Rebirth

By Philip R Benge

Two Aldebran spies steal the latest technology from Earth and leave a trail of bodies behind them as they escape. Two government agents are on their trail but are almost killed just as they get close. Tyler Burrows is called in to try and retrieve the technology and find those responsible for the murders that accompanied the theft. If that isn`t hard enough he must also face up to space pirates, a homicidal computer and a mad planetary leader.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip R Benge
• Release date: Dec 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301435555

Philip R Benge

Like most of the world, I had to work hard to pay my mortgage and all the other bills, which meant that I only had the time and the energy to write some short stories. I finally found the time and the energy to write some full length Science Fiction stories.

Book preview

Rebirth

A Story By

Philip R Benge

Smashwords Edition

***************

Published by

Philip R Benge on Smashwords

Rebirth

Copyright Philip R Benge 2012

Cover Art Copyright Philip R Benge 2012

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Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author`s imagination and used fictitiously.

Rebirth

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One: It All Begins Again

Chapter Two: The Starship Constellation

Chapter Three: The Investigation Moves ON

Chapter Four: Paul Divine and Charles Bragg have a Bad Day

Chapter Five: The Planet Orion

Chapter Six: On the Starship Constellation

Chapter Seven: Re-enactment

Chapter Eight: Genesis

Chapter Nine: The Original Owner of Genesis

Chapter Ten: The Ruined City

Chapter Eleven: The Starship Freedom

Chapter Twelve: On the far off Planet of Aldebra

Other Books by the Author

Prologue

It is the year 2497, and as in any other time it is a lucky man or woman who finally comes to realise that there is more than one route to travel along to reach your destination, to think otherwise is not only foolish it is also illogical. Tyler Burrows is one man who is slowly coming to realise that there is more to the universe than science can provide an answer for at this moment in time. Unfortunately, for him, he is getting a lot of help from what his friends call fate, to bring him around to this point of view.

Recently a mystic had told him that he was soon to journey to many new distant worlds, where he would find new friends, but also that many dangers would be awaiting him, but he was not to worry, for the gods would accompany him on his journey!

Chapter One

It All Begins Again

Late in the evening of the January 10th 2497

President Michaels was sixty-three years old but he looked older, as he had done for some while now, for the stress of the job was affecting him, as it had with all of the previous Presidents of Earth and all of its colonies. His once dark bushy hair was now sparse and grey, his face full of stress lines. Even so, he still attempted to keep his ramrod stance, that emphasized his six feet tall figure, and his seemingly electric blue eyes still had the power to dominate all those around him.

He had just put the phone down, Ivor Johansson had called him to ask whether he could spare the time to come over to the laboratory tomorrow morning, and if possible, to bring Sir Charles Fulbright with him, as he wanted to put on a demonstration that he was sure would delight them both. When Michaels had asked right out if the Matter Transporter was now a working machine, Johansson had refused to say, what he had said was that all would be revealed tomorrow morning; tonight, they had some final checks to run to ensure that all would be ready for them in the morning. Michaels had wanted to damn and blast the man, and at one time, he would have done, but following a chastening experience three years ago on the far-off planet of Orion, he had learned now to constrain himself. If the science team wanted to show off their box of tricks tomorrow then so be it, tomorrow it was.

**********

At the Chichester Laboratories, Ivor Johansson, Barry Rogers and Peter Swanscombe had just run the final test and they were now celebrating the success of that test with a glass of champagne, also celebrating this success were their three assistants. For a moment in time, the six people inside the laboratory were happy, for tomorrow would herald a great and joyous day in all of their lives.

Walking towards the laboratory were Johor Rigor and his wife Mariah. Rigor was a professional killer and thief working as an agent for the planet of Aldebra, he looked too short for his chosen occupation, being only five feet six inches tall, his brown hair was rather long for today`s fashion and he was clean shaven, apart from his hair he would normally go unnoticed in the world. Mariah was about the same height as her husband, with mousey hair that came down to her shoulders, she had a slim figure that was hidden at the moment by her winter coat. If she took a little time over her appearance, she would be quite attractive, but then as her chosen profession was that of an assassin, she did not want to bring undue attention to herself. They had returned to Earth just two days ago, having been resting on the planet of their birth Aldebra, they were back here on Earth to carry out this one mission. The two killers pushed open the doors to the laboratory and entered, much to the surprise of the scientists inside. The first thing the scientists noticed about them was that each of their two uninvited guests had a powerful energy pistol in their right hand. It was Mariah who fired first; her pistol was pointed directly at Johansson, who had so recently been speaking with President Michaels. The bolt of energy whistled through the air for just a moment, before striking Johansson just above his heart, and killing the tall Swedish American scientist instantly before he could even react to their presence. Next to Mariah, her husband had chosen one of the assistants as his target, his pistol too sent a short bolt of energy whistling across the space that separated him from his victim, a young man not long out of university, James Royston, and moments later, he too lay dead upon the floor. Within a few seconds the remaining four men also lay dead upon the hard ground, Rogers and Swanscombe just inches away from their attackers who had not moved an inch even when it seemed possible that two of their intended victims might reach them.

Wallace, will you please come in here.

Wallace was their informant, when he came into the room, he was nearly sick, he saw his erstwhile colleagues lying dead upon the floor, large energy burns disfiguring their bodies. However, he knew they would be dead even before he had entered the room, for he had heard the many high-pitched whistling sounds known by anyone who had ever witnessed a plasma weapon being used.

Why did you have to kill them, you could have just locked them away in a store room while you took what you wanted? Wallace raved. Now they will be searching for us for murder as well as for espionage. Wallace had signed up for robbery, but not for murder.

We were thinking of you Wallace, they may have seen or heard you, and then you would have been captured and probably led the police straight to us. Now pull yourself together and download all of the data from the computer banks into this recording device, and stop complaining, you are being paid enough to cover anything and everything. Johor Rigor ordered, thrusting a portable hard drive into Wallace`s hand.

Wallace connected the remote-control device to the computer that would enable the portable hard drive to receive the data stream from the computer, and then he began to download all the data appertaining to the Matter Transporter into it, including the programming that operated it, the schematics of all the working components, and how to make and operate them. The Aldebrans would now be able to construct their own Matter Transporter within two or three years, assuming that they had the scientists to carry out the exacting work, and the engineering expertise of course.

All right Wallace, while that is downloading, take out the heart of the unit, which our people will need if they are to build their own Matter Transporter. Johor Rigor ordered the technician.

Wallace obeyed immediately, as fear for his own life began to grow in his miserable mind. He knelt down and began to take off the panels of the Matter Transporter`s main console that concealed the heart and brain of the unit. Within minutes, he had taken off the panels that protected the fragile workings of the machine, and disconnected the main unit that was what the scientists had called the heart of their unit; the brain being the computer program, this Wallace had now successfully downloaded. While he had been hard at work, Mariah Rigor had set up incendiary devices all around the room, all timed to explode in ten minutes.

Right my love; let`s get away before the timer on our light display reaches zero hour. Mariah said to her husband.

Mariah put the hard drive in a bag that she then slung over her shoulder, her husband picked up the heart of the Matter Transporter, which glowed and pulsated in his hands. The unit was warm to his touch and vibrating sending a warm thrill through his body, it would not need an additional power supply for a long time as it was no longer a part of the Matter Transporter, but it still seemed to be alive to Johor.

I might buy myself one of these things. Johor said laughing as he put the unit into the small crate that they had brought with them. Johor and Mariah then made to leave the Laboratory before the incendiary devices exploded, but Percival Wallace was standing in the hallway preventing them from doing so.

Hey! What about paying me what you owe me? Wallace demanded belligerently. Oh, and I have some information that you will be wanting, something that will cost you a further one thousand credits. Wallace said knowingly, his recent fears now stifled by his greed.

An extra one thousand credits Percival, that is a lot of credits, so why don`t you tell me what you have and then we will discuss just how much extra you will be paid. Johor said smoothly, but the look in Mariah`s eyes almost froze Wallace`s blood, and so while Wallace would have preferred to bargain first and tell later, he now told them what he had found out earlier in the day.

I heard the scientists here discussing the Sentry Security System this morning, and it seems that the manufacturers have now made a new version, and its job is to detect Crystillium. Either you get that piece of technology in that crate off the planet within the next twenty-three hours, or you will not get it off at all. The reason why you must hurry is that this new Sentry System is being deployed at midnight, which is in less than twenty-four hours` time. It will be set to detect the passage of items going through one of the spaceports that incorporate amongst other things, Crystillium, and that piece in your hands is almost total Crystillium. They are going to put one in the centre of each of Earth`s space ports and it will detect Crystillium up to ten miles away, so you see, unless you get that thing in that crate off of the planet today, you may never get it off. Wallace`s face said that he knew that that piece of information was worth what he had demanded from them.

Mariah Rigor, who had been studiously ignoring Wallace, was in fact stunned by his new information, but only for a moment as she then turned about and looked directly at Wallace.

Thank you, Percival, you are quite correct about the value to us of your piece of information, and I intend to pay you all that we owe to you in full, here you are. Mariah brought out a specially adapted plasma weapon that she had named Pain. She first shot Wallace in the left leg making him collapse to the floor with his now useless leg a mass of pain, the small delicate looking weapon giving out a soft hum as it worked. Mariah smiled down at him as she moved her weapon across to target his right leg, this was followed by each of his arms, and while Mariah smiled sweetly at him, Wallace was screaming in agony, begging her to stop.

Mariah, we don`t have time for this, finish him off. Johor said rather annoyed at this waste of their time.

Mariah looked a trifle miffed at having to stop playing so soon, but she obeyed her husband this once, and shot Wallace in the head killing him instantly.

There you are, Percival, paid in full. Her smile even more sweet than before, as she looked down at his limp body.

They were one mile away from the Laboratory when the bombs went off. The explosions lit up the sky, rattled the windows of the nearby buildings, and destroyed the laboratory complex.

**********

The ringing of his phone cut through President Michaels` sleep, damn, ‘who could be ringing at this hour’, Michaels looked sleepily towards his alarm clock, ‘god it is only three in the morning, it had better be urgent or else’, Michaels said aloud.

President Michaels here, who is it? He demanded to know, not bothering to hide his anger at being awakened at such an ungodly hour.

Special Agent Formby here sir, I am sorry to disturb you at this hour but I knew that you would want to know. Formby said, a smile played across his lips as he noted but dismissed the president`s anger.

Know what Formby; surely whatever it was could have waited until later? Michaels demanded.

The Laboratory sir, it has been destroyed. Formby said grimly.

What Laboratory… You don`t mean the Chichester Laboratories, do you? Michaels asked fearfully.

Yes, that’s right sir, completely destroyed, and we have found six bodies amongst the ruins, all of them dead.

Send a car over for me Formby; I will be ready by the time it gets here.

With that, President Michaels put down the phone and got out of bed. What had Johansson said when he had rung, they had to do some final tests during the night and then all would be revealed, could these final tests have been the reason for whatever destroyed the laboratory, could something have gone dreadfully wrong and caused the accident, if it was an accident, a multitude of scenarios went through Michaels’ brain. Damn this, any of the many scenarios could be possible! He would just have to wait until he got there.

Special Agent Formby was a well-built man, fifty years old, he still had all his hair although it was greying at the temples, and he was always dressed smartly. He also had a well-earned reputation for winning cases in this trying century. His expertise had even come to the attention of the President of Earth, three years ago, when he had been the liaison officer between the various intelligence agencies of Earth and the President of Earth. Now he headed a special task force that looked into the most important cases, he had also carried out many missions at the request of President Michaels in this time, and so he was one of the few men who had access to him.

Formby walked across to the President`s car as it pulled up at the smoking laboratory buildings for the fire brigade had managed to put the fire out quite quickly.

It was murder sir, whoever it was didn`t know about the camera that the Chichester Laboratories had installed only the morning before, at my request, it was meant to increase security in the laboratory. Formby said realising the irony of his words.

Security, what security, look around you man. Michaels screamed. The place is totally destroyed and the best scientists on this side of the Atlantic are dead, where is all this security? Michaels demanded, his anger threatening his newly found constraints.

Special Agent Formby`s normally pale face went even paler as he replied to the loud complaints of President Michaels.

Dead as well sir, poisoned we think, but their post mortems, if they are permitted, will tell us for sure. It seems that the security people had heard somehow about the research, that it was coming to a satisfactory conclusion, so they had a little celebration all of their own, even invited a young woman, she is shown going into the complex at 12.06 this morning. A man was seen entering five minutes later carrying a crate, and they are seen leaving together twenty minutes after that carrying the same crate, the coroner puts the death of the scientists at about that time as well. The explosion in the laboratory came at 12.36; the new camera shows it all; our lads are running the film now to see if it can give us any leads.

It all begins again, why oh why do all these things have to happen to me, why Formby? President Michaels groaned, without giving Formby a chance to answer his question Michaels carried on talking.

Okay, Formby, will you please send me over a full report in the morning, and please keep me updated with all the latest news regarding the investigation.

Michaels turned and left with his head bowed. Formby looked after President Michaels and thought to himself, ‘it happens to you because from what I heard you deserve it, Mate.’

**********

The Rigors contacted the senior agent on Earth, who had arrived back from Mars two weeks before, where he had been busy setting up another spy ring. Tirana was in command of all the intelligence operations within the Sol system of planets. The Rigors quickly informed him of everything that the poor unfortunate Wallace had told them. Tirana on hearing of the new security system instructed the Rigors to come to his apartment at eight o`clock that morning, when he would have a plan to put before them that would ensure the safety of both them and of their mission.

**********

Midday saw President Michaels looking the worse for wear after his interrupted night, but he was still patiently going through the many files that always littered his desk. He was interrupted when his personal assistant and adviser knocked on the door and then entered.

This has just come in from the Federal Investigation Security Department, a… Special Agent Formby it says here sent it over marked personal and urgent, for you sir.

Thank you, Jevons, give it to me, it is about the explosion last night at the Chichester Laboratories.

Michaels scanned through the report. Yes, Formby wrote, the security detail had all been poisoned, by a new poison not yet positively identified, but similar to ones known to forensics. They target the heart and shut it down. The three scientists and the three laboratory assistants had all been killed in the laboratory by an energy weapon; they did not stand a chance. Our men are still checking as to why the detectors did not sound the alarm when the killers entered carrying their energy weapons, but they think that it might be that they were carried inside the crate, and that it had some sort of shielding that hid them from the detectors. They also found the body of one of the technicians, outside in the hallway; he must have been enjoying a spot of overtime, he had been killed too. His murderer used a number of energy bolts to kill him, which seemed strange as professionals rarely went in for such sadistic ways of killing, especially when on a job.

The two figures shown on the new security camera are too well hidden for positive identification, but one of them was a woman and the other a man. There was something weird about them though, the camera which also operates as a sensor picked up traces of Spartan B, which it seems, is well known to our forensic boys, and which they inform me is only to be found around starship engine room’s, there and on people or objects that have been in one recently.

The forensic team is still investigating the ruins of the laboratory to see if any further leads are forthcoming. Oh, and the criminals wanted everything within the laboratory destroyed, our boffins say that otherwise they would not have used so much explosive, unfortunately they do not know who made the explosive yet.

One more piece of information that I have only just received from forensics, they think that all the data banks of the computers were downloaded prior to the explosion. They also cannot find any trace of a gadget that they think might have been referred to as the Heart of the Matter Transporter, not even a piece of its twisted wreckage, which they say is impossible, unless it also was stolen prior to the explosion.

Michaels reread these last few lines again and then exploded himself.

Jevons, will you please come in here immediately.

A startled Jevons rushed back into the room.

Read that last paragraph. Michaels thrust the report into Jevons` hands who quickly read the part indicated.

My God, someone has stolen the Matter Transporter. Jevons gasped.

Yes, Jevons, clear all of my appointments for the rest of the day, we are going to be busy.

I will do it immediately, Sir. Jevons said and hurried from the room to do just that. Five minutes later, he knocked on the door of President Michaels` office and entered.

Right, sir, I have cleared all your appointments until five thirty, which is with Admiral Fletcher of the Space Fleet, and seeing how things are, you might need to see him about this matter. Jevons said.

Yes of course, now read what I have written down so far Jevons. President Michaels stress levels were reaching critical, and so he decided to bring them down a shade by taking some of it out on Jevons.

Oh! Do sit down Jevons. Michaels ordered impatiently and indicated that Jevons should sit opposite him and then gave him his note pad.

Jevons read what President Michaels had written so far. The top line on the note pad read, ‘Who could have committed this particular crime,’ and under this, Michaels had written the following list.

1. Could it be someone on Earth? No, for anyone coming up with a Matter Transporter would immediately identify himself as a party to the crime.

2. Tyler Burrows on Orion up to his old tricks again. No, I have personally called Brian Goddard, as have some other people that Tyler Burrows trusts, Johansson and Rogers, who have assured him that the Matter Transporter was just that, it was designed to help starships and space stations. It could not cross force fields or go back in time, only a time machine could do this. Anyway, far too many innocent people were killed for Burrows to have been involved, he is Mr Squeaky Clean, and in any case, the dead scientists had been his friends.

3. It could be some weird terrorist mob with some strange agenda. If so, then Special Agent Formby could be left to look into that.

4. Could it be an alien spy? I will have to contact Tom Parkinson at the Interstellar Investigations Bureau and ask him if he has any suitable candidates.

The last of the items on the list and numbered 5 was a question. Who would know that the Matter Transporter was completed, and who would know what to steal? The six dead scientists were obviously the main suspects here, and whichever of them did do it, they had paid for this act of treason with their life. This once again could be left to Special Agent Formby.

Have you read it yet Jevons? Michaels asked for he was impatient to move on.

Yes, sir, and I concur with everything that you have written down.

Good, then while you phone Formby and ask him to look into any of the local weirdoes and of course the people at the laboratory, I will call Tom Parkinson and arrange to see him in my office. Michaels said briskly.

Jevons went back into his office, he was soon speaking with Formby, and brought him up to date with the President`s thinking. Formby was quiet for a moment before he replied.

"Well, Mr Jevons, I have reached similar conclusions myself, and I have already got twenty of our agents looking into the matter, hopefully I will be able to bring you up to date later today. While my agents are busy on their appointed tasks, I am personally following up a different lead. The technician who also died, a Mr Percival Wallace, he should have been at home when it all went down, for he finished around eight that evening. We heard Johansson saying on the security tapes that he would see him in the morning for the grand unveiling, why was he not at home? Unfortunately, those particular security tapes were turned off at about the same time that the security guards died. I believe that he could have been the source of the information leak. He certainly knew enough about the Matter Transporter to tell the murderers just what to steal, and what they needed to download. I think he is worth a closer look at. I have put another team to look into the lives of the three scientists, and the three auxiliaries who died along with them, checking their homes, their bank accounts and of course their friends and neighbours. They are also trying to trace that girl, to see if they can find