Adventures of the USS Tigershark, 19

Chapter 19: Ghosts

“Circuit, are you there?”

“Yes, Captain but there are green vapor things in Engineering.These things affecting the injector spear blades of both Chandelier diverters. We can’t tap TransDim energies right now and I switched to secondary power.”

“Can we still lift off?”

“Not at the moment Captain. Most of my engineering crew is acting weird and two have pulled the auxiliary reactor down into maintenance cycle.

I need to contain them and get the reactors back up. We are on battery power now!”

“SHIP here. Intruder Alerts issued at Translocator stations. Intruder Alert on the Bridge. Crew members are affected in some way and do not respond to orders!”

“Activate all Intruder containment systems and flood all decks with Paralysator Rays.”

Har-Hi collapsed next to me.

“SHIP lift off into space with ArtiGrav. Even if it costs all energy.Alpha Order.”

Through the Airlock viewport of the I.S.T shaft I was still in I saw us gain altitude and a huge mass of green ghosts remaining behind.

“Who is still with me. Headcount now.”

SHIP responded. “Narth, Circuit, TheOther, Xon, Dusty, me and Suit. Everyone else is stunned, Captain.”

Xon contacted me seconds later.”We made it into space, Captain.”

I activated the I.S.T. manually and went to the Auxiliary Bridge. The small secondary bridge was designed to guide the ship if the main bridge was destroyed or otherwise unusable.

“SHIP transfer all Bridge functions here.”

Narth appeared out of thin air and said. “The Ghosts use massive internal Psionic suggestive attacks on the crew. Suggesting them to activate the TransDim engines while on the Planet.”

“That would destroy the ship and half that world,” I said.

“I thought we were psionically shielded?” Said TheOther as he arrived on the bridge.

Narth responded. “Only from the outside. Those ghosts use their powers slipping inside the bodies and thus gain control. They can’t affect anything material themselves, they need others to do it for them.” “How many Ghosts are on board?”

SHIP responded.” Unable to determine. As they do not register on my sensors other than visual.”

Suit said.”I am sorry for the delay but I had to reconfigure my sensors substantially to detect anything.”

“Go ahead.”

“These beings appear to exist on two planes of existence at once. Most of their essence is in another dimension, but a part is here. I believe I can establish communication via TransDim. It is how they communicate with each other.”

“Alright. See if you can, I need to talk to them.”

Suddenly a dozen green shapes appeared on the Auxiliary bridge coming through walls and the floor and approached me fast. Instinctively I backed up, but they were faster. It was not fear but anger that made me yell.”Back off!”

The approaching green vapors dispersed like cigar smoke. I was glad Suit did something to keep me free of those things. I was planning to thank it later.

A few heartbeats later the Seenian suit said. “They should be able to hear you. I added the data of the projections translation data.”

“I am Captain Olafson and you are violating and attacking us. I will find a way to destroy you if you do not cease all hostile activities at once.”

“They can communicate with us.” A multi-voice chorus responded at once.” We are heard.”

“You better believe it. I assume you are the Antoo. I will not repeat my warning. Cease hostilities now.”

“There is no greater service you could render us by destroying us. Some of us have already gone to blissful nothingness because of you. This is no threat but a reward and incentive to increase our efforts.”

But then there was a single voice. “It will still doom the ones on our planet to remain in their state. These strangers have knowledge and technology of the Upward way and we should cooperate and plead for mercy.”

The Chorus spoke.” This is true. You always have been the voice of warning and we did not listen, we will listen to you now and do as you suggest. Speak with them and let them help us.”

The single voice now addressed me.” You, Stranger Olafson. I am Ohtbeer and yes we are the Antoo. We made a terrible mistake. Please do not leave this world and let us suffer.

Let me tell you about our fate and if you then have it within you to help we will be most grateful. If not we will let you go unharmed and return to our world to wait for another eternity.”

“Alright, I am listening. But be assured I rather blow this ship into bits and deny you any access to anything that way before I let you force anything on us.”

“Our desperation knows no limits and was the cause for our actions. We were unable to communicate directly with any one of your plane of existence. Now that you found a way to communicate our hopes are high you might find a way to end our suffering.”

“I suggest you start talking. We have limited time as my ship needs its crew and energy.”

“As you know our name and communicate in our language we are certain you found our message we left behind and know some of our history. We were an old and inward-looking species. We abandoned space exploration long before the Seenian Queen fought her own son.

Our scientists believed they found a way to escape all violence and all corporeal needs of this plane by opening a gate into the Upward Plane and transfer our very essence into a new dimension.

A benevolent and wise traveler told us about the mystical Narth who managed to do so. It became an obsession of ours because there we would be free and develop into a new society unbound by death and all the limitations of this plane.

Narth listening in shook his head and spoke quietly in my mind.”What foolishness blinded a whole society. The needs change, they are not eliminated and death is present in all spheres of the Omniverse.”

The voice originating apparently originating from a pale green vapor hovering by the access door.

The Seenians were defeated by their own hand little remained of a once proud and powerful star empire. The remaining survivors went many ways. Some gathered in ships to leave this galaxy, others tried to cling on pieces of the old empire and revive it to past glories under various beings claiming leadership rights.”

“You are members of the Celtest alliance?” I asked.

“No, we refused to join. We are non-violent and we did not want to choose a side, but we knew the Seenians for a long time.”

“Your society had contact with them, so I gather.”

“Yes, Olafson and when the son of the last queen, Imperius Morgal the Cruel got hold of a cosmic weapon he slew his own mother and destroyed what was Seenian. The weapon twisted his mind and he destroyed much of his own followers, planets and military might before whatever found consumed him.”

“How do the Antoo ghosts fit in all of this?”

“As I told you, a group of surviving Seenians decided to leave this Galaxy. Before they left, however, they placed a considerable stash of Seenian tech and scientific knowledge in a Cache and gave it to us. Among these things was a weapon that used transdimensional technology. While we had no use for weapons, our scientists developed the Upward gate.

Our research concluded that we had to make this transfer to a non-corporeal/entity without our bodies, and send only our essence.

After many thousand years of research, our scientists claimed they found a way to dematerialize our brains and with this breakthrough we were ready to leave. All wanted t leave, except me. I was one of the scientists and warned of the untested technology developed on theories alone

I was not ready to give up my corporeal existence on the shouted and for true declared theories that long ceased to be science but religion.

I argued that even if the transfer would go exactly as planned, we did not know what would await us in the Upper Plane. Could there not be others already and perhaps not welcoming us?

But my objections were dismissed as heresy and I was silenced by robbing me of a public platform. The idea of becoming a new species all mind and nobody became a religion to us.

The few voices of critique fell silent, either intimidated or right out squashed.

I was exiled and excluded from it all.

They build the machine and made the journey, only it did not work as planned. The transfer only moved some of our essences into Upper Space, a part remained on this plane. Now we are stuck between two dimensions and cannot act in either. The state causes us much pain, pain you cannot get used to because there is nobody that could adjust. Nothing physical was able to affect us and death could no longer find us. Since I was in exile and far away when they changed the matter of our brains. More of me remained on this side.

After many thousand years I managed to develop weak telekinetic abilities. Able to affect matter, but on a very small scale only. the passage of time is the greatest pain if you cannot sleep or rest if your mind cannot go insane because it cannot alter its state. Can you imagine how it is not to rest, not to read play or work, not to do anything but be during a time it takes our world to circle its sun five hundred thousand times?”

Suit’s audio link was loud enough for everyone to hear. Dusty said as silently as he could. “I can. I drifted through deep space for even much longer believing I was all alone.”

The voice did not hear Dusty’s comment and continued. “The Seenians created this cache to be used by their daughters to rise again and be wiser stewards of the technological advances.

I was able to activate a Seenian device and establish a communications link to other surviving Seenian installations. One such installation was apparently created to direct seekers to this inheritance, I was able to alter the original message to direct whoever found that installation to this planet, but even after many centuries no one seemed to find their way to this message giver. I used the communication device again and found one such Seenian depot under the control of a young and growing society.

It took me many hundred years to learn to control this device. Seenian technology was and is very much alien to me.

Without hands or real eyes, it is hard to learn, but I managed to instruct an active robot at that far away base to construct a Hypno suggestive device. This time I did not have to wait too long. A living being found this device, and I suggested great treasure and rewards await if to come here.

I suggested that he bring along many others, in the hope we could occupy their bodies and either affect our death or resume research with physical hands and eyes to end our state of misery.

Now they came and we found that one ship is different from the others. Upward technology, your ship is full of it. Its ver engines tap into the other plane. Your weapons are much like the Seenian weapon we used as a base for our Upward Gate technology.

This is our story and now we are at your mercy.”

Narth spoke first.”You made several critical errors, the most important one you overlooked time. Even at an altered stated your minds still carry the time of this plane. Your very concept of time is linear with one reference point as past and one as future. Time has omnidirectional in hyperspace and yet different definitions in other universes. Another grave error is the attempt to open the gate from this plane.

What Union science calls transdimensional technology is utilizing the veil between Dimensional alternative realities. It is a true void nothing can or does exist there, except pure energy.”

“You know all this?”

“Certainly, I am Narth.”

“The ones the Seenians said were successful. We no longer care if we reach the other side or die in either. But we must find a way to end our current state.”

“There is a way to send the rest that is here to the other side. For this, we must have full access to all our ship. I will only assist if my Captain orders it so. I further issue this warning. I completed my assessment and Narth is very capable of adding to your pain. Know this, Narth is part of this crew and your actions are a clear declaration of hostilities.”

Narth’s eyes glowed brighter and he said with a much deeper voice.”Let me demonstrate.”

One of the greenish vapors started to wave and flicker and we all could hear an agonized scream.

“Have mercy, Narth. Have mercy! We can’t close our eyes to the horrors you sent into our minds.”

“Then do what our Captain demands.”

“Please return to our world’s surface so we can leave your vessel and we will hope for your help.”

I said.”Circuit do we have enough energy to make it down to the surface?”

“Yes but not safely, it would be a crash landing. I need an hour to get the backup reactors online. With the Chandelier dividers pulled like this, the main drive will be off longer.”

“Orthbeer, collect all your intruders in one room of this ship. Leave the bodies of my crew at once and I will see what we can do to help. Cross me in any way and I swear I find a way to make your suffering worse than even the Narth promised.”

“We believe one who commands a Narth and banishes us with a word of power.”

It took us over three hours to wake most of the key personnel.

After Cateria was back in business and she directed her Med Bots the pace increased.

We eventually made it back to the surface. None of the other Pirate ships were still there.

“Mao are you back?”

“Yes, Captain just taking Tactical.”

“Scan for the Pirate ships.”

After a moment.” I found them, all three are high tailing it out of the system.”

“We deal with them later. Are the Ghosts off my ship?”

Suit responded. “I am scanning again just to make sure. I can no longer detect any inside the ship. But if one is hiding in a body I can’t detect it.”

Narth said. “I can. I will check everyone. That will take time.”

“All you need.”

I stood once more on the grassy plane underneath my ship and looked at the casing of a giga-load Translocator Bomb. A seemingly endless crowd of ghosts stood in a circle just outside the shield perimeter. Except for one much more solid appearing ghost who was with us.

I pointed at the casing and then looked at Narth and Circuit.

“So explain that to me once again. My mind isn’t really grasping all that multidimensional stuff.” Circuit padded the slick hull of the open casing. “The ghosts get in here, we go to Quasi-Space and fire this bomb with a Translocator cannon and the Antoo are home, or better said across the void of TransDim and in the hyperspace realm, reunited with the rest of them.”

“Sounds all good and I am glad to see you so optimistic, but I see two problems. One, how do you want to fit three billion Antoo in one little case and two, is it not strictly and by all our rules forbidden to fire a Translocator cannon while in Quasi-Space?

I remember that warning in Tactical class quite clearly.”

Narth said.” Each Antoo has less substance and mass than a few molecules and therefore very little volume. They all fit in there with room to spare.

The reason one can not fire a Translocator cannon in Quasi-space is that the cannon needs exact targeting coordinates so the bomb can be sent there. Without a target you can’t transfer anything and the antimatter explosion will occur right there. In Quasi-space targeting information will change so fast it could not be kept on target. But we do not need coordinates. The Cannon will open a conduit to the next higher plane once triggered and thus transfer the Antoo there. Circuit has altered the targeting safety and used my trans spatial calculations. Shea checked them and she is confident to 86 percent it will work.”

“What happens if the 14 percent error margin prove to be right?”

“The event of failure will be a quite interesting one as no one I know can predict the answer to your question.”

“No one you know would include Shea, SHIP and the Narth Supreme right?”

“Indeed.”

I sighed. “Well let’s do it. If nothing else we will be a great example in the textbooks for TL operations. The USS Tigershark, the perfect example of why you should never fire your TL cannons while in quasi.”

Circuit got up from his squatting position and said.”There is one problem though.”

“And this problem is we won’t be around to see them go into Valhalla because we are blown to bits in Quasi-Space and if lucky join them?”

“No nothing like that, Captain. This one Ghost is different and has much more mass and substance. Narth calculations predict he will not make it.”

“Great, he who didn’t want to be a ghost in the first place and tried his best to find a solution has to remain behind and stay miserable. If I ever came across an unfair situation then this is it. We are not leaving until he can go too.” Then I said.”Or do you think we can take him to Narth and they can figure out a way?”

Narth nodded confidently. “I am certain Narth Supreme knows a solution, yes.”

“Looks like we getting our very own haunted ship. Complete with talking underwear, dust monsters and now a genuine ghost.”

It turned out the Antoo had followed our conversation all along.” I managed for such a long time, another year or decade waiting makes no difference. If I had a choice I still would rather remain here in the Universe I know. My opinion hasn’t changed, however, I am tired more than I can express and want to sleep and end this existence.”

“Get your people in the casing and get started. I think our mission has officially ended. The Seenian depot was all the time in the Orion Arm and not here. We go and collect our pirate friends and fly home.”

The Ghost said. “This is not entirely so, Captain. The Seenians left much behind and it is all here. Our system is yours now. We stored it all underground and well shielded on the second planet.”

“Odin’s beard. We did find it after all.”

At first, I found it disturbingly fascinating to see the green vapors disappear into the container, but after two hours seeing the same thing over and over again it got boring.

Even though many thousands went in at more or less the same time, it took more than a day when finally only one remained.

I sighed. “I am sorry you can’t go. I still don’t like this one bit. I have a good mind sending them with that casing into the next sun or something.”

The Ghost said. “Then you would indeed have found a way to make their suffering worse, they would not die but still feel their essence whirled around for as long as that sun burns.”

“I keep my word of course, but I don’t have to like it. If those who caused the problem get rewarded and the one who didn’t and saved their asses gets punished.”

“I am not punished, Captain Olafson. I am blessed being the one that found a solution to our collective suffering in our self made limbo and I spoke to Narth, I will be allowed to meet the Narth Supreme who certainly has a solution for me.”

Shaka said.” We are in Quasi-space Captain, as ordered.”

“SHIP are they ready?”

“One moment, Captain. I give you Narth.”

Narth’s image appeared on the main viewer. “We are in the Main gun turret, Captain. Casing is loaded, we are ready.”

“Mao?”

“I am a bit nervous firing in Quasi-space but I am ready.”

“Thor help us, I whispered and aloud I said “Fire!”

I waited for something to happen. Nothing did. The stations’ electronic sounds chirped as always. The ship hummed barely audible as it always did when in Quasi-space.

“Did you fire?”

“Yes, Captain. Cannon shows discharged.”

Narths voice spoke. “It is completed. We did it, Captain, we discharged a Translocator successfully while in Quasi-Space.”

SHIP said.”Ghost Ortbeer wants to talk to you.”

“Put him on.”

“Captain Olafson. The part of mine that is in the other space can now feel them. They are free of pain and complete. The Antoo wanted to convey through me their deepest thanks and say they will never forget your names and make it their sole mission to repay your kindness in some fashion.”

“If you can, tell them they should not forget your name and make sure they atone for what they did.”

To Xon the Nul sitting on OPS for Narth I said.”Mr. Xon get those scanners going and find me the pirate ships.”

“Aye Captain. They are already out of Sensor range but I know their last heading.”

“Forget the Silver Streak stuff, fire up our real ones.”

Suit who was still with me said. “Circuit and I have worked on improving ship sensors, we just have not tested them.”

“Sounds good. What do you need to get your improvements active?”

“Your permission, Captain.”

“Granted.”

Xon said.” I got them now. The range of our sensor has just increased from five light years to one hundred!”

Mao added. “We also have many alien contacts as well, seven hundred ships to be exact. It looks they fighting with our old friends.”

“SHIP get me into Battle view”

The Command chair raised into the tactical view dome.

I always loved this technology as it gave me a complete spherical view unobstructed of all space around us. Weapon ranges, scanner data, and distances instantly available via eye blinks and finger flicks over the Intuitive-control under my hand.

I immediately noticed the improvements Suit and Circuit made. The sphere had even more detailed data, the tactical sphere now encompassed a much greater area and I could see distant star systems, was able to get detailed information about planets and energy signatures like never before. In this 100 light year radius was much more traffic then we knew and this part of space was not as dead as I believed.

I, of course, saw the many alien ships and with an eye blink focused on it. Immediately I found the four pirate ships, their signatures well known and displayed in confirming data.

A single line armada of 698 ships was attacked by these pirates. The scanners also gave me the reason. The armada was Tech level 3 at best. just primitive magnetic shield technology, fighting back with missiles way to slow to be a threat and way too weak to even scratch the shields of the pirates.”

Even from this distance, I could see the Red Dragon and the Hontu engaged in boarding action. The Bloody Mary and the Jammer not far behind.

The Alien ships had long cylindrical bodies with a cone-shaped bow and huge crude looking jump engine blocks. Probably took them days to gain threshold speed.

“Krabbel lay in a course. Shaka get us there and if we go faster than we should be able to, that will be fine.”

“Gladly, Captain.”

As we closed in, thirty minutes later I said.

“Har-Hi sound Battle Stations.”

Elfi’s symbol blinked in my view.

“Captain we are being hailed by the Red Dragon.”

“I am really looking forward to that conversation.”

“You have more lives than a cat, Velvet! When I saw your ship overwhelmed by those green cursed things. I thought you’re done for.”

“Aren’t we going to find that depot of yours?”

“You are pretty dense for such a resourceful gal. That planet wasn’t it, it belonged to a species called the Antoo. We did find recordings and evidence in their ruins. Whatever tech there was is rotten and useless. And then there are those strange ghosts.”

“So what now?”

“We might have to go back to the library and find a new threat, but Lia, Basoro had enough and want to go back. Crimson said he might stay in this region for a while.

Now we found these ugly Aliens. Ships full of Iridium.”

Lia interrupted. “They are helpless against our weapons! There is so much Iridium, Palladium, and Polonium to fill all our holds to the last corner. plenty for all. We never find that depot, it was a fool’s quest but this made the trip worthwhile.”

The Dragon spoke over the last sentence of Lia. “I sure would like to know why your rust bucket of a ship can be that fast.”

I cut him off. “Mehdi can you make sense of him?”

“Yes, I just discussed this with Fivcheer right now. We concluded that the hypnotic suggestions planted by Orthbeer’s device never went past coming to Peppermint, he is no longer certain if he can find the depot and he lost much confidence in Seenian technology. He is now without direction and feels lost. Not sure where to go next. The aliens gave him a welcome distraction.”

Fivcheer chimed in.”I can sense the aliens well. They were exiled from their own world due to a disease. A very contagious disease with a fatal outcome. They are hoping to reach a more advanced race that may be able to help them. They are loaded with treasures and valuables in the hopes the other culture accepts it as payment for a cure.”

“I think that is as far as we need to take this charade.”

I lowered my seat and got up.”I will be right back.”

In my ready room, I went to my auto dresser and dialed for Union Uniform, went right back to my seat and said. “Har-Hi, be so kind and switch of the Janus Device. Mao go for full Battle shields and Elfi hail me those friends of ours!”

Chapter 20 »