustaining… and the Pathfinder will only need to use the
liquid fuel for basic maneuvering.”
“Good to hear,” acknowledged
Kaufield. He turned to face Mary. “The Command Center looked pretty functional
last night when I went off-shift. I take it everything is on-line and functioning?”
“Perfectly,” Mary replied.
“Almost too perfect, if you ask me. The communications board is completely
blank. We can’t hear anything from anybody out there. It’s like the rest of our
people have all been completely wiped out.”
“Blown back to the Stone Age,
more likely,” grunted Adam.
“Very few attacks in history
have annihilated an entire population,” the Captain pointed out.
“However, with our limited ability to fight, I have absolutely no idea how we
can possibly help our comrades right now unless we find other surviving ships
to support us.” He took a deep breath and glanced at Colonel Neeland. “What
everyone needs to know is that yesterday Murray and I,” he gestured in the
Colonel’s direction, “met with a very human-looking male back at the airlock on
Khyber Base. The man told us that he was a member of this so-called Brotherhood
of the Dragon. We discovered, during a brief fight, that he was almost
certainly genetically enhanced.”
“A genetically enhanced human
being?” Dr. Simmons spoke up. “Doesn’t that violate treaty?”
“Yes it certainly does,” the
Captain confirmed. “He claimed he was a member of this Brotherhood, and he
backed up his claim by demonstrating super strength and speed. He almost took
down four of us before we could react. He claimed that he represented no
nation, but that this Brotherhood wants to eventually rule Earth.”
“He might be an android,” Adam
decided. “The Russians and Chinese are pretty secretive about their technology
just as we have always been, but I know they have at times researched the
possibility.”
“I don’t think he was an
android,” replied Kaufield. “He was shot multiple times and appeared to have
human organs and red blood just like ours.” He paused, thinking back to the
incident. “He also appeared to ‘die’ from the gunshot wounds. My guess is that
he was a human being… just like us. However, he was obviously someone who has
received genetic or technological enhancements of one sort or another.”
“Perhaps both,” Karen
suggested. “Did you bring his body aboard? If so I would be very interested in
examining it.” She noticed Kaufield grimace as she spoke.
“Unfortunately,” he told her
slowly, “I didn’t think of that. I could kick myself if it would help, but with
everything happening so fast it just slipped my mind.”
“You mean like making sure you
helped me get my wounded Corporal to safety,” Murray interjected. “Captain,
during a combat situation like that all kinds of things happen and even when
we’re carefully trained… sometimes your instincts still just take over.
It’s what keeps us alive, the adrenaline rush that overrides our normal
tendency to be curious.”
“Thanks, Colonel, but it is
still a wasted opportunity,” the Captain decided. He sat back in his chair and
took a deep breath. “Okay, where were we?”
“This Brotherhood wanted to
kill us too?” replied Adam.
“That’s right, unless we
surrendered immediately and
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