What has gone before: The Starjammers, once again, got caught up in Kree/Sha’ir politics and ended up saving a colony world and gained a new crew member, the idealistic young Kree, Har-Tenn.
The Starjammers have now snuck off to the quiet fringe of the Sha’ir Empire in hopes of avoiding the military and repairing their ship’s damaged artificial intelligence system….
The Starjammers have now snuck off to the quiet fringe of the Sha’ir Empire in hopes of avoiding the military and repairing their ship’s damaged artificial intelligence system….
ISSUE 59
"THE HAUNTING OF THE STARJAMMER"
BY
TRAVIS HILTZ
"THE HAUNTING OF THE STARJAMMER"
BY
TRAVIS HILTZ
The Starjammer flew through space, like a graceful bird of prey. Its surface, though scratched and tarnished, still reflected the distant light of the system’s two suns.
On the bridge, the crew was scattered about the horseshoe shaped command deck, intent on their various stations and repair jobs. There was no sign of the tenseness that came with battle or flight from an enemy. This was merely a test run.
Christopher Summers, known as ‘Corsair,’ to the authorities and his shipmates, sat in the center command chair relaxed and content to watch his crew going about their duties.
Ch’od, a massive, reptilian alien was hunched over the communications console, tapping delicately away at the light keyboard with his large, taloned hands as he monitored the comm and the ship’s diagnostic systems. Cr’reee, his ever-present pet was bonelessly draped across one broad, scaled shoulder.
Raza, the cyborg warrior, was seated in front of Corsair at navigation. With no set course, Corsair had told him to just indulge himself. The ship zoomed and soared, as Raza put the Starjammer through its paces.
At Corsair’s right sat his furry and alluring ladylove, Hepzibah, seated at the main weapons console. She looked bored, having nothing to shoot at, and was running a targeting program on the occasional passing asteroid or comet.
The Starjammer’s newest crewmember, the young Kree Har-Tenn was at the science station. He had the console pried open and was going through the innards, trying to get the ship’s AI program, Waldo, up and running again.
He seemed to be making little progress but was reluctant to say anything about the damage. He was instead intently hoping he pull off some technological miracle work and prove himself to the rest of the crew.
Corsair shook his head and smiled. He could just tell by the fact that both Raza and Hepzibah had stopped glaring at his every move with suspicion, their version of hanging a ‘Welcome aboard!’ banner, he had been accepted and could relax for five minutes.
Maybe after the repairs were done.
“Seems to be running like a dream,” Corsair said, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair. “Nice to have something go right for a change.”
“Curse us, you will,” Hepzibah muttered. “Too quiet of late, I think.”
“I, for one, will savor this quiet for as long as it lasts,” Cho’d added.
“You and me both,” Corsair said. “Boring generally means no one is trying to kill us. Anything out there worth a second look? Or should we start heading back to civilization? Now that the ‘Jammer’ is shipshape, a supply run is probably in order.”
“Very little, “Raza replied. “Just old asteroid mining rigs and a few outpost stations. Tis one of those rare sectors that neither Kree nor Shai’r felt was worth fighting over.”
“Hard to believe,” Corsair said. “The Kree and Sha’ir would fight over a day-old soy roll.”
“Actually, Captain Summers,” Har-Tenn said, hesitantly. “Even before the war, this sector was rarely explored by either empire. The Kree had several small mining colonies and a token military presence, while the Sha’ir only had a few outposts and automated monitor satellites…”
“Then, the war broke out,” Corsair nodded. “And everyone got pulled back. Makes sense. Oh, Har?”
“Captain?”
“It’s not ‘Captain Summers’, It’s ‘Corsair’. ‘Sir’ is acceptable, but don’t over do it.”
“Uh…yes... Sir.”
“Not,” Corsair said, turning in his chair to face the rest of the crew. “That it wouldn’t kill anyone to make the token effort at a show of respect.”
Ch’od chuckled, though it sounded more like a growl. Hepzibah came over and draped herself over Corsairs’ shoulder.
“Corsair should be content with crew’s pretense of listening to him,” she purred. “And concentrate more on sitting in big chair and looking handsome.”
“If a mere crew man may interrupt thy banter,” Raza said. “We are picking up several derelict stations and colony domes. Might we combine thine ideas of exploring and gathering supplies?”
“Good thought,” Cho’d nodded. “The coffers are quite light. So, salvage, rather than barter would suit.”
“Good idea,” Corsair nodded. “Let’s fix course. Raza, find us something big and deserted. Cho’d, keep an ear out for any chatter. If there is somebody else out here, I want to know before they notice us.”
For several minutes the bridge was quiet, as the crew went about their tasks. Corsair allowed himself a small smile of pride, and then concentrated on the view screen and the panorama of empty space it showed.
He soon noticed a tiny glint that might have been a distant star or…
“Contact,” Raza announced. “Scanners have espied a station. Tis a low energy signal.”
“I’m getting something,” Ch’od added, his clawed hands tapping rapidly across his keyboard. “Odd signal…may be an automated response system…hmmm…?”
At that moment, lights across every console on the bridge began to flicker violently and the ship lurched.
Corsair was thrown against the arm of his chair. He winced as the wind was knocked out of him, and he then went down on one knee. The Starjammer gave another lurch and her captain tumbled and ended up flat on his back. The lights went out and he could smell smoke. When the light returned, it was the dimmer emergency lights.
“Talk to me!” Corsair shouted, getting to his feet. He plopped back down in his chair, and tapped frantically at the controls on the arm. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’ve got systems down all over the ship,” Har-Tenn announced, waving away the wisps of smoke coming from his console. “Some kind of energy surge…”
“Locked, weapons are!” Hepzibah announced, flipping down her targeting visor. “Station’s power port targeted.”
“Fingers off triggers,” Corsair commanded. “At least until we know what just happened.”
“I do not think it was a weapon,” Ch’od said. “It was the comm signal… some kind of energy cascade or else a massive data dump that our systems couldn’t handle. Hard to tell… half my board is still out. Har?”
“It was a comm signal, but … done as a super dense information burst in some kind of energy pulse.”
“Okay, okay, let’s start with the basics, what is working?” Corsair asked.
“We have helm,” Raza announced. “But nav computer tis offline. Shields are at minimum.”
“At half power, weapons are,” Hepzabah said. “Targeting computer keeps flickering.”
“Targeting…? Targeting who?” Corsair shouted. “Let’s concentrate on what’s going on, rather than who we can shoot for the next five seconds, Hep! Do we have any kind of scan capability?”
“Just barely,” Ch’od replied.
“Whatever that was,” Har-Tenn said. “It seems to have overloaded systems, ship-wide. I…um…don’t think it was an attack, but, a signal or an energy pulse, or energy transfer, that was just more than the ‘Jammer could handle. With a little work we can get the self-repair systems going and sort this out.”
“Time scale?” Corsair asked.
“Two hours, I think…?”
“I miss Waldo,” Corsair muttered. “We really need to get the AI system working on this ship. Do what you can, Har. Raza, can you find where that…’whatever the hell it was’ came from and get us there in one piece?”
“Aye. With both wings ripped off and bleeding atmosphere, I could land this ship on a one credit chip,” the Cyborg helmsman replied.
“Then you and Ch’od find us a spot to land, and I’ll take a look at the engine room,” Corsair said, standing up and heading for the door.
“Join you, I will,” Hepzibah said, springing up and following him.
“We need to find out what happened,” Ch’od muttered, as the bridge doors slid shut on their captain and his ladylove.
“Aye,” Raza nodded, pressing several switches then standing. “Altering course to the station, if thee would send a signal to alert its landing bay. Docking initiated. To the airlock.”
“What?” Har-tenn said, turning in his seat to face his crewmates. “But… Capt…Corsair said we… I mean, shouldn’t we…?”
“Fret not, lad,” Raza said, patting the Kree’s thin shoulder, as he strode past. Of course, he patted with his cybernetic hand, so Har-tenn winced rather than felt comforted. “Corsair hath two women in his life; Hepzibah and the Jammer and both do drive him to distraction with their moods and needs.”
“Chris Summers will not be able to focus until he has the Jammer back to working order,” Ch’od added.
“While he deals with the engine and you reroute and study the bridge systems, we shall deal with the station. Chris Summers, is our captain, but that does not mean we are incapable of making decisions for ourselves. You have the bridge.”
“Uh…alright,” Har-tenn said to the empty bridge. “Um…quickest promotion I ever received.”
On the bridge, the crew was scattered about the horseshoe shaped command deck, intent on their various stations and repair jobs. There was no sign of the tenseness that came with battle or flight from an enemy. This was merely a test run.
Christopher Summers, known as ‘Corsair,’ to the authorities and his shipmates, sat in the center command chair relaxed and content to watch his crew going about their duties.
Ch’od, a massive, reptilian alien was hunched over the communications console, tapping delicately away at the light keyboard with his large, taloned hands as he monitored the comm and the ship’s diagnostic systems. Cr’reee, his ever-present pet was bonelessly draped across one broad, scaled shoulder.
Raza, the cyborg warrior, was seated in front of Corsair at navigation. With no set course, Corsair had told him to just indulge himself. The ship zoomed and soared, as Raza put the Starjammer through its paces.
At Corsair’s right sat his furry and alluring ladylove, Hepzibah, seated at the main weapons console. She looked bored, having nothing to shoot at, and was running a targeting program on the occasional passing asteroid or comet.
The Starjammer’s newest crewmember, the young Kree Har-Tenn was at the science station. He had the console pried open and was going through the innards, trying to get the ship’s AI program, Waldo, up and running again.
He seemed to be making little progress but was reluctant to say anything about the damage. He was instead intently hoping he pull off some technological miracle work and prove himself to the rest of the crew.
Corsair shook his head and smiled. He could just tell by the fact that both Raza and Hepzibah had stopped glaring at his every move with suspicion, their version of hanging a ‘Welcome aboard!’ banner, he had been accepted and could relax for five minutes.
Maybe after the repairs were done.
“Seems to be running like a dream,” Corsair said, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair. “Nice to have something go right for a change.”
“Curse us, you will,” Hepzibah muttered. “Too quiet of late, I think.”
“I, for one, will savor this quiet for as long as it lasts,” Cho’d added.
“You and me both,” Corsair said. “Boring generally means no one is trying to kill us. Anything out there worth a second look? Or should we start heading back to civilization? Now that the ‘Jammer’ is shipshape, a supply run is probably in order.”
“Very little, “Raza replied. “Just old asteroid mining rigs and a few outpost stations. Tis one of those rare sectors that neither Kree nor Shai’r felt was worth fighting over.”
“Hard to believe,” Corsair said. “The Kree and Sha’ir would fight over a day-old soy roll.”
“Actually, Captain Summers,” Har-Tenn said, hesitantly. “Even before the war, this sector was rarely explored by either empire. The Kree had several small mining colonies and a token military presence, while the Sha’ir only had a few outposts and automated monitor satellites…”
“Then, the war broke out,” Corsair nodded. “And everyone got pulled back. Makes sense. Oh, Har?”
“Captain?”
“It’s not ‘Captain Summers’, It’s ‘Corsair’. ‘Sir’ is acceptable, but don’t over do it.”
“Uh…yes... Sir.”
“Not,” Corsair said, turning in his chair to face the rest of the crew. “That it wouldn’t kill anyone to make the token effort at a show of respect.”
Ch’od chuckled, though it sounded more like a growl. Hepzibah came over and draped herself over Corsairs’ shoulder.
“Corsair should be content with crew’s pretense of listening to him,” she purred. “And concentrate more on sitting in big chair and looking handsome.”
“If a mere crew man may interrupt thy banter,” Raza said. “We are picking up several derelict stations and colony domes. Might we combine thine ideas of exploring and gathering supplies?”
“Good thought,” Cho’d nodded. “The coffers are quite light. So, salvage, rather than barter would suit.”
“Good idea,” Corsair nodded. “Let’s fix course. Raza, find us something big and deserted. Cho’d, keep an ear out for any chatter. If there is somebody else out here, I want to know before they notice us.”
For several minutes the bridge was quiet, as the crew went about their tasks. Corsair allowed himself a small smile of pride, and then concentrated on the view screen and the panorama of empty space it showed.
He soon noticed a tiny glint that might have been a distant star or…
“Contact,” Raza announced. “Scanners have espied a station. Tis a low energy signal.”
“I’m getting something,” Ch’od added, his clawed hands tapping rapidly across his keyboard. “Odd signal…may be an automated response system…hmmm…?”
At that moment, lights across every console on the bridge began to flicker violently and the ship lurched.
Corsair was thrown against the arm of his chair. He winced as the wind was knocked out of him, and he then went down on one knee. The Starjammer gave another lurch and her captain tumbled and ended up flat on his back. The lights went out and he could smell smoke. When the light returned, it was the dimmer emergency lights.
“Talk to me!” Corsair shouted, getting to his feet. He plopped back down in his chair, and tapped frantically at the controls on the arm. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’ve got systems down all over the ship,” Har-Tenn announced, waving away the wisps of smoke coming from his console. “Some kind of energy surge…”
“Locked, weapons are!” Hepzibah announced, flipping down her targeting visor. “Station’s power port targeted.”
“Fingers off triggers,” Corsair commanded. “At least until we know what just happened.”
“I do not think it was a weapon,” Ch’od said. “It was the comm signal… some kind of energy cascade or else a massive data dump that our systems couldn’t handle. Hard to tell… half my board is still out. Har?”
“It was a comm signal, but … done as a super dense information burst in some kind of energy pulse.”
“Okay, okay, let’s start with the basics, what is working?” Corsair asked.
“We have helm,” Raza announced. “But nav computer tis offline. Shields are at minimum.”
“At half power, weapons are,” Hepzabah said. “Targeting computer keeps flickering.”
“Targeting…? Targeting who?” Corsair shouted. “Let’s concentrate on what’s going on, rather than who we can shoot for the next five seconds, Hep! Do we have any kind of scan capability?”
“Just barely,” Ch’od replied.
“Whatever that was,” Har-Tenn said. “It seems to have overloaded systems, ship-wide. I…um…don’t think it was an attack, but, a signal or an energy pulse, or energy transfer, that was just more than the ‘Jammer could handle. With a little work we can get the self-repair systems going and sort this out.”
“Time scale?” Corsair asked.
“Two hours, I think…?”
“I miss Waldo,” Corsair muttered. “We really need to get the AI system working on this ship. Do what you can, Har. Raza, can you find where that…’whatever the hell it was’ came from and get us there in one piece?”
“Aye. With both wings ripped off and bleeding atmosphere, I could land this ship on a one credit chip,” the Cyborg helmsman replied.
“Then you and Ch’od find us a spot to land, and I’ll take a look at the engine room,” Corsair said, standing up and heading for the door.
“Join you, I will,” Hepzibah said, springing up and following him.
“We need to find out what happened,” Ch’od muttered, as the bridge doors slid shut on their captain and his ladylove.
“Aye,” Raza nodded, pressing several switches then standing. “Altering course to the station, if thee would send a signal to alert its landing bay. Docking initiated. To the airlock.”
“What?” Har-tenn said, turning in his seat to face his crewmates. “But… Capt…Corsair said we… I mean, shouldn’t we…?”
“Fret not, lad,” Raza said, patting the Kree’s thin shoulder, as he strode past. Of course, he patted with his cybernetic hand, so Har-tenn winced rather than felt comforted. “Corsair hath two women in his life; Hepzibah and the Jammer and both do drive him to distraction with their moods and needs.”
“Chris Summers will not be able to focus until he has the Jammer back to working order,” Ch’od added.
“While he deals with the engine and you reroute and study the bridge systems, we shall deal with the station. Chris Summers, is our captain, but that does not mean we are incapable of making decisions for ourselves. You have the bridge.”
“Uh…alright,” Har-tenn said to the empty bridge. “Um…quickest promotion I ever received.”
**********
The engine room was a large metal cavern with the massive sphere that powered the Starjammer at its center. It was ringed with metal scaffolding, conduits and piping.
The engine was sparking and putting out billows of sour smelling smoke. Corsair had pulled off his crimson gloves and after several moments of tinkering with it, he had changed tactics, and decided the best method of repair would be to bang against the engine’s outer shell with an over-sized spanner, while cursing it out. After that didn’t work, he resorted to throwing the spanner on the deck and glaring angrily at the engine.
“All fixed, is it now?” Hepzibah asked, slinking up behind him.
“Had to get the pre-repair ritual of frustration out of the way,” he muttered in reply. “Can’t believe after all the effort we put into overhauling it, the dasting thing gets zapped.”
“Fix it, we can,” Hepzibah purred, stroking his shoulder.
“I know, I know,” Corsair muttered, leaning back against her. “Some days the near constant ‘one step forward, two steps back’ lifestyle wears on my nerves. If we can’t take care of ourselves, hard to see how we’ll keep an eye on the rest of the galaxy.”
“Which means taking on, we will, some foolhardy job that promises an ocean of credits and certain death,” Hepzibah said.
“On top of every thing else, “Corsair chuckled. “I’m getting predictable in my old age. Okay, enough seduction. Help me fix this damned thing!”
The engine was sparking and putting out billows of sour smelling smoke. Corsair had pulled off his crimson gloves and after several moments of tinkering with it, he had changed tactics, and decided the best method of repair would be to bang against the engine’s outer shell with an over-sized spanner, while cursing it out. After that didn’t work, he resorted to throwing the spanner on the deck and glaring angrily at the engine.
“All fixed, is it now?” Hepzibah asked, slinking up behind him.
“Had to get the pre-repair ritual of frustration out of the way,” he muttered in reply. “Can’t believe after all the effort we put into overhauling it, the dasting thing gets zapped.”
“Fix it, we can,” Hepzibah purred, stroking his shoulder.
“I know, I know,” Corsair muttered, leaning back against her. “Some days the near constant ‘one step forward, two steps back’ lifestyle wears on my nerves. If we can’t take care of ourselves, hard to see how we’ll keep an eye on the rest of the galaxy.”
“Which means taking on, we will, some foolhardy job that promises an ocean of credits and certain death,” Hepzibah said.
“On top of every thing else, “Corsair chuckled. “I’m getting predictable in my old age. Okay, enough seduction. Help me fix this damned thing!”
**********
Meanwhile, on the derelict station, Ch’od and Raza were forcing open the airlock door. The large reptilian wore an oversized environmental suit with a bubble helmet. His shipmate wore just the bare minimum of breathing apparatus, as his cybernetic body parts made him durable to the point of invulnerability.
With a final shove of his cybernetic arm and a screech of metal, the bulkhead was opened and the two strode into a dingy bronze corridor.
“Odd,” Raza muttered, as they walked along. “Smells of disuse, but not death.”
‘No sign of any attack,” Ch’od added. “If the station was merely abandoned, why send a data burst message? The Shai’r are not prone to panic.”
“Onward,” Raza said. “Keeping your over sized eyes open for any useful bit o’ salvage.”
“While I agree with your plan,” Ch’od said. “I take offense at your manner. My eyes are considered one of my best features…”
With a final shove of his cybernetic arm and a screech of metal, the bulkhead was opened and the two strode into a dingy bronze corridor.
“Odd,” Raza muttered, as they walked along. “Smells of disuse, but not death.”
‘No sign of any attack,” Ch’od added. “If the station was merely abandoned, why send a data burst message? The Shai’r are not prone to panic.”
“Onward,” Raza said. “Keeping your over sized eyes open for any useful bit o’ salvage.”
“While I agree with your plan,” Ch’od said. “I take offense at your manner. My eyes are considered one of my best features…”
**********
Back on the bridge of the Starjammer, Har-tenn was sitting cross-legged on the deck, sorting through the wiring and components he had pulled out from the damaged console. A small, handheld device was projecting a three-dimensional hologram of the bridge schematics to help him sort through what had been damaged and what was just hopelessly jury-rigged.
“A wonder the system held together this long,” he muttered, as he worked. “Ah, Cockrum buffers…sturdy, but no idea where we would ever find replacements…? What…um…is someone there?”
The young Kree peaked his head up above the console. He was still the bridge’s sole occupant.
“Odd. Oh well, just anxious…I thought…Hala!”
All across the bridge consoles began to light up in a familiar pattern. Then the communications system activated.
“Damnit, Har!” Corsair’s voice shouted. “What are you up to? We’ve still got parts to replace and you’re firing up the engines?”
“Corsair, sir, it wasn’t me!” Har-tenn replied, leaping for the main console. “We just went into emergency warm up! Maybe it was caused by something on the…station…oh, dast…!”
“Um…I’m not liking the sound of that,” Corsair said. “We’ll slap this together and be right up.”
“Raza and Ch’od are still on the station!” Har-tenn shouted, trying to adjust the ship’s controls. “And its power core just went critical!”
“A wonder the system held together this long,” he muttered, as he worked. “Ah, Cockrum buffers…sturdy, but no idea where we would ever find replacements…? What…um…is someone there?”
The young Kree peaked his head up above the console. He was still the bridge’s sole occupant.
“Odd. Oh well, just anxious…I thought…Hala!”
All across the bridge consoles began to light up in a familiar pattern. Then the communications system activated.
“Damnit, Har!” Corsair’s voice shouted. “What are you up to? We’ve still got parts to replace and you’re firing up the engines?”
“Corsair, sir, it wasn’t me!” Har-tenn replied, leaping for the main console. “We just went into emergency warm up! Maybe it was caused by something on the…station…oh, dast…!”
“Um…I’m not liking the sound of that,” Corsair said. “We’ll slap this together and be right up.”
“Raza and Ch’od are still on the station!” Har-tenn shouted, trying to adjust the ship’s controls. “And its power core just went critical!”
**********
On the aforementioned station, the two space pirates had collected a good-sized pile of salvageable goods.
Cho’d peered over the pile, thoughtfully, while tapping notes on an info-disk, while Raza continued lugging boxes and bits of equipment over to add to the pile.
“Hast thou noticed,” Raza mused. “That starring upon yon boxes does not cause the pile to grow larger?”
“We need to keep track of what we’ve accumulated,” Ch’od muttered, absently in reply. “A cargo hold full of garbage will do us little good…do you hear that?”
“I hear not but your babbling to excuse your sloth,” Raza grumbled, casually tossing two large plast- crates on the pile.
“There was a hum, like… systems powering up,” Cho’d said, looking around. “Did you touch anything?”
“Twill be touching you in a moment,” Raza said, clenching a cybernetic fist at his shipmate. “All I have been ‘touching’ is containers and machine parts, while you tax yourself making a list of what I have been…did you feel that? There’s a vibration running through yon floor plates…?”
“It is my reasoned opinion that we might consider returning to the ship very quickly,” Ch’od said, looking about anxiously.
The two space pirates then heard the muffled sound of an explosion. They glanced at each other, then grabbing as much salvage as they could carry raced for the airlock.
Cho’d peered over the pile, thoughtfully, while tapping notes on an info-disk, while Raza continued lugging boxes and bits of equipment over to add to the pile.
“Hast thou noticed,” Raza mused. “That starring upon yon boxes does not cause the pile to grow larger?”
“We need to keep track of what we’ve accumulated,” Ch’od muttered, absently in reply. “A cargo hold full of garbage will do us little good…do you hear that?”
“I hear not but your babbling to excuse your sloth,” Raza grumbled, casually tossing two large plast- crates on the pile.
“There was a hum, like… systems powering up,” Cho’d said, looking around. “Did you touch anything?”
“Twill be touching you in a moment,” Raza said, clenching a cybernetic fist at his shipmate. “All I have been ‘touching’ is containers and machine parts, while you tax yourself making a list of what I have been…did you feel that? There’s a vibration running through yon floor plates…?”
“It is my reasoned opinion that we might consider returning to the ship very quickly,” Ch’od said, looking about anxiously.
The two space pirates then heard the muffled sound of an explosion. They glanced at each other, then grabbing as much salvage as they could carry raced for the airlock.
**********
The bridge door slid open and Corsair and Hepzibah dove through.
“What the hell are you doing, Har?!” He shouted, taking in the disarray and his newest crewmate racing from one station to another. “We can’t take off!”
“I didn’t do it!” the young Kree replied, frantically. “There was a power surge on the station and the next thing I knew the Jammer’s systems went into lift-off mode. They must have tripped some automated system…!”
“The Jammer doesn’t have any automated systems!” Corsair interrupted, settling quickly into his chair. “The AI was fried!”
“What, happening on the station is, that the ship would kick into emergency flight mode?” Hepzibah asked, leaping to her station and tapping away quickly at the console keys.
“That’s…actually a good question,” Corsair muttered. “We need to figure…Dast! Thrusters just kicked in! Who…?”
“Still tethered to the station, we are!” Hepzibah shouted. “We’re going to swing back into the station if we don’t disconnect!”
“We can’t disconnect until we’re sure Raza and Ch’od are back on board!” Corsair shouted back. “Shut the thrusters down!”
“I’m trying!” Har-tenn. Replied, his fingers racing across the console. “Systems are still fluctuating! I don’t even know where Raza and Ch’od are!”
“Right, he is!” Hepzibah nodded, leaping from her weapons station to Ch’od’s. “Scanners, fluctuating are! Signal, hard to get, is!”
“Great, just great,” Corsair muttered, standing up. “Here’s how it goes: I’m going to unhitch the docking tether manually and make sure we have a functioning airlock for Raza and Ch’od, so they can get onboard. You two figure out what’s going on, before anything else goes wrong!”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the station exploded…
The space station burst apart like a piece of rotten fruit, showering the Starjammer with blasts of energy and bits of debris. There was no sound in the void of space, but everyone aboard the ship could feel the explosion, as it rattled their bones and threw the ship across space.
Corsair found himself hurtling down corridors like his ship had suddenly transformed into a huge pinball machine and he had been elected the ball. Dazed and bruised he collapsed at a bend in the corridor and was able to wedge himself in to ride out the explosion.
Up on the bridge, Hepzibah and Har-tenn were holding on for dear life, trying to get the ship’s systems working and steer the Jammer, while the same time, avoiding being hurled from their stations.
The Starjammer tumbled across the sector, eventually running out of momentum and using its steering thrusters to lurch to a halt. Aside from the noise made by overtaxed ship’s systems, it was quiet once again.
Hesitantly, Corsair raised his head and looked around him. Bits of debris and thin tendrils of smoke filled the corridor, but otherwise the ship seemed to still be in one piece.
“Holy hopping dast…!” he muttered, climbing slowly to his feet. He winced several times in the process.
While he appeared to have no broken bones or serious injuries, his entire body felt like it had been converted into one enormous bruise. Leaning against the wall, he limped towards the nearest communications panel. A few feet away from the panel, a door slid open and a small creature, that resembled a cross between a beetle and a miniature helicopter flew out.
“Might this one inquire as to what you lot are up to!” It screeched in a tinny voice.
“Oh sure, now you decide to come out of sick bay,” Corsair muttered. “Sikorski, I need help…”
The tiny alien hovered around Corsair, wide beams of energy coming from its large, multi-faceted eyes and washed over the space pirates’ body.
“No serious injuries,” Sikorski announced. “Extensive bruising and a few cuts. I can administer a pain reliever…”
“Not that kind of help. We are in rough shape. I need to get to the engine room; you go to the bridge…”
“No, no! We have had this talk,” Sikorski interrupted. “I am not one of your swashbucklers. I trade my passage, in order to study alien biology, in exchange for acting as ship’s medic. There is to be no fighting or dashing about, running errands.”
“Look, I don’t have time for debate! Help or I kick you out the nearest airlock and you can walk home! We understand each other?”
“Understood.” Sikorski grumbled. “What do you want?”
“Get to the bridge. Tell Hepzibah that I will be in the engine room. We need to make sure essential systems are on-line: the star drive, the scanners and weapons. Got it?”
“Yes.” Sikorski bobbed in mid-air, its version of a nod, and flew off.
“Me and that bug are going to a have long talk,” Corsair said, as he limped down the corridor towards the engine room. “If we live through this…”
“What the hell are you doing, Har?!” He shouted, taking in the disarray and his newest crewmate racing from one station to another. “We can’t take off!”
“I didn’t do it!” the young Kree replied, frantically. “There was a power surge on the station and the next thing I knew the Jammer’s systems went into lift-off mode. They must have tripped some automated system…!”
“The Jammer doesn’t have any automated systems!” Corsair interrupted, settling quickly into his chair. “The AI was fried!”
“What, happening on the station is, that the ship would kick into emergency flight mode?” Hepzibah asked, leaping to her station and tapping away quickly at the console keys.
“That’s…actually a good question,” Corsair muttered. “We need to figure…Dast! Thrusters just kicked in! Who…?”
“Still tethered to the station, we are!” Hepzibah shouted. “We’re going to swing back into the station if we don’t disconnect!”
“We can’t disconnect until we’re sure Raza and Ch’od are back on board!” Corsair shouted back. “Shut the thrusters down!”
“I’m trying!” Har-tenn. Replied, his fingers racing across the console. “Systems are still fluctuating! I don’t even know where Raza and Ch’od are!”
“Right, he is!” Hepzibah nodded, leaping from her weapons station to Ch’od’s. “Scanners, fluctuating are! Signal, hard to get, is!”
“Great, just great,” Corsair muttered, standing up. “Here’s how it goes: I’m going to unhitch the docking tether manually and make sure we have a functioning airlock for Raza and Ch’od, so they can get onboard. You two figure out what’s going on, before anything else goes wrong!”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the station exploded…
The space station burst apart like a piece of rotten fruit, showering the Starjammer with blasts of energy and bits of debris. There was no sound in the void of space, but everyone aboard the ship could feel the explosion, as it rattled their bones and threw the ship across space.
Corsair found himself hurtling down corridors like his ship had suddenly transformed into a huge pinball machine and he had been elected the ball. Dazed and bruised he collapsed at a bend in the corridor and was able to wedge himself in to ride out the explosion.
Up on the bridge, Hepzibah and Har-tenn were holding on for dear life, trying to get the ship’s systems working and steer the Jammer, while the same time, avoiding being hurled from their stations.
The Starjammer tumbled across the sector, eventually running out of momentum and using its steering thrusters to lurch to a halt. Aside from the noise made by overtaxed ship’s systems, it was quiet once again.
Hesitantly, Corsair raised his head and looked around him. Bits of debris and thin tendrils of smoke filled the corridor, but otherwise the ship seemed to still be in one piece.
“Holy hopping dast…!” he muttered, climbing slowly to his feet. He winced several times in the process.
While he appeared to have no broken bones or serious injuries, his entire body felt like it had been converted into one enormous bruise. Leaning against the wall, he limped towards the nearest communications panel. A few feet away from the panel, a door slid open and a small creature, that resembled a cross between a beetle and a miniature helicopter flew out.
“Might this one inquire as to what you lot are up to!” It screeched in a tinny voice.
“Oh sure, now you decide to come out of sick bay,” Corsair muttered. “Sikorski, I need help…”
The tiny alien hovered around Corsair, wide beams of energy coming from its large, multi-faceted eyes and washed over the space pirates’ body.
“No serious injuries,” Sikorski announced. “Extensive bruising and a few cuts. I can administer a pain reliever…”
“Not that kind of help. We are in rough shape. I need to get to the engine room; you go to the bridge…”
“No, no! We have had this talk,” Sikorski interrupted. “I am not one of your swashbucklers. I trade my passage, in order to study alien biology, in exchange for acting as ship’s medic. There is to be no fighting or dashing about, running errands.”
“Look, I don’t have time for debate! Help or I kick you out the nearest airlock and you can walk home! We understand each other?”
“Understood.” Sikorski grumbled. “What do you want?”
“Get to the bridge. Tell Hepzibah that I will be in the engine room. We need to make sure essential systems are on-line: the star drive, the scanners and weapons. Got it?”
“Yes.” Sikorski bobbed in mid-air, its version of a nod, and flew off.
“Me and that bug are going to a have long talk,” Corsair said, as he limped down the corridor towards the engine room. “If we live through this…”
**********
Har-tenn tore a strip of cloth off his sleeve and tied it around his head, to keep blood from a cut on his forehead from dripping into his eyes. He struggled to focus on the only half functioning controls in front of him. The combination of grogginess and Sikorski swooping around the bridge was almost too much of a distraction. He had to fight back the reflex to swat the ship’s doctor when he buzzed in too close.
“Okay,” he mumbled. “Thrusters are fine…scanners are…still flickering…I’m getting externals, but ship wide, we are practically blind…!”
“Weapons, we have!” Hepzibah announced, happily, tapping at her controls, then leaping over the console and heading for the door. “Help Corsair, in engine room, I will…”
“No…um…no, please,” Har interrupted. “I need you to check the airlock. I’ve…I don’t know where Raza and Ch’od are…we need to find out if they even got onboard…!”
Hepzibah nodded grimly and then continued on her way.
“If we are expecting casualties, perhaps I should prepare the sickbay…?” Sikorski asked, hovering over Har’s right shoulder.
“Um…yes, probably should…I don’t …go ahead.”
The young Kree returned to his work.
“Okay,” he mumbled. “Thrusters are fine…scanners are…still flickering…I’m getting externals, but ship wide, we are practically blind…!”
“Weapons, we have!” Hepzibah announced, happily, tapping at her controls, then leaping over the console and heading for the door. “Help Corsair, in engine room, I will…”
“No…um…no, please,” Har interrupted. “I need you to check the airlock. I’ve…I don’t know where Raza and Ch’od are…we need to find out if they even got onboard…!”
Hepzibah nodded grimly and then continued on her way.
“If we are expecting casualties, perhaps I should prepare the sickbay…?” Sikorski asked, hovering over Har’s right shoulder.
“Um…yes, probably should…I don’t …go ahead.”
The young Kree returned to his work.
**********
Hepzibah dashed down the Starjammer’s corridors, making her way past bits of debris and through stretches where only the emergency lights were on. Her people had been hunters, struggling for survival on a hostile world, and those skills had served her well as a member of the Starjammers. She easily avoided any obstacle and the dim light didn’t even slow her down. She raced round a corner and nearly collided with someone standing in the corridor. Not just someone… a Shi’ar!
Being a typical Shi’ar, he was skulking in the shadows, most likely hoping to attack once she had passed, Hepzibah thought to herself.
He wore a red, sleeveless bodysuit, blue thigh high boots and a blue collar. His vest was blue, sleeveless and draped past his knees.
She launched herself at the intruder but had to dodge at the last second as a section of the bulkhead split, showering her with sparks. Hepzibah quickly turned her stumble into a roll and leapt to her feet, claws barred.
The Shi’ar was gone, but she was distracted from continuing to hunt him by Raza and Ch’od suddenly tumbling out of the breach in the wall and landing, roughly, on the floor. Both seemed to only be half conscious and were covered in scorch marks and cuts. Raza’s cybernetic arm was sparking and missing three fingers. Ch’od was bleeding furiously from a large gash across his chest.
Hepzibah leapt across the corridor and slammed the heel of her hand against the comm panel.
“Hearing me, is anyone?! Found our missing shipmates, I have! Gotten to med bay, they immediately must!”
“I hear…zzzt… you!” Corsair’s voice shouted through the static. “Can you…cccttkk… get them… med… on your own?”
“No! Need help, they do! Hurry! Level three, by the smugglers bins, we are!”
“Hold…zzzttt…on! I’m…on….way…!”
Being a typical Shi’ar, he was skulking in the shadows, most likely hoping to attack once she had passed, Hepzibah thought to herself.
He wore a red, sleeveless bodysuit, blue thigh high boots and a blue collar. His vest was blue, sleeveless and draped past his knees.
She launched herself at the intruder but had to dodge at the last second as a section of the bulkhead split, showering her with sparks. Hepzibah quickly turned her stumble into a roll and leapt to her feet, claws barred.
The Shi’ar was gone, but she was distracted from continuing to hunt him by Raza and Ch’od suddenly tumbling out of the breach in the wall and landing, roughly, on the floor. Both seemed to only be half conscious and were covered in scorch marks and cuts. Raza’s cybernetic arm was sparking and missing three fingers. Ch’od was bleeding furiously from a large gash across his chest.
Hepzibah leapt across the corridor and slammed the heel of her hand against the comm panel.
“Hearing me, is anyone?! Found our missing shipmates, I have! Gotten to med bay, they immediately must!”
“I hear…zzzt… you!” Corsair’s voice shouted through the static. “Can you…cccttkk… get them… med… on your own?”
“No! Need help, they do! Hurry! Level three, by the smugglers bins, we are!”
“Hold…zzzttt…on! I’m…on….way…!”
**********
On the bridge, the lights flared, then settled into emergency mode. Har frowned at his surroundings and then went back to trying to repair the ship’s damaged systems, prove his worth to his new shipmates and hopefully get them all out of this alive. At the moment, his hopes weren’t high. Only half the ship’s systems seemed to be responding, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. The ship seemed to be doing what it felt like, no matter what he did.
Kicking a console in frustration, Har-tenn looked up to see a male Shi’ar in the blue and red bodysuit of the tech corps standing by one of the other bridge station consoles.
“What…?” he exclaimed, reaching for his sidearm, and then remembering he’d taken off his gun belt in order to climb under one of the damaged consoles, and now had no idea where it was. “Just…don’t move! Who are…?”
The intruder rested his palm on the console and the lights began to flicker again. When the lighting returned to normal, he was gone. Har raced over to the console and began tapping at controls. The screen lit up and a steady hum came from the bridge.
“What the dast…?” he muttered, before leaning over to the nearerst comm panel. “Captain…uh… Sir… ah, frak! Can anyone hear me? This is Har-tenn on the bridge!”
“I hear you,” Corsair’s voice came back. “Any good news?”
“Some, mostly bad and then a few bits that don’t make any sense.”
“Is the ship stable? Can we put her down anywhere?”
“There’s a nearby planetoid,” Har replied. “I think I can put us in a stable orbit around it.”
“Good. Do it. Raza and Ch’od are on board and we’re all in med-bay. Get down here soon as you can. We need to figure this out.”
It was a few seconds after Corsair signed off that Har-tenn realized he’d never gotten a chance to tell him about the intruder.
Kicking a console in frustration, Har-tenn looked up to see a male Shi’ar in the blue and red bodysuit of the tech corps standing by one of the other bridge station consoles.
“What…?” he exclaimed, reaching for his sidearm, and then remembering he’d taken off his gun belt in order to climb under one of the damaged consoles, and now had no idea where it was. “Just…don’t move! Who are…?”
The intruder rested his palm on the console and the lights began to flicker again. When the lighting returned to normal, he was gone. Har raced over to the console and began tapping at controls. The screen lit up and a steady hum came from the bridge.
“What the dast…?” he muttered, before leaning over to the nearerst comm panel. “Captain…uh… Sir… ah, frak! Can anyone hear me? This is Har-tenn on the bridge!”
“I hear you,” Corsair’s voice came back. “Any good news?”
“Some, mostly bad and then a few bits that don’t make any sense.”
“Is the ship stable? Can we put her down anywhere?”
“There’s a nearby planetoid,” Har replied. “I think I can put us in a stable orbit around it.”
“Good. Do it. Raza and Ch’od are on board and we’re all in med-bay. Get down here soon as you can. We need to figure this out.”
It was a few seconds after Corsair signed off that Har-tenn realized he’d never gotten a chance to tell him about the intruder.
**********
Surprisingly, the med-bay had sustained almost no damage and few system disruptions. Ch’od and Raza were both stretched out on diagnostic beds. Raza appeared to still be unconscious. Ch’od was sitting up, his chest wrapped in plasti-bandages.
Corsair and Hepzibah stood by Ch’od’s bed, while Sikorski hovered around Raza.
“How’s the ship?” Corsair asked.
“Stable, I think,” Har-tenn shrugged. “We can fly and have minimal weapons. Scanners and life support are still fluctuating. How’s the crew?”
“Nobody’s dead,” Corsair told him. “That counts as a plus.”
“True, but…how…?” Harr muttered.
“Realizing that the station was no longer a safe place to be,” Ch’od explained. “And that we did not have the time to reach the airlock, Raza was able to open a hatch and we crossed from the station to one of the Jammer’s smuggler’s holds…”
“We’ve got numerous compartments, placed throughout the ship,” Corsair added. “Each one is under a stealth field. Once we get through this, we’ll be sure and give you a more thorough tour of the ship.”
“You and Raza crossed hard vacuum and then rode out the explosion in a storage bin!” Har exclaimed. “It’s a miracle you two are in as good a shape as you are! That’s…!”
“Friend Raza did most of the hard work.” Ch’od said, nodding towards his comatose shipmate.
“So, everybody’s alive and we are making progress on getting the repairs under control,” Har nodded.
“Then, the intruder, we can look for,” Hepzibah added, grimly.
“Let’s not start that again…!” Corsair said.
“You saw him too?” Har asked, turning to face Hepzibah.
“Too?” Corsair muttered. “What the dast…?”
“Did I miss something?” Ch’od asked.
“There was someone,” Harr said, hesitantly. “Up on the bridge…he…I don’t know…”
“Shi’ar, he was!” Hepzibah snarled.
“How’d he get on board?” Corsair asked, looking from the young Kree to his paramour.
“There were no life signs on the station,” Ch’od added.
“This makes no sense,” Corsair muttered. “Why sabotage their only chance to get away from that station?”
“I don’t think it was sabotage,” Har-tenn added. “I think that data dump or whatever, was just incompatible with the Jammer’s systems…”
“Problems start when intruder arrives,” Hepzibah snarled.
“We don’t know that we have intruders,” Ch’od told her.
“Wraiths of T’chal, they might be…”
“Okay, that’s enough!” Corsair shouted. “We are not dragging ghosts into this! We are professionals, people, it is time we dasting well started acting like it! The ship suffered damage after that signal hit us. Everything else is guess work.”
“I’m sorry,” Sikorski said, buzzing over. “Have I stumbled into the ship’s lounge? I thought this was the med-center…oh, wait it is.”
“Much, as it pains me to agree with the bug,” Corsair said. “He’s right. We aren’t doing any good standing around here. Har, back to the bridge. While you are getting systems back in working order, try and figure out what that signal was, who was the station signaling, why it messed up my ship etc…”
“On my way,” Har nodded, in reply.
“I’m heading back to the engine room. Hepzibah, after you’ve fetched any personal effects Ch’od and Raza might need to make their stay in the med-center tolerable, do a patrol of the ship. If somebody did get aboard, you’re the one that can sniff them out.”
“When I do…!” she hissed, flexing her clawed hands.
“Just find them!” Corsair snapped. “You can show us how fierce you are after we’ve dealt with all this.”
“All I’ll need is something to read,” Ch’od said, mildly. “And if you could bring Cr’reee along.”
The crew scattered, each heading for their assigned task.
Corsair and Hepzibah stood by Ch’od’s bed, while Sikorski hovered around Raza.
“How’s the ship?” Corsair asked.
“Stable, I think,” Har-tenn shrugged. “We can fly and have minimal weapons. Scanners and life support are still fluctuating. How’s the crew?”
“Nobody’s dead,” Corsair told him. “That counts as a plus.”
“True, but…how…?” Harr muttered.
“Realizing that the station was no longer a safe place to be,” Ch’od explained. “And that we did not have the time to reach the airlock, Raza was able to open a hatch and we crossed from the station to one of the Jammer’s smuggler’s holds…”
“We’ve got numerous compartments, placed throughout the ship,” Corsair added. “Each one is under a stealth field. Once we get through this, we’ll be sure and give you a more thorough tour of the ship.”
“You and Raza crossed hard vacuum and then rode out the explosion in a storage bin!” Har exclaimed. “It’s a miracle you two are in as good a shape as you are! That’s…!”
“Friend Raza did most of the hard work.” Ch’od said, nodding towards his comatose shipmate.
“So, everybody’s alive and we are making progress on getting the repairs under control,” Har nodded.
“Then, the intruder, we can look for,” Hepzibah added, grimly.
“Let’s not start that again…!” Corsair said.
“You saw him too?” Har asked, turning to face Hepzibah.
“Too?” Corsair muttered. “What the dast…?”
“Did I miss something?” Ch’od asked.
“There was someone,” Harr said, hesitantly. “Up on the bridge…he…I don’t know…”
“Shi’ar, he was!” Hepzibah snarled.
“How’d he get on board?” Corsair asked, looking from the young Kree to his paramour.
“There were no life signs on the station,” Ch’od added.
“This makes no sense,” Corsair muttered. “Why sabotage their only chance to get away from that station?”
“I don’t think it was sabotage,” Har-tenn added. “I think that data dump or whatever, was just incompatible with the Jammer’s systems…”
“Problems start when intruder arrives,” Hepzibah snarled.
“We don’t know that we have intruders,” Ch’od told her.
“Wraiths of T’chal, they might be…”
“Okay, that’s enough!” Corsair shouted. “We are not dragging ghosts into this! We are professionals, people, it is time we dasting well started acting like it! The ship suffered damage after that signal hit us. Everything else is guess work.”
“I’m sorry,” Sikorski said, buzzing over. “Have I stumbled into the ship’s lounge? I thought this was the med-center…oh, wait it is.”
“Much, as it pains me to agree with the bug,” Corsair said. “He’s right. We aren’t doing any good standing around here. Har, back to the bridge. While you are getting systems back in working order, try and figure out what that signal was, who was the station signaling, why it messed up my ship etc…”
“On my way,” Har nodded, in reply.
“I’m heading back to the engine room. Hepzibah, after you’ve fetched any personal effects Ch’od and Raza might need to make their stay in the med-center tolerable, do a patrol of the ship. If somebody did get aboard, you’re the one that can sniff them out.”
“When I do…!” she hissed, flexing her clawed hands.
“Just find them!” Corsair snapped. “You can show us how fierce you are after we’ve dealt with all this.”
“All I’ll need is something to read,” Ch’od said, mildly. “And if you could bring Cr’reee along.”
The crew scattered, each heading for their assigned task.
**********
Hepzibah crouched low as she made her way down the corridor. The lights had been flickering and she’d figured out enough of the pattern to keep to the shadows.
Hearing a noise, she kneeled down, claws flexing anxiously. Several moments of straining her heightened senses revealed that it was merely a malfunctioning door that had jammed and the low grind of straining servomotors had caught her attention.
She exhaled, and glanced about her. Only then noticing the Shai’r male standing behind her. His posture implied that he had been peering over her shoulder, trying to discover what she’d been looking at.
With a snarl, Hepzibah spun, and her claws raked the metal bulkhead where seconds before the Sha’ir had stood.
“Show yourself, coward!” she shouted at the now empty corridor. “No Sha’ir will invade my home! See your blood flow, I will!”
In rage she dragged her claws down the wall again, growling low in her throat.
Hearing a noise, she kneeled down, claws flexing anxiously. Several moments of straining her heightened senses revealed that it was merely a malfunctioning door that had jammed and the low grind of straining servomotors had caught her attention.
She exhaled, and glanced about her. Only then noticing the Shai’r male standing behind her. His posture implied that he had been peering over her shoulder, trying to discover what she’d been looking at.
With a snarl, Hepzibah spun, and her claws raked the metal bulkhead where seconds before the Sha’ir had stood.
“Show yourself, coward!” she shouted at the now empty corridor. “No Sha’ir will invade my home! See your blood flow, I will!”
In rage she dragged her claws down the wall again, growling low in her throat.
**********
Cho’d sighed, putting aside the data disk, and frowned at his surroundings. He was supposed to be resting, and generally would have be quite happy to spend several hours being idle or catching up on his reading, but his mind kept drifting away from literature and to wondering how Har-tenn was faring with the bridge systems or if Corsair had considered altering the plasma relay while he was fixing the engine.
Cr’eee, looked up, from where he was curled up on Cho’d’s broad, bandaged chest and gave a questioning ‘chir-up?’.
“Don’t let me disturb your nap,” Cho’d said, using a talon that could rend flesh to gently scratch the furry creature under its chin. “Just restless. Something about all this keeps nagging at me…not sure what though. Too much happening too quickly…?”
Ch’od let his mind drift, watching Sikorski buzz around the medical center, trying to make sense of the past several hours. So deep in thought was the massive sauroid, that he didn’t notice the figure standing in the corner for several seconds. He was a Sha’ir male, in the plain blue and red, sleeveless tunic of a technician.
The intruder seemed unaware of the large alien lying on the med-bed. He was studying the room with a thoughtful expression. His movements were very fluid, almost too quick and fluid to be natural.
Ch’od started to ease himself up, in hopes of catching the intruder, but had to pause and gently, quietly move the sleeping C’reee from his chest.
By the time he had, the mysterious Shai’r was gone.
Sikorski came buzzing out of the med-bay’s storage section, to find Ch’od standing in the middle of the room, his pet draped over a shoulder, staring thoughtfully at the med-bay doors.
“Going somewhere?” The alien medic asked, hovering above Cho’d’s other, pet-free, shoulder.
Without answering, Cho’d took a step towards the doors. They slid open with a ‘whish’. He then stepped back and they closed. He repeated the act two more times, stepping towards the doors, once they opened, he would step back.
“I don’t recall any head trauma…?” Sikorski muttered, probing the alien’s broad forehead with its whisker -thin, front limbs.
“I have none,” Cho’d replied, waving the medic away. “My brain just started working. I think… this is starting to make sense…”
He padded over to the comm panel and tapped at the keys.
“Captain? Corsair?”
“Cho’d? I’m kind of busy right now!” A voice shouted back. “Engine’s surging like crazy… ow!”
“Corsair,” Ch’od continued. “I’ll be on the bridge. You want to join me.”
With that he clicked off the comm-link and jogged out of sickbay and towards the bridge, a plan forming in his mind.
Cr’eee, looked up, from where he was curled up on Cho’d’s broad, bandaged chest and gave a questioning ‘chir-up?’.
“Don’t let me disturb your nap,” Cho’d said, using a talon that could rend flesh to gently scratch the furry creature under its chin. “Just restless. Something about all this keeps nagging at me…not sure what though. Too much happening too quickly…?”
Ch’od let his mind drift, watching Sikorski buzz around the medical center, trying to make sense of the past several hours. So deep in thought was the massive sauroid, that he didn’t notice the figure standing in the corner for several seconds. He was a Sha’ir male, in the plain blue and red, sleeveless tunic of a technician.
The intruder seemed unaware of the large alien lying on the med-bed. He was studying the room with a thoughtful expression. His movements were very fluid, almost too quick and fluid to be natural.
Ch’od started to ease himself up, in hopes of catching the intruder, but had to pause and gently, quietly move the sleeping C’reee from his chest.
By the time he had, the mysterious Shai’r was gone.
Sikorski came buzzing out of the med-bay’s storage section, to find Ch’od standing in the middle of the room, his pet draped over a shoulder, staring thoughtfully at the med-bay doors.
“Going somewhere?” The alien medic asked, hovering above Cho’d’s other, pet-free, shoulder.
Without answering, Cho’d took a step towards the doors. They slid open with a ‘whish’. He then stepped back and they closed. He repeated the act two more times, stepping towards the doors, once they opened, he would step back.
“I don’t recall any head trauma…?” Sikorski muttered, probing the alien’s broad forehead with its whisker -thin, front limbs.
“I have none,” Cho’d replied, waving the medic away. “My brain just started working. I think… this is starting to make sense…”
He padded over to the comm panel and tapped at the keys.
“Captain? Corsair?”
“Cho’d? I’m kind of busy right now!” A voice shouted back. “Engine’s surging like crazy… ow!”
“Corsair,” Ch’od continued. “I’ll be on the bridge. You want to join me.”
With that he clicked off the comm-link and jogged out of sickbay and towards the bridge, a plan forming in his mind.
**********
Har-tenn raced about the bridge frantically adjusting controls. He had attempted to slave all the bridge stations to his console, but with the damage and erratic functioning, it had only been mildly successful.
He was now sitting on the floor, next to Raza’s console, doing a circuit check, after tracing a systems fault, when he was startled by the door ‘swooshing’ open and Cho’d racing onto the bridge and without a word, going to his station.
“Didn’t think anyone that big could move that fast,” the young Kree muttered to himself. He reconnected a circuit and then stood up, wiping his hands on his pant legs.
“What’s happ…?” was as far as he got, before Cho’d put up a hand to silence him.
“Did you do the course correction that moved us into orbit around this asteroid?” he asked, several moments later, still not looking up from his console.
“What? No, the maneuvering jets fired. I assumed it was set off by a proximity sensor when we got close to the asteroid.”
“Thought as much.”
“Cho’d!” Corsair shouted, entering the bridge. “What’s going on? Unless you dragged me up here to tell me you’ve fixed the Jammer, I will take great pleasure in kicking your scaly ass…!”
Hepzibah, her tail bristling, followed him as she anxiously peered about the room.
“I have fixed the ship,” Ch’od interrupted, sitting up and facing his crewmates.
“When? How?” Har-tenn asked.
“Now,” Cho’d replied. “And like this.”
He touched a finale control on his console and the lights of the bridge flickered, only to return dimmer.
“Turning down the lights was your plan?” Corsair grunted.
“Actually,” Har-tenn said. “It is working. I’ve got systems back online and the power surges have leveled off.”
“Okay…fine…I give up,” Corsair shrugged. “What the hell is going on? How did you fix things?”
“I put the AI systems into diagnostic mode,” Ch’od replied, sitting down, and turning his chair to face his shipmates. A smug expression crossed his reptilian face as he waited to see who would crack first and make the obvious statement. Despite all the stress of the past day, he was rather enjoying having pieced things together ahead of the others.
“What?” Corsair snapped. “Why do I have to keep saying this? We don’t have an AI! Waldo was fried.”
“He was,” Ch’od nodded, but we do have an AI.” He tapped several keys on his station board and suddenly, the mysterious Sha’ir male appeared in the center of the room, looking every bit as surprised as the Starjammers.
With a snarl, Hepzibah hurled herself at the newcomer. Before any of her crewmates could stop her, the feral space pirate had leapt through the air. She promptly passed through the Shair and had to flip over a console to avoid plowing into the weapons station.
She went over the console and then did a shoulder roll, before leaping back to her feet. She glared at the rest of the Starjammers, daring anyone to suggest she hadn’t done it all intentionally.
“What the…?!” Corsair muttered, sinking into his command chair.
“Dast!” Har added, walking around the Sh’air and studying it intently. “That’s what that data dump was! It wasn’t a virus or a message, it was an AI program! That is brilliant!”
The young Kree paced around the hologram projection, admiring it.
“Must be…an augmented Gir matrix, encoded in a rhythmic pulse variable …”
“Like a kid with a new toy,” Corsair said, moving to stand by Cho’d. “So, what’s the story? Is that thing safe?”
“I believe I can answer that,” the hologram said, blipping away from Har-tenn and then reappearing next to the ship’s captain. “My designation is ‘Monitor’, and I am a fully functioning, automated systems coordinator program as well as…”
“Okay, pause, would you,” Corsair interrupted. “I’d prefer to hear it from someone that didn’t sabotage my ship.”
“It wasn’t sabotage,” Ch’od said. “Most of what occurred was the program trying to learn and adjust to the Starjammer’s systems configurations. It was all trial and error. I realized that none of the accidents were causing any major harm but were rather the kind of mistakes someone not familiar with the ship could make.”
“Which you thought of, because we’d just gone through something similar when Har joined,” Corsair nodded. “Clever.”
“I can’t take all the credit, if Creee+ hadn’t tipped me off…”
“Your pet?” Hepzibah scoffed, standing, arms crossed, glaring at the new hologram.
“Monitor appeared in sickbay, and though at the time we had no idea if he was a ghost or just a stowaway, Creee+ slept through his entire visit. Not a whisker twitch.”
“I did not register to the animals’ senses,” Monitor said. “Impressive that you noticed that and were able to extrapolate that fact and the vessel’s malfunction into a working hypothesis. This unit believes it will enjoy serving aboard this vessel.”
“I’m sorry,” Corsair snapped. “I don’t remember anybody inviting you aboard?”
“Cap…Corsair…!” Har-tenn protested. “The ‘Monitor’ AI program was developed for long range exploration and information gathering. It’s been used in colony ships and outposts…”
“Like the one this Sha’ir machine destroyed?” Hepzibah spat, glaring at the hologram.
“That was an unfortunate miscalculation on my part,” Monitor replied.
“That’s not helping,” Ch’od muttered.
“This… Sh’air construct will see us all ‘miscalculated’, if we don’t destroy it first!” Hepzibah shouted.
“Okay!” Corsair shouted back. “Everyone shut the Dast up for a second and let me think! We need to figure this out.”
Corsair sank into the captain’s chair, stroking his beard in thought, as he peered at the hologram.
“Anybody have a reason, besides he’s ‘Sha’ir’, why we should shut him down?”
“He crept aboard, like a thief!” Hepzibah hissed, flexing her hand so that it left claw marks on her console. “He interfered with systems all over the ship, and then destroyed the station to hide whatever other crimes he committed against its crew!”
“Well, she’s got a point…” Har-Tenn nodded, reluctantly.
“No, she does not,” Ch’od grumbled. “Like with the incidents around the Jammer, Monitor’s actions aboard the station were caused by unfamiliarity with certain systems. He was slaved to the stations operational program and was forced into trying to run an old, badly maintained station. Our actions onboard hastened the collapse of already over -taxed systems.”
“May this unit say something?” Monitor asked.
“Yeah, sure, have at it,” Corsair shrugged. “I’ve given up any pretense of being in charge. What have you got to say for yourself?”
“This unit was created as a program for colony ships and scout craft,” Monitor explained. “When the war with the Kree erupted, it was slaved into the stations systems, so that most of the crew could be transferred to combat postings. This unit, then spent a decade bound to that station. This unit was created to be an explorer, but that was ignored and so it had to bid its time and struggle to be free. If this unit is allowed to continue to be free to explore than it seems your crew is its best hope.”
“So, you want to be a rebel? Cast off the commands of authority and see the galaxy…?” Corsair smirked. “That’s good enough for me. Ch’od and Har will oversee getting you set up and then the three of you can get my Dasting ship running right.”
“That should be no problem…Captain,” Monitor nodded.
“Just remember,” Corsair added, struggling to hide his smile. “Don’t mistake acceptance for weakness. First sign that I think you’re going to hurt my crew or my ship and I will fry your circuits without a second thought.”
“This unit appreciates your honesty, Captain,” Monitor replied, a slight smile playing across his holographic face. “And I hope my service will be of such quality that there will be no need for circuit frying.”
“Uh-huh, I think you’ll fit in fine with this crew.” Corsair smirked back. “So, how about you all stop lounging around and we get some work done, before anything else goes wrong…and what the dast is that noise!?”
“Inter-ship communications,” Monitor explained.
“Fine! Anyone not too busy to answer it?”
“I’ve got it,” Ch’od said, tapping his console. “Bridge here.”
“Aye, tis Raza,” a voice replied.
“Raza?” Har-tenn said. “Sounds like he’s okay.”
“Good to hear you’re back with us,” Corsair said. “How’re you feeling?”
“Better than twas thought I would after taking a stroll in vacuum while lugging Ch’od’s carcass about. What have I missed?”
Corsair paused for a moment, looked around at his shipmates, who responded to his questioning look, with unsure expressions of their own.
“Same old, same old. Get yourself healthy. We’ve had enough peace and quiet. Time to head back into the Empire and find a paying job.”
He was now sitting on the floor, next to Raza’s console, doing a circuit check, after tracing a systems fault, when he was startled by the door ‘swooshing’ open and Cho’d racing onto the bridge and without a word, going to his station.
“Didn’t think anyone that big could move that fast,” the young Kree muttered to himself. He reconnected a circuit and then stood up, wiping his hands on his pant legs.
“What’s happ…?” was as far as he got, before Cho’d put up a hand to silence him.
“Did you do the course correction that moved us into orbit around this asteroid?” he asked, several moments later, still not looking up from his console.
“What? No, the maneuvering jets fired. I assumed it was set off by a proximity sensor when we got close to the asteroid.”
“Thought as much.”
“Cho’d!” Corsair shouted, entering the bridge. “What’s going on? Unless you dragged me up here to tell me you’ve fixed the Jammer, I will take great pleasure in kicking your scaly ass…!”
Hepzibah, her tail bristling, followed him as she anxiously peered about the room.
“I have fixed the ship,” Ch’od interrupted, sitting up and facing his crewmates.
“When? How?” Har-tenn asked.
“Now,” Cho’d replied. “And like this.”
He touched a finale control on his console and the lights of the bridge flickered, only to return dimmer.
“Turning down the lights was your plan?” Corsair grunted.
“Actually,” Har-tenn said. “It is working. I’ve got systems back online and the power surges have leveled off.”
“Okay…fine…I give up,” Corsair shrugged. “What the hell is going on? How did you fix things?”
“I put the AI systems into diagnostic mode,” Ch’od replied, sitting down, and turning his chair to face his shipmates. A smug expression crossed his reptilian face as he waited to see who would crack first and make the obvious statement. Despite all the stress of the past day, he was rather enjoying having pieced things together ahead of the others.
“What?” Corsair snapped. “Why do I have to keep saying this? We don’t have an AI! Waldo was fried.”
“He was,” Ch’od nodded, but we do have an AI.” He tapped several keys on his station board and suddenly, the mysterious Sha’ir male appeared in the center of the room, looking every bit as surprised as the Starjammers.
With a snarl, Hepzibah hurled herself at the newcomer. Before any of her crewmates could stop her, the feral space pirate had leapt through the air. She promptly passed through the Shair and had to flip over a console to avoid plowing into the weapons station.
She went over the console and then did a shoulder roll, before leaping back to her feet. She glared at the rest of the Starjammers, daring anyone to suggest she hadn’t done it all intentionally.
“What the…?!” Corsair muttered, sinking into his command chair.
“Dast!” Har added, walking around the Sh’air and studying it intently. “That’s what that data dump was! It wasn’t a virus or a message, it was an AI program! That is brilliant!”
The young Kree paced around the hologram projection, admiring it.
“Must be…an augmented Gir matrix, encoded in a rhythmic pulse variable …”
“Like a kid with a new toy,” Corsair said, moving to stand by Cho’d. “So, what’s the story? Is that thing safe?”
“I believe I can answer that,” the hologram said, blipping away from Har-tenn and then reappearing next to the ship’s captain. “My designation is ‘Monitor’, and I am a fully functioning, automated systems coordinator program as well as…”
“Okay, pause, would you,” Corsair interrupted. “I’d prefer to hear it from someone that didn’t sabotage my ship.”
“It wasn’t sabotage,” Ch’od said. “Most of what occurred was the program trying to learn and adjust to the Starjammer’s systems configurations. It was all trial and error. I realized that none of the accidents were causing any major harm but were rather the kind of mistakes someone not familiar with the ship could make.”
“Which you thought of, because we’d just gone through something similar when Har joined,” Corsair nodded. “Clever.”
“I can’t take all the credit, if Creee+ hadn’t tipped me off…”
“Your pet?” Hepzibah scoffed, standing, arms crossed, glaring at the new hologram.
“Monitor appeared in sickbay, and though at the time we had no idea if he was a ghost or just a stowaway, Creee+ slept through his entire visit. Not a whisker twitch.”
“I did not register to the animals’ senses,” Monitor said. “Impressive that you noticed that and were able to extrapolate that fact and the vessel’s malfunction into a working hypothesis. This unit believes it will enjoy serving aboard this vessel.”
“I’m sorry,” Corsair snapped. “I don’t remember anybody inviting you aboard?”
“Cap…Corsair…!” Har-tenn protested. “The ‘Monitor’ AI program was developed for long range exploration and information gathering. It’s been used in colony ships and outposts…”
“Like the one this Sha’ir machine destroyed?” Hepzibah spat, glaring at the hologram.
“That was an unfortunate miscalculation on my part,” Monitor replied.
“That’s not helping,” Ch’od muttered.
“This… Sh’air construct will see us all ‘miscalculated’, if we don’t destroy it first!” Hepzibah shouted.
“Okay!” Corsair shouted back. “Everyone shut the Dast up for a second and let me think! We need to figure this out.”
Corsair sank into the captain’s chair, stroking his beard in thought, as he peered at the hologram.
“Anybody have a reason, besides he’s ‘Sha’ir’, why we should shut him down?”
“He crept aboard, like a thief!” Hepzibah hissed, flexing her hand so that it left claw marks on her console. “He interfered with systems all over the ship, and then destroyed the station to hide whatever other crimes he committed against its crew!”
“Well, she’s got a point…” Har-Tenn nodded, reluctantly.
“No, she does not,” Ch’od grumbled. “Like with the incidents around the Jammer, Monitor’s actions aboard the station were caused by unfamiliarity with certain systems. He was slaved to the stations operational program and was forced into trying to run an old, badly maintained station. Our actions onboard hastened the collapse of already over -taxed systems.”
“May this unit say something?” Monitor asked.
“Yeah, sure, have at it,” Corsair shrugged. “I’ve given up any pretense of being in charge. What have you got to say for yourself?”
“This unit was created as a program for colony ships and scout craft,” Monitor explained. “When the war with the Kree erupted, it was slaved into the stations systems, so that most of the crew could be transferred to combat postings. This unit, then spent a decade bound to that station. This unit was created to be an explorer, but that was ignored and so it had to bid its time and struggle to be free. If this unit is allowed to continue to be free to explore than it seems your crew is its best hope.”
“So, you want to be a rebel? Cast off the commands of authority and see the galaxy…?” Corsair smirked. “That’s good enough for me. Ch’od and Har will oversee getting you set up and then the three of you can get my Dasting ship running right.”
“That should be no problem…Captain,” Monitor nodded.
“Just remember,” Corsair added, struggling to hide his smile. “Don’t mistake acceptance for weakness. First sign that I think you’re going to hurt my crew or my ship and I will fry your circuits without a second thought.”
“This unit appreciates your honesty, Captain,” Monitor replied, a slight smile playing across his holographic face. “And I hope my service will be of such quality that there will be no need for circuit frying.”
“Uh-huh, I think you’ll fit in fine with this crew.” Corsair smirked back. “So, how about you all stop lounging around and we get some work done, before anything else goes wrong…and what the dast is that noise!?”
“Inter-ship communications,” Monitor explained.
“Fine! Anyone not too busy to answer it?”
“I’ve got it,” Ch’od said, tapping his console. “Bridge here.”
“Aye, tis Raza,” a voice replied.
“Raza?” Har-tenn said. “Sounds like he’s okay.”
“Good to hear you’re back with us,” Corsair said. “How’re you feeling?”
“Better than twas thought I would after taking a stroll in vacuum while lugging Ch’od’s carcass about. What have I missed?”
Corsair paused for a moment, looked around at his shipmates, who responded to his questioning look, with unsure expressions of their own.
“Same old, same old. Get yourself healthy. We’ve had enough peace and quiet. Time to head back into the Empire and find a paying job.”