Chapter 4: Hidden Package







Chapter 4: Hidden Package

Hidden Package

-""-

The sudden feeling made him touch the thruster controls, the wreck became bigger and way too fast. He remembered the instructions they had given him and pulled the joystick to activate the counter thrusters. Breaking speed so rapidly caused g forces to bang his forehead against the helmet plate and then he flew backwards away from the wreck.

He noticed something black and ominous right next to him,keeping perfect pace with his noob attempts to fly a space suit. He also noticed the last of his new friends disappeared inside the wreck.

Finally he managed to stop his momentum into a slow drift, then tried to pull his TKU but the darn weapon would not come out of the holster. A red light he never seen before blinked at its butt.

The light of his chest lamp illuminated a big black four legged beast with fangs and glowing white horns. Only now he calmed down enough to notice the waves of excited emotions,Partner was floating right there without any protection, moisture and traces of atmosphere in form of ice in his neck fur. Neither the radiation or the frigid airless conditions of deep space seemed to faze his friend. "I should have known that you don't need a space suit." His voice rang hollow in his helmet. His neck hair were standing on end, the feeling of something or someone hostile had not subsided. His own PDD, not that it would him any good was still with Alejandro. Aat had shown him how to activate the Helmet Comm. You had to press two control stubs of the wrist control panel at the same time, but which ones again?

He pressed two and loud music pounded his ear and a voice proclaimed. Thank you for tuning on to Channel 9988 Pertharian Terror Metal all day long..."

He managed to turned it back off. His friends were in some kind of trouble and he could not even get the helmet comm. Going, or pull his own gun.

He had to find out what was going on and help them if necessary. He planed to regain a little momentum, approach the hole and take a peak inside.

Without any reference point to his eyes he completely miscalculated the true distance to the wreck and again was way to fast, missed the wicked looking torn edges of the torn metal by less than a centimeter and collided hard with someone wearing an alien battle suit. The Impact had enough momentum to throw the other being hard into a bulkhead, Roy tasted blood, cursed his decision to participate without a little more training and passed out.

-""-



<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy saw his mother and she wore a steel collar around her neck, except for a few rags she was naked. She was covered with dirt and her beautiful hair chopped ,not cut by someone who wanted to hurt and humiliate her. She was sitting against a rock wall eating what looked like a raw onion. There were dozens of humans all around her looking the same. The filthy individual staring into nothingness next to her was his father.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">She suddenly looked up and directly at him. Her mouth formed the word. "Roy!" He tried to reach her get t her but he didn't notice his own arms, or legs and somehow he knew he was dreaming.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">With this realization he woke and recoiled in horror as a decapitated, mutilated body of someone floated right before his eyes,

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Sobyr was right next to him looking down with a concerned face and talking behind his helmet.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy pointed to his and shook his head. Now Alejandro came into view and pressed two studs on Roy's underarm. "...tivate the helmet comm like this, before the system takes verbal commands."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy got up and almost floated away but Ncchsi caught him and then his boots connected to, what technically was a wall, but up and down became meaningful again. There were at lest five dead Nogoll and the terribly mutilated body belonged to a Kermac, at least that what Roy suspected.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Sobyr looked sick and frightened. "Your beast saved us all, but I never seen anything like that. He ripped Nogoll in shielded battle suits to pieces while it ignored blaster fire head on."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy still tried to get his bearings.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Ncchsi said. "Your move took a lot of courage too. Ramming that Nogoll like that, he was about to shoot me."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy finally managed to say. "What happened?" Sobyr pointed town the corridor. "This segment had survivors after all. Shielded in suits that' why we didn't pick them up I guess. As we came in they waited for us and wanted the access code for the Calypso."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">He made a guilty face. "I gave it to him as the Kermac came in."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy knew the feeling and said, "They did the same tome with their Psionics, not so long ago." Alejandro said. "Two of them took Aat to the Calypso and said they would kill her if your beast didn't stop or if we call for help."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy looked around and said. "I don't see Partner."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro pointed to a spot where a dead Nogoll floated. "It simply disappeared just a few moments ago."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2"><span style="font-size:large;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;">Roy wondered if Partner was gone to get his special kind of help again, he closed his eyes and could feel partner he appeared a second later right next to Roy. Looking at his friend and master and the emotions Roy felt were like a question.. "What do you want me to do?"

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro had moved to the ragged hole. "The Calypso is gone."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">The Thauran tried hard to stay calm, as his chin trembled. "Sorry for getting you all in this mess."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy said with a fatalistic grin. "At least it isn't me alone who always gets into the middle of things. We do need to tell the authorities, they will know what to do. There is fleet and a Psi Corps post at the station."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"I wish we could but we pulled the GalNet modules from all suits, yours too and tossed them."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Ncchsi hissed. "Even I was not immune to the Kermac influence."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy looked around. "And I even a little felt sorry for those Paper skins. The Galaxy is better off without them. I just wonder why they let us live."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Sobyr pointed to Partner."They were afraid of your animal and could not control it. I think they knew it would shred them to pieces if they killed us, at least that is what I think."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy wondered how far Partner could teleport. His animal did leave the Silver Swan and re-appeared on Green Hell many light years distant. Partner seemed to understand his thoughts and transmitted the images of the station and that it was able to get there.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy said. "Sobyr, your father is the Station commandant, right?" "Yes, and he will ground me for the next twenty years if we ever get out alive. Not that there is any chance they find us out here."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"Partner can teleport to the station but he can't tell them what happened and I can't tell him where Carla is since I don't know., but he can take you there and you will be able to get through to your father. He will know what to do."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"I won't let you two behind. I let you into this mess so you go." "I will not get through to your father or anyone fast enough. Aat and Picfram's life are in danger., Who knows where they go with that ship of yours, since it can't go Trans-light."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro said. "He's right. We are reasonably safe, just hurry up."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Sobyr wanted to argue, but Roy managed to explain his plan to Partner with easy to understand mind pictures, Partner nudged Sobyr into the back and both disappeared.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">-""-

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Ncchsi stood by the hole and said. "They are gone for about a standard hour now. Do you think they made it to the station?"

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2"><span style="font-size:large;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;">Roy had walked deeper into the corridor turned and said, "I don't feel Partner very good but I know he doesn't feel any distress, he just feels tired. I am sure they made it."

<p lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro walked up to Roy and he too shined his light down the corridor."What is it?"

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"I don't know, but I had this feeling that there was something dangerous nearby when I was still outside and even though the Kermac and the Nogoll are either dead or gone, I realized I still have this feeling."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"It's your first time in space and we are in anything but a prefect situation. There are dead bodies that creep me out; it's normal to feel that way."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy tried to pull his weapon still without success. "I am a Greenie we have an ability to sort of sense danger. I still feel it." Then he cursed. "I wonder what happened to my TKU, it feels as it was glued to the holster."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro looked closer and said."The TKU holster is in deep space mode. The mag-lock has engaged so it won't float away."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro opened the a little compartment on the weapon and retracted a band ,locked the flexible thing around Roy's wrist and said. "It' looks like you haven't customized the settings yet. It is in lanyard mode now."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">The red light went off as Roy tried and the weapon could be pulled easily. "I should be called green and not Greenie. I never checked the weapon for anything other than if it was charged.." He did feel a whole lot better with the TKU in his fist pointing at the sealed door down the corridor. "I think check the rest of this wreck just to make sure there aren't any more surprises."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Ncchsi said. "There is one already, we're moving."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro pushed himself off and floated to the hole and went outside. His voice said. "Sure enough this wreck just grew a set of Kermac engines, two pods and they are active."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">He came back in, I can't be sure but I think we are accelerating with about 500 klicks to the second."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"You mean like FTL engines?" Roy asked.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"Kermac Version of Isah Pods. My Stellaris senses could be off as we are inside the field but if I am right we will hit the threshold in about an hour."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"This isn't a wreck either, "Said Ncchsi. "that hole hasn't been made by a weapon,there is no damage behind it to suggest a TL load going off in here and any other weapon would make a hole with tears to the inside."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy went to the door. "Why would they leave a ship capable of going trans-light in exchange for a shuttle that can't leave the system? I think we better find the answers before the answer finds us."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">His effort to get to the bottom of this was stopped as the door would not open. It was a solid metal door and the simple enough looking controls were inactive and the handle didn't budge.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">So he went back as far as he could dialed his TKU to Twelve fired.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">The recoil was enough to break the mag field bod of his boots and push him back into another wall and a thick blinding bright bolt hit that door with many million degrees of heat and a few hundred tons of kinetic energy. Whatever the Kermac designers hoped the door would withstand, they did not include a TKU 12 .It was ripped out of the frame, partially melted. Not waiting for the others, they weren't armed anyway he rushed through the corridor as fast as his boots let him and stormed into the breach. There was no one and he was certain now they were alone on the ship.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">The room he breached was in his opinion as big as the rest of the wreck. As alien as they were he recognized several fuel tanks and the the machinery all the way in the back looked like the part of the wreck ships engines. The rest of the room was occupied by an elongated oval object. Even though he had seen Wurgus writing and symbols only once and very briefly. He was certain the writing was Wurgus.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro and Ncchsi had now also entered and Alejandro stared at the writing and said. "This is a Wurgus Sun Bomb. Ten or twelve are enough to make Kappa Andromedae go Supernova."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">The Stellaris went to an asymmetric shaped screen displaying lowing symbols and then he said. "This one is set to go off in 58 minutes, two seconds after it goes trans-light."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"Would the station not be able to detect us now?"

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Ncchsi spread his arms. "It is accelerating very slow. It didn't jump into the system. They probably think its a Scavenger, unless your Partner and Sobyr made it."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">"We are no longer where we have been" Alejandro said still looking at the Controls. "According to this there are 12 similar ships all accelerating towards the sun. Once they go trans-light they can't be stopped, they re enter space inside the sun and..."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy understood that the entire attack was just a cover to get these bombs in place. The Union so confident in their weapons,they underestimated the Kermac. They didn't have Translocators but that didn't mean they were impotent. They were second only to the Union in the Milky Way Galaxy and didn't become so big by being complete fools.

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Ncchsi was obviously thinking along the same lines. "They took a page out of the Terran book, this is what United Terra did with the Xunx and the Freons. Maybe what happens here happens in more Union systems right now."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Alejandro said. "Operation Steam Roller."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2"><span style="font-size:large;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;">Roy felt stupid despite the situation and said."What kind of roller?"

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Earth send fleets of robotic long range bombs to every known Xunx planet and obliterated a few hundred planets at the same time. What if the Kermac do the same and try to blow up a few hundred suns. Fake space battles,bringing fake wrecks like this into the systems...no Quasi space signatures then slowly accelerate. If they take out core worlds like Terra, Blue Moon, Thebes and so forth that could break the Union."

<p lang="en-US" style="font-weight:normal;widows:2;orphans:2">Roy somehow knew that this was exactly what was happening, the Union would be severely crippled or perhaps even destroyed in one single sweep, in less than 49 minutes."