Version 2006 - Ch 6

INTERLUDE 1: COMMANDER EBOR LETSGO'S OFFICE

The commander stood at the window of his spacious office overlooking the lake and jungle with his hands clasped behind his back watching a group of cadets struggling with a heavy wooden log. They had to carry it over an obstacle course and only by working together could this task be achieved. This ancient time tested exercise promoted team work, group coordination and leadership. This exercise had been used by Navy trainers even before the Galactic Ascent on good old Earth. Of course it didn't work as well for some non humanoid life forms. But Humanoids and non humanoid life forms where part of the Navy and both had to learn to work together. Letsgo was humanoid himself. His base DNA was human Terran and deep down he considered himself to be of Terran descent. Something no Stellaris would openly admit. After Earth's Galactic Ascent in 2112, Terrans tried to colonize everything. Terran Corporations and government labs used genetic tailoring to manipulate Terran life forms so they could live in environments unfit for normal humans. During the 21st till the late 24th century, a fierce competition dominated the gene clone labs of every major corporation as to who could come up with the "better" human. This led to the "Super soldier crisis" of 2442, a Corporation Clone Revolt that culminated in the Enroe War 2443. The Stellaris originally a quite successful cyborg/DNA clone project of Honda-Benz-Quon Jan Corp. were declared a sentient independent species (Along with a host of other Clone types) after said war. HBQ tried to create a human worker able to work as unprotected as possible in deep space and still able to go planet side or inside space stations with normal gravitation and interact with their creators. The goal could not be achieved with biological DNA engineering alone and so cybernetic parts were added, for example the nano-tube flex skin with metallic radiation Commander Letsgo and every other Stellaris could work and survive in deep space with only minimal protection for many hours and still had legs and the necessary muscle and skeleton to work and interact on planets. Letsgo was dedicated to his work and was very proud of his posting but often missed space. He never felt at home dirt-side. He preferred a space station or space ship over a planet anytime. On his desk was a holo of Harman's Village, a small deep space colony a light year away from Midway Station. He purchased a large condo and planned to move there for good as soon as he retired. His third wife, who wasn't a Stellaris but Saresii, had signed a lasting marriage contract with him also loved that new home to be, however she was currently aboard an Explorer ship and on a two year survey mission deep into the completely uncharted core ward sector. Maybe when she came back he would put in his retirement request. Deep down he knew when the time finally came to make that decision he would find an excuse to continue, like he had done twice before and he silently chuckled, maybe he was used to Dirt Side more than he wanted to admit. He didn't hear the door; Stellaris did not have very good hearing, since they lacked outer ears. So he was completely stunned by someone close to him saying:" What do you find so amusing, old friend?" He spun around and was pleasantly surprised. "Admiral Stahl!" Letsgo immediately got up. "I was thinking about retirement, Sir." The man who had entered his office was tall. The body under the black uniform appeared to be in peak athletic condition. The Uniform was immaculate, from the mirror shine polished boots to the mirrored sunglasses. The white blonde hair trimmed into a short buzz cut. The strong jaw line and the scar on his left cheek, every detail of this man's appearance was well known to literally everyone in the Galaxy! He belonged to the fabled Mentors, the mysterious 200 picked by an even more mysterious entity so long ago. Stahl was immortal; this Admiral was born on Earth in 2067, before the Galactic Ascent. He along with the other 200 Mentors had guided humankind from a feeble one planet society to perhaps the most powerful union in the Galaxy. He was over 3500 years old. Officially he was a 5 star and second to the Admiral of the Fleet (also an Immortal) but his real position was closer to deity than anything measureable human. It was rumored that these Immortals had received powers and abilities far beyond those of normal beings. Commander Letsgo met this living legend demigod, about 25 years ago and they actually became almost like a friends. As much as mortal being could be friends with someone like him. The immortal officer grinned at him:" Sorry If I startled you. Your adjutant let me in right away." "He probably is still paralyzed and mortified actually meeting such a legend in person." Stahl sighed:" I do have that effect sometimes. "I tell you the idea to quit and finally retire crossed my mind more often these days." He sighed." I am at this longer than anyone should be." "You can't retire! Not you!" "Humankind has grown up, Ebor. They don't need us Mentors anymore. Our job is done. Of the 200 that where called by the Guardian so long ago, only 60 remain today." "I thought you are all immortal?" "Impervious to age and disease, but we still could get shot, wounded or atomized. Heck I could break my neck in an accident and be gone like that." Letsgo digested this information without further getting into it. "Have a seat old friend. I still have some Terran beer, your favorite brand in the cooler." Stahl sat into the visitors chair, leaned back while Letsgo went to a hidden cabinet and retrieved two brown glass bottles handed one to the Admiral and said:" Have you come here to tell me you going to retire? " "No that is more a wishful thought than a conclusion. You should talk; you wanted to go that place of yours on the bridge five years ago!" "Well yes, but I am not in a hurry either and Helen is on her way to the Aspar Nebula and won't be back for at least 24 month." "Helen loves her work, just as you and I must say I am glad you stay for a little while longer, good Training Commanders are hard to replace and with you it be almost impossible." If a Stellaris could blush he might have done so, a compliment from Stahl was just like a medal." So why have you come?" "The usual reason." Every so often the admiral would come and talk about the new cadets with Letsgo. The Commander opened the bottle took a sip. Stahl drained half the bottle and smacked his lips." Ahh! That hit the spot!" "Don't tell me you don't have ample supply of that stuff aboard your big ship." The Admiral put the bottle down. "I got a complete brewery aboard, but good beer is still good beer. Got anything I might be interested in?" Letsgo grinned and leaned back." We got a Narth." Stahl's left eyebrow rose." You are kidding me, right?" "No I am not. When Webb called me that he's sending a Narth I was as surprised as you." "I wonder why I wasn't informed about that. This is truly historical. What do you know about the Narth?" Ebor leaned back." Not much, to be honest with. The Encyclopedia Galactica hasn't much on them and most of the Narth's file is classified, even for me. I know they are a very mysterious species and they are very old." Stahl put the bottle down and leaned forward, very animated and excited "The Saresii think they have been around even before the Uni ruled most of the galaxy over 3 million years ago. The Narth never expanded or colonized other planets as far as we know and no one ever found out where their home system was until very recently. "The Narth never involved themselves in galactic politics or associated themselves with the first Council but they had been there as observers. During the first Y' all war The Narth did not fight with large battle fleets The Saresii tell us they contributed only one ship and that one ship that made all the difference and not the Wurgus Super Nova. As the Y'All came back 2500 years ago and we fought them with great losses, a battle occurred near the Narth solar system without anyone knowing that, because Narth cloaked their entire system behind a very advanced shield. Dr. ISAH once tried to explain it to me by saying the Narth removed their entire Solar system 1 minute into the future and leave an impenetrable no time space in its place. The Y'ALL slammed in it quite by accident in the heat of that battle. The Y'All simply forgot about us and went berserk against that shield. That was our chance to do emergency repairs, reboot shields and restock munitions. We attacked them again while the Y'All kept pounding that impenetrable field with everything they had." Commander Letsgo listened to the account of the Admiral about an event that happened thousands of years ago. A war that to him was nothing more than distant history. He knew Stahl was immortal, but to actually realize it was a different matter. Stahl had been there from the first moment. Three thousand years! How could he still be called human? The experience and knowledge gathered over such a time removed the Admiral from any normal human understanding. Stahl continued with his story:" To give you an idea of the magnitude imagine a fleet of 50 Million Ships. All the size of the largest battleships we have today. All armed to the teeth with weapons that take out our ships with one single hit and armor that takes the combined firepower of 3 battleships on our side to show damage. That was the size of the Y'All Invasion! No contact, no demands, no requests to surrender. They simply attack and attack anything and everything." "Was it not that time when you came back from your mysterious Exile bringing along that gigantic ship of yours and the secret of translocator cannons?" "Indeed I came back a few weeks prior to that engagement I was telling you about. Yes I did bring the secret of that weapon back and the Devastator. That ship is incredible and after all this time it is even today the most powerful ship we have, but it was only one ship back then. One against millions! The secret was in forms of construction instructions and it took years to start manufacture Translocators in mass quantities and supply every ship with it. What would I have given back then for just ten of our new Ultras equipped with those long range TLG-Gatlings. We would have swept those Y'All out of our Galaxy in weeks not in years!" He drained the rest of his beer." I am getting away from the actual story about the Narth. As I told you the Y'All were attacking that shield. All of their ships firing everything they had. You could snuff out stars with the firepower they poured while we could destroy ship by ship of theirs, without receiving fire. That went on for almost a week! We had convoys of civilian ships going to bring ammunition and fuel. Then there suddenly is this crack in that spherical shield of star system size, and a perfectly spherical ship appears. No visible propulsion, no antennas, nothing. As perfectly round as a cue ball Attacking Y'All ships explode before they come into firing range and for the first time the Y'All retreat! We did finally destroy the last of them 2 years later, but that's another story. The sphere contacted us. Identifying them as the Narth. They tell us how impressed they were of us trying to defend Narth. Even after I explained to them that we had no idea about them and their hidden system they insisted on thanking us for our efforts and sacrifices protecting their system. They joined the United Stars with the expressed clause to remain isolated. The space around their system is to this day off limits to all Star ship traffic within 2 light years. The only contact we have with them is via their representative in the Assembly who rarely if ever speaks. We know virtually nothing about their culture, physiology or history. Narth citizen rarely travel and if they do they simply appear no one seen them use ships since that time I saw that sphere. Their Citizen ID data is classified. We know they have vast Psionic powers far superior even to Saresii standards and the Saresii claim the Narth mastered some sort of magic." Letsgo snorted:" Magic! Nothing like magic exists. I am surprised to hear the intellectual and rational Saresii even pay any deed to such claims." "I wouldn't be so fast dismissing legend and magic. I am a man of science myself, but long ago when I was a kid the idea of traveling faster than light was considered impossible. Most Terrans laughed at the idea there could be intelligent life on other planets. Since then I crossed this Galaxy form end to end more than a few times and went well beyond it. I have seen things and experienced events I still can't understand or explain. One day perhaps we advance far enough and there will be no distinction between technology, science and what we define as magic." Letsgo digested that last statement but he still didn't believe in anything like that. For everything there was a scientific explanation. The immortal admiral lit a little smoking stick. It was not a totally uncommon habit and especially Terrans and Colonial Terrans smoked. Letsgo neither had a nose nor the necessary lips to make it work. His oxygen supply came from oxy cassettes he inserted into his chest every 10 days, so it didn't bother him at all. "Tell me, Commander how is that Narth interacting with the others?" "The Narth is very quiet and not social at all, but made friends with one particular human and they are basically inseparable. He displayed limited Telepathic powers so far. Enormous telekinetic abilities and he can teleport into areas shielded by the finest Saresii Anti Psi tech. if he has other Psionic abilities I can't say. We tested his Heidelberg Psi rating and he is simply of the scale. The best Saresii talent ever to be recorded Alyia Lichfangh scored 4200." "I knew her. She was able to move entire moons with her telekinetic abilities." Narths suggested HPR could be around 78,000 as a very conservative estimate." Stahl almost fell out of his chair and jumped to his feet." Did you say Seventy-eight…thousand?" "Yes Sir." "I can't believe I wasn't informed." "It is Red-Red-Blue Classified. Admiral mc Elligott ordered me to treat the Narth like any other Cadet." "I will have a word with my old friend about that. Now tell me about the other one. ,his human friend. "His name is Olafson. He is a Neo Viking from Nilfleheim. Webb ran into him as he did his malfunction suit test in the application line. Olafson took charge to save the Ult from drying out. He again took charge during the "No one showed up Scenario". Stahl leaned forward." How did he do? " "A long time experienced Officer could not have done better." Letsgo gave the admiral a detailed account of the events, played him the recordings of the hidden visual sensors. Stahl grinned broadly." I think I found another one! Where are they now? Call them!" Letsgo suddenly didn't look to happy. "They are not exactly here." "They are not? Where are they?" "They went to Maritime." "Please don't let me ask every detail just tell me!" "I gave them officially 3 days R & R so they can accompany one of my instructors on a private gentleman's affair. The Narth got terribly drunk and was out for an entire day. We had him in sickbay but where contacted by Narth Prime not to interfere and simply let him sleep. They trained another day and this morning left for Maritime for a Duel." "You allowed the very first Narth in Starfleet, a Psi Talent as powerful as all Saresii together to go to fight a Duel? Beside the fact that both of them are first year cadets and not allowed to fight duels. Nor should they even know about such things until they graduate!" "They are very good fighters. The Neo Viking is perhaps not very elegant but he fights like a Dai and the Narth is the fastest fighter you ever going to see. They are with Lt Lupe De la Cruz. I trust this man!" "De la Cruz? The old Grandmaster who wrote that wonderful reply to that arrogant bastard Milieu report…" Stahl paused." Oh I get the picture. Milieu threw the glove; De La Cruz had to respond. Milieu is of French descent and De la Cruz of Spanish origin. Neither of them where born on Earth but things like that is in their blood. Why did he take Cadets along?" "That was part of the Challenge. Milieus' protégées against Cruz's pupils in a test of skill. It's only first blood, Sir!" "That is between you and me but I am glad if one of Dents lackeys gets a little humble pie." "Why do you let Dent do what he does? No one likes him. You are the one who could do something about that!" Stahl shook his head. "Not even I can simply fire Dent and I tell you I would love to beat the guy up physically with my bare fists just because he is such snug and slick bastard. As long as he runs his academy without breaking the rules and delivers good officers I am unable to do anything. I am especially because of what I am must never ever be above the law! I am aware of my status and I could tomorrow declare myself sole Imperator of the Galaxy. Power corrupts Old friend and I have lots of power. To prevent even the slightest chance I might become corrupt without knowing, I live by our rules as strict and as diligent as a third year cadet." Letsgo respected the ancient Admiral a great deal more after hearing that." I never really thought of that, but I am very glad you do think that way." Stahl tapped his nose." This old snout tells me that Admiral Dent made many mistakes and that they will come to light sooner than later and because he put himself on such a high pedestal his fall will be that much harder." "I am inclined to trust your nose as well. We did have a similar incident not so long ago right here on camp idyllic and I frankly hope the other Admiral is placing that much restraint onto himself as you do." "Tell me about it!" Letsgo told Stahl about Swybin and Admiral Swybar and said after completing the story." I never heard anything more of this. I expected some sort of report or official message explaining to me how Swybin could circumvent the Psych Evaluation in the first place and what happened to him." The old Admiral had a serious look on his face. "It is the first time I hear about it. I will personally check on that and make sure you do get a closing report on this." "I do believe in our Navy, our rules and the system. I am only a Commander, my experience might be nothing compared to yours, but I seen and experienced injustice, Officers abusing their power and I have seen the workings of the Worm more than once." "So have I, old friend. This is why I have not retired yet." ________________________________________