Lost Battleships of Karra

By Patrick Briggs

In an alien universe, when archaeologist Dr. Kalansi Halan and her team are ordered by the government to find two lost battleships, they assume it’s just another mission. They couldn’t be more wrong. The team finds themselves in the midst of a political war and must fight for their lives as they encounter terrorists, mercenaries and an unimaginable evil. Things become worse for Kalansi when she is drawn to a mysterious amulet that exerts its influence over her.
Deception, kidnapping, and betrayal turn their mission into a deadly quest. A terrible truth will be discovered, in this first book of the Trunas trilogy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patrick Briggs
• Release date: Feb 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370655724

Patrick Briggs

Patrick F. Briggs grew up in Iowa and currently resides in North Carolina with his wife and family. A fan of science fiction books and movies, Patrick has spent the last few years working on a science fiction novel trilogy, which are inspired by a role playing game that he will be publishing in the near future. Patrick is also currently completing a movie script based on the first book of the Rise of the Kentriac Trilogy, titled Lost Battleships of Karra.

Book preview

LOST

BATTLESHIPS

OF KARRA

by

Patrick F. Briggs

Lost Battleships of Karra

Copyright 2016

Patrick F. Briggs

Book 1 of the RISE OF THE KENTRIAC trilogy

Distributed by Smashwords

Edited by Renee' Briggs

Cover and inside image by Steven J. Catizone

Original Copyright 2006 Patrick F. Briggs All Rights Reserved

Original Title: Search For The Fallen ISBN:1-4249-0913-2

Revision Copyright 2016 Patrick F. Briggs All Rights Reserved

Revised Title: Lost Battleships Of Karra

This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

For walking on the ceiling with me.

Shared cleverness of using furniture to avoid

the carpet lava, or the sharks if that’s the game.

Picking up objects which seem small

when viewed from afar.

Being there when things seem overwhelming.

Finishing sentences spoken out loud.

Offering positive criticism.

Being a wonderful best friend, wife,

and my everything.

Thank you, my beloved Renee’

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

PROLOGUE

The Selenac War lasted for over four years and ended in 2005. The Selenac were a gravity-manipulative alien race who had ultra-dense bodies. Their objective was to take over the Trunas Universe and to do that they would need to destroy the Alliance. Five powerful galactic races made up the Alliance: Karrans, Litnuns, Triniuns, Strakoreans, and Scalans. Each race held its own sovereign area of space, and all had come together to form a unified alliance. The Selenac mission was to install a gravity manipulation device on the planet Karra, which would allow the remaining septillions of Selenac to come through a black hole and inhabit the universe. The Selenac military successfully arrived through the black hole into the Strakorean Empire and battled their way through the Alliance, wreaking havoc.

Once the gravity manipulator was activated on Karra, the bulk of the Selenac race began to pour into the Trunas Universe and it became clear to the Alliance that they were doomed. As a final desperate act to defeat the Selenac, the Alliance Admiral Council voted on a decision to use two battleships to destroy the gravity manipulator. The council contacted their head scientist, Doctor Xubon Bronius, along with the captains of the Seunon and the Zaeruil. A battle strategy was constructed, as well as modifications that would need to be done to the ships.

The Alliance war fleet lost thousands of ships in the attempt to breach the heavily entrenched Selenac position on the planet Karra. Once the path was clear the crew members of both the Seunon and the Zaeruil ejected. The ships, set on auto-pilot, then ripped through the atmosphere like fiery messengers of doom and hovered just above the Selenac encampment. With equal timed precision the ships then automatically activated their modified tachyon accelerators and pumped the anti-gravity wave out, amplifying the wave with the sum total of all the power stored and produced by their engines. The identical pulses collided on either side of the Selenac gravity manipulator, overloaded its power core, and blew it up. As the anti-gravity wave blossomed outward and followed the Selenac beam back to the black hole, it destroyed all of the Selenac and their ships. The dimensional rift closed, and the Seunon and the Zaeruil both vanished. Though the Selenac were defeated, the Alliance had suffered terribly. It had been a very deadly and costly war, and a few planets had exploded when their gravity wells became compromised.

The aftermath left the universe in turmoil and the planet Karra was affected greatly, as a pink-colored tachyon energy barrier mysteriously appeared. The barrier surrounded the entire planet and anything energized would explode if it tried to pass through it, including life forms. Travel to and from the planet Karra was now impossible.

CHAPTER 1

The sun shimmered across the tachyon energy barrier that encased the planet Karra, a massive blue and green world. The barrier resulted from two battleships, the Seunon and the Zaeruil, detonating their tachyon accelerator drives. The maneuver had ended the war with the Selenac but not without consequences, such as the lethal barrier overhead.

Beyond the barrier, the twin moons of Karra rotated one hundred eighty degrees out of phase, both packed with cities and spaceports. Amidst the bustle of interstellar transports, a single freighter approached the pink barrier and opened its cargo bay doors. Suddenly a peculiarly-modified vessel flew up to the barrier and attempted to pass through. Its nose crackled against the barrier as a vortex started forming on it. Instantly a fire blast winked from the faraway sun’s surface and emerged as a flare on the misshapen ship, obliterating it and sending the detonation down into the atmosphere. The freighter waited momentarily for this to pass and then began to drop its cargo, which went through easily and deployed chutes on the way down. Another ship, with a large elevator assembly mounted on top, flew up from the planet’s surface and slowly started sending crates into space. Each crate rose up the elevator, which breached the gap of the barrier without harm. The freighter on the other side of the barrier then used a tractor beam to pull the crates into its cargo hold.

A grizzled looking captain and navigator had just witnessed the unidentified vessel’s destruction and glanced at the now fading fireball. It was nothing new; just another act of desperation to escape the planet.

"It’s been years and we’re still getting these dahk fools that think they can breach the barrier, Kapal said, shaking his head and looking at the manifest they were just acquiring. A big waste of time, money and lives."

That’s not our problem. Packages are away and we’re taking on new crates. Ikalan shrugged. Our problem is these Scintillian distributors not paying on time.

You’re not pronouncing the name right, but I agree. I’ll have another talk with their rep. We’ve got costs too.

Past the clouds, a pyramidal city with tall spires loomed on the coast of the inner ocean; a desert expanse in the other direction in contrast. Crates with chutes were descending nearby and crew members raced out in transports to collect them.

ΔΔΔ

In the deserts to the west of Ultranhill, an archaeological dig was underway. Anti-gravity platforms hovered above the ground, holding Karran operators who remotely controlled android workers, spherical drones and brusher platforms. The brusher platforms were especially precise at brushing away dirt and debris to leave any artifacts or carvings exposed and intact. The operators all wore detran suits, which were one-piece, gender-neutral jumpsuits. The suits could be infinitely customized and armored and kept the wearer comfortable in whatever temperature setting was desired. Gloves, boots and Artificial Intelligence Navigator helmets were additionally worn when needed. Each AIN helmet could also be adjusted to the user’s specifications and contained its own comm, allowing easy communication. Set up some distance from the work, in a presumably stable area, were several portable dome shelters. Modified specifically to be used in archaeological digs, these shelters housed the recovered artifacts, workers and equipment.

A short distance away from the shelters, four figures stood on a ten-foot-wide cover-stone that they had recently discovered. Doctor Kalansi Halan, a native Karran female of athletic build, adjusted her broad brimmed hat to keep her unruly purple hair out of her face. Squatting down, she carefully ran a gloved hand across raised bumps on the surface of the cover-stone and scrutinized them with her blue eyed gaze. She looked over at Ela, a handsome native male who stood a little taller than her at five-foot-eight inches. Are your sensors able to read anything yet?

Ela was adjusting several sensor pylons embedded in the ground. Use of ground penetrating graviton pulses helped to quickly find things under the ground, but the data was limited. The planet had developed some strange energy distortions over the past decade, making it hard to read below the surface.

Whew, it’s hot out here, Ela murmured as he looked at the blank screen on his scanner. Equipment is definitely working but I’m not able to scan through the ground. There must be some kind of shielding. He was hoping Kal wouldn’t sense the irritability in his voice. He was mad at himself because he’d forgotten to bring his hat out in the field today. It wasn’t his fault, he reasoned, as he ran a hand though his uncomfortably damp red hair. It was Hui’s fault for deciding at the last minute that their detran suits needed to be upgraded.

Hui looked over his own mesad scanner and frowned. The Scalan engineer was hot and miserable and losing patience by the second. As he wiped at his sweaty black beard, Hui swore at himself for not having the suits ready. There was an unexpected glitch with the upgrade that just couldn’t be helped. He looked over at Kalansi and Ela and noticed they didn’t seem to be too bothered by the sweltering desert temperatures. Their Karran, bronze-colored skin didn’t feel the heat of the sun like his dark blue skin did. He kicked at the sand in frustration. Not only did he miss the suit’s temperature control, no suit meant he had to carry more equipment. "Well, cessadan, Hui swore. He stretched his five-foot-tall frame and rubbed at his eyes. Wish we were in a forest instead."

I wish I could do something other than sit here, Druy remarked, tapping her clawed fingers on the case that held her medical equipment. It had been a slow day, which was not necessarily a bad thing. As the team med tech, Druy being bored at a work site was good news for everyone else.

Watchin’ me work must make ya green with envy, Hui smirked. Not fair that the heat don’t affect ya.

Being of a reptilian race does have its advantages, Druy drawled. Her webbed ears swept back swiftly and twitched. She stood up and flicked her tail at him as she turned and walked away.

All right, screw it, an exhausted Kalansi turned and pointed over at one of the tractor beam crane operators. The hovering platform had been brought in on standby and its beams could easily move anything up to forty tons. It could damage the cover-stone if the stone was constructed poorly, but after exhausting all other measures Kalansi regrettably knew this would be the only way to remove it. Teggar, get in here and get this cover off. Swing it to the left, Kalansi ordered over a comm patch she wore on her right cheek.

Wide load coming in, Ela chirped and glanced at Hui with a mischievous smile. Not you, Hui, the other heavy mover.

"Why ya little ahk…" Hui started to growl but was dragged gently away by Kalansi.

Stop playing and get out of the way, Kalansi directed and caught a toothy grin from Druy.

They stood safely to one side while the crane came in and the beams shot down and snagged the cover-stone securely. Slowly the machine rose up with the stone and revealed a hole in the ground. Once the slab had been safely lowered, Kalansi and her team approached the area.

I don’t like that guy, Hui glowered and looked over at the crane operator.

No kidding? As a rule, you dislike many people, Druy pointed out as she prepared her equipment to survey the passageway and the area below for bio-hazardous or chemical dangers. She read her medi-scanner and began to check the flight of stone steps that descended into darkness. Ela had moved around her and was directing drones to float down into the unknown.

I heard he’s some kind of zealot, Ela said to Kalansi in a quiet tone. I know we needed to find another operator fast after that accident, but….

He shows up on time and does the work, Kalansi stated flatly. She did agree with what they were saying, but kept that to herself. Teggar was a tall, well built Karran with an unsettling tattoo on the side of his face. She had never seen him smile and he had a very ominous presence. Truthfully the guy creeped her out, but she had needed to hire someone quickly and he was qualified.

Chem and bio are in the green, Druy indicated. It is safe to proceed on that.

What do you see, Ela? Kalansi asked.

Looks clear for the first few feet, but I’m seeing a lot of nasty traps down there, Ela showed her the control pad. As usual my brilliantly programmed drones will automatically detect and nullify any threats. Let’s get down there and see what we got!

Your little drones better be spot on, buddy, Hui grumbled. They’d done hundreds of jobs together and he had complete faith in Ela’s skills, but still enjoyed giving him a hard time.

These little drones keep the ceiling from falling on your head, buddy, Ela retorted.

Okay, everyone pay attention. Ela will lead the way so that he can monitor the drones. Druy, you follow close behind him. We all need to stay alert, Kalansi said with assurance. Her mentor, Doctor Srune, had discovered the cover-stone years ago, but was forced to abandon the dig when the Selenac War began. Unfortunately, he had died in the war, so his work had not been completed. He had been a great teacher and an exceptional archaeologist. Kalansi was proud to be continuing his work and found herself wishing he were here to share her excitement. Expecting to do the work himself, Srune had not left the best notes, so Kalansi was unclear as to what had led him to this location and what exactly to expect.

The lights from the drones, as well as their own equipment, allowed the team to see while they entered the passageway. The air was cool and damp, unlike the scorching desert on the surface. The passageway wound down into the planet like the tight coils of a serpent, before opening up into an antechamber.

Hui let out a whistle. Place is large enough ta fit a good-sized shuttle.

The area was large and void of any objects. The floors were smooth granite, laced with intricate yet disturbing patterns and the walls swept up in a curved fashion to form a dome ceiling. The four team members stared in astonishment at the walls and ceiling which were illuminated by the drones and revealed disturbing hieroglyphs. Everyone felt chills run through their bodies as demonic beings, complete with horns, tails and claws stared back at them from the surfaces. The demons had horrible misshapen faces and were part of a collage of scenes. There were also many images of alien-looking bipeds.

Druy, what do you make of these? Kalansi asked, while preparing her recording equipment.

I have not seen anything like them, Druy answered, looking up from her scanner. This place is nightmarish. She looked around in amazement. The low light made the hundreds of drawings seem to dance on the walls. Look at these over here, Kal. These are quite descriptive.

Kalansi joined her. The demonic figures seem to be torturing these frail looking bipeds. In all of my research I have never come across any records of beings such as these, on this planet or any other. Let me get some scans before we go any further. Ela, what’ve you got? When she didn’t receive an answer, Kalansi turned to see that Ela was no longer in the room with them. She looked around and noticed there was a dark passage to her right. Through the darkness she could see light bouncing off the walls.

I’ll go see what he found, boss, Hui called out from across the room. This room seems way too clean, ya know?

Kalansi used her wrist unit to take quick recordings of the area as Hui went to join Ela. He’s right, she said mostly to herself. I’d expect to find relics, tools, something. I can’t wait to evaluate these recordings to see what time period this is from. She finished her recordings and then headed to where the guys had disappeared to. Wow! she exclaimed, entering what she recognized as a tomb. She immediately noticed a raised pillar, about four feet tall in the middle of the small room. On top of the pillar was a hand. It was skeletal, almost mummified, but what intrigued her was an object that the hand was holding. She lowered her vidcam over her eye and looked through the lens as it recorded. The hand was grasped around an amulet that contained brilliant purple amethyst and black obsidian gemstones. This was the only object they had found down here, so she knew it must have been of immense importance. Kalansi could hear the others talking to her, but found she wasn’t able to respond. She didn’t want to respond. She felt like she should turn away, but she didn’t want to turn away.

Hui was speaking to Kalansi, but she was ignoring him. He watched as Druy walked into the tomb and gasped when she saw the gruesome hand on the pillar. He noticed that when she called out to Kalansi, asking what she thought of the hand, she didn’t get a response either. Suddenly Hui heard a beeping coming from his mesad scanner that was attached to his belt. He looked down at it and the readings showed waves reflecting back and forth, not unlike the inside of an overloading reactor. He looked up just in time to see Kalansi grab the amulet and remove it from the hand. No, Kal! He yelled at her loudly, but it was too late.

Kalansi turned toward Hui as she pulled the amulet out. At that instant the entire tomb began to shake as red energy sprang from the walls directly to the center pillar. Holding onto the amulet, she dropped to the ground and shielded her head with her arms.

Everyone out! Ela ran ahead, securing the drones’ force fields as the floor and walls shook violently. Hui was grabbing his equipment and heading toward the passageway when he saw Druy stumble. He grabbed her elbow and led her toward the exit the best he could with his free hand. Kalansi ran past Ela, who seemed to be struggling with the controls. She reached the granite steps and stopped to be sure her team was behind her. The ground was trembling so fiercely that she found it difficult to stand. As she watched her friends run toward her, she was vaguely aware of a burning sensation in her hand. She could clearly hear the humming of the normally quiet drones. They were suddenly so loud. Unable to stand any longer, Kalansi gave in and fell to her knees. The granite floor beneath her formed a crack, then another, large enough to fit her hand into. Broken pieces of the once-intact hieroglyphs lay scattered on the ground around her as the walls and ceiling crumbled at an accelerated rate. She heard her friends yelling that the drones’ force fields were failing. The faint, familiar voices were telling her to run up the stairs, but she couldn’t move. She knew she had to escape. It was as if a silent guard had woken and now was genk bent on killing the intruders for trying to steal its secrets. Ela ran up to Kalansi and she could see he was yelling, but she couldn’t hear him over the roar of the collapsing ceiling. Hui and Druy ran past them and up the stairs. Ela grabbed Kalansi under her arm, forced her to her feet and practically dragged her up the steps and to the ground above.

The drones’ power cores overloaded and failed one right after the other. The force fields they generated vanished. Air and sand whooshed out of the ground’s opening. A small earthquake started immediately thereafter and the crew around the site swept in with anti-gravity platforms to evacuate everyone from a rapidly growing sinkhole. A beam of red energy blasted out of the ground and past the clouds. It then grew in diameter to five feet across, drawing further alarm as everyone flew away from the center of the disturbance. The beam lanced out to space and struck the barrier around the planet. The barrier glowed like an angry red sun for a split second. As quickly as it had happened, the beam vanished and the barrier returned to its normal pink glow.

Several hundred feet away, Kalansi and Ela sat together on a floating platform, trying to process what had just happened. Kalansi looked up to see Hui and Druy staring at her in disbelief, from their own platform. Knowing that they were now far enough away from the destruction, Ela directed the platforms to land. Kalansi’s feet had barely touched the ground when she saw Hui running toward her.

"What the genk, boss?" He yelled, fuming.

Is everyone okay? Druy asked as she ran up to join them. She immediately pulled out her equipment and began scanning everyone for injuries, beginning with Kalansi.

"What the genk were ya thinkin? Hui asked. Ya know…"

That shouldn’t have happened! Ela cut him off. My drones should’ve detected and diffused any traps.

Your drones? Hui exclaimed. Don’t stick up for her, bud. None of our equipment detected anything outta the ordinary, until our leader here decided ta grab a souvenir!

You did not give us a chance to analyze it, Druy said to her friend, as she continued to check her for injuries. Why would you even touch it, Kal, let alone take it?

Kalansi pushed Druy’s arms away and stood up abruptly. I don’t know what happened. I would never touch an artifact without having it checked first! Wait, she paused quickly, checking the pockets of her clothing. What do you mean I took…, she cut herself off as she reached into the front pocket of her vest and felt the warmth of the odd-shaped amulet. She pulled it out and slowly opened her hand, staring at it incredulously.

"Ya took it and all genk broke loose!" Hui sputtered.

Hui, I did not take this! Kalansi snapped.

Stop! Druy said suddenly, taking a necessary commanding position. The whole conversation had gotten out of hand. Yelling is not going to solve anything. We all got out of there safely and that is what matters.

But the site, all the work that we’ve done, that Doctor Srune did… Kalansi sat down on the ground, exhausted. It’s all destroyed now. None of this made any sense to her. How could she be so reckless? In all of her years as an archaeologist, she had never removed anything from a site without careful examination and testing. What made it worse was that she didn’t remember taking it.

It is obvious that what we thought was an ancient culture in fact had some extraordinarily advanced science, Druy pointed toward the sky, as she was referring to the energy burst that had just happened.

If that trap was undetectable by our instruments, then it’s possible that the pedestal held some sort of psionic enticement device to attract the unprepared, Ela added.

Looking down, Hui bit his lip. We could’ve missed a psionic wave, right? He looked over at Kalansi. I detected a rapid build-up of energy the second ya reached for that necklace. No warning!

Yes, we easily could’ve missed a psionic wave. We were looking at all the signs of a primitive sacrificial religion, which obviously is not something anywhere near our tech level, Kalansi asserted. She knew that primitive beings with clubs and knives shouldn’t have energy reactors, beam weaponry or psionic tech. Let’s get our stuff together. We have plenty of recordings to review, assuming our equipment is intact. She thought to mention that she had turned on her vidcam upon entering the tomb, but she stopped mid sentence when a worker from the nearby command shelter dome ran up to her.

Doctor Halan! The young male Karran said with urgency. A representative named Rutol Sareduo is on the communications channel and wants to talk to you right away.

Time to get my hand slapped, Kalansi thought as she ran off to the main shelter.

ΔΔΔ

The city of Ultranhill stretched a mile into the air and formed a circular pattern. The base of the city was in fact a collection of powerful reactors, anti-gravity modules, engines and a hyper-spatial accelerator. After the Great Cataclysm, designers had created mobile cities that could fly out through space. Such forward thinking had saved many from death in the Selenac War. The ascendant-class cities would ensure civilization survived from any possible destruction. The top of the city was arranged with various housing and spires. The tallest spire was the headquarters of the Karran Confederacy’s Defense Ministry and the peak of that spire held the office of Defense Minister Fenrel Solus.

Minister Solus sat brooding at his expansive desk and glared at the many reports that were displayed on the projected holo screen that hovered in front of him. Despite the inability to breach the tachyon barrier, transmissions could still be sent to and from space, which meant no lack of paperwork. Solus drummed his fingers on his desk as he looked over the latest report. In comparison, reviewing the new report was a welcomed break from dealing with those of renegades; both the religious isolationists and the more common power-hungry kind. After all this time one would think that people would be more sensible and adhere to the directorates created thousands of years ago. Out of the vast population that still thrived, the percentage of miscreants really was negligible. The minister’s reverie was suddenly cut short, as a new holo screen flashed in front of him. The screen had a red blinking border and a single word: OMEGA. The face of Doctor Xubon Bronius, one of the top scientists at work in the bowels of the same building, appeared on the screen.

Minister Solus, I apologize for any disruption but I must have your immediate attention! Xubon said in an alarmist tone.

We rarely use the OMEGA protocol, so you have certainly got my attention, Doctor Bronius. Solus noticed that the usually laid back scientist now looked unkempt and flustered. The Karran’s bright red hair was disheveled and his eyes were wide in apparent shock.

Approximately one hour ago a tachyon beam shot out from the deserts outside of our city and struck the barrier overhead. Immediately following that, there was a small localized earthquake in the area, Xubon stated, directing images to display on the minister’s two other holo screens. One screen now showed a side shot of Karra, with highlighted spots spread out over the planet.

What caused this? Solus asked, looking at the image. What are the damages?

"That’s just it! There was no damage when the beam struck the barrier. Our satellites provided us with some interesting information. The barrier reverberated but was not affected in any other way. But you need to know, minister, that we received two emergency transponder signals. These are beyond any doubt the Seunon and the Zaeruil!" Xubon quickly pointed out two images on his planetary map, enlarged and enhanced.

So you believe those ships weren’t destroyed? One moment, doctor, Solus remarked, hoping his voice did not reflect his excitement. Typing in a search, he quickly found an old report about the two battleships, which listed them as unaccounted for. He quickly summarized the report. No remains of the two vessels had been found. After a search that had exhausted resources and money, it had finally been assumed that the ships had disintegrated during their mission. Solus knew the basics of tachyon and hyper-spatial accelerations, and was aware of numerous confidential reports summarizing events where ships had suddenly appeared from unknown locations. He cast his eyes to another report that mentioned renegade activity was at an all-time high. With the possibility of the ships being intact, he knew that if the renegades acquired even one of them, the consequences would be dire.

Doctor Bronius, you were in charge of overseeing the modifications of those ships. What is the probability that they did in fact survive their mission?

It’s very probable but we had searched so extensively, minister. The destruction that these ships caused was so massive! If the wrong people learn that they are intact...

Who else knows of this? Solus interrupted.

Only me and a couple of my trusted assistants, Xubon assured Solus.

You are to keep this under wraps. No one else is to know unless I authorize it. Pull all of the data from the satellites and erase any copies that are not in your hands. I want those physical locations processed. You are to meet me in conference room twenty-one as soon as possible and bring everything. I want anything that backs the possibility that the signals were from those ships. I will be there immediately, Solus disconnected the transmission.

Getting to his feet, Solus pushed his expensive red lizard-hide chair back toward the window and then strode quickly across to the shining metal door that was the entrance to his office. He had to move on this fast and get presidential authority before anyone else did. Resigned, he went forward and approached the door which promptly whooshed open, exposing the reception area. Holographic displays hovered in the air around his receptionist’s desk.

I’ll be out for a few minutes, Irena, he stated to his secretary, who simply nodded without looking up from her work. Her attention was apparently focused on the memo she was typing. As he walked out the door and down the hallway, Solus met some aides going the other way. Automatic hellos and good days sailed back and forth in the usual banter as he continued to the elevator. The door opened and he stepped in, pressing the button numbered fifteen. The gravity and inertia balance system shot down five floors in the blink of an eye and the door opened. Solus walked out of the elevator and down the hallway to conference room twenty-one, finding Xubon already there with large holo-displays set up. Computer, seal this room, authority code SOLUS five one five six, Solus said aloud.

Confirmed, the voice of the computer echoed in the large room. The sliding metal doors to the room provided security assurance when an armored shield slid down and made an audible click. Minister Solus approached the glass conference table that was adorned with numerous controls and panels. Doctor Bronius stood to greet him.

Greetings, doctor. What do we have?

Xubon executed the data he had gathered onto the numerous holo screens. This screen here shows the exact location that the beam emerged from, he pointed out. That location has been sanctioned off as a dig site since before the war. Solus carefully reviewed all of the data that was in front of him. There was a collage of satellite pictures, including several of an archaeological dig site and one of defined faces looking up with frozen expressions. The computer had already identified all subjects in the pictures and the notable ones were highlighted.

What can you tell me about those citizens? Solus sat down and pointed them out with a light pointer.

That is an archaeological team led by Doctor Kalansi Halan. She is accompanied by Druy Delikaonar, Hui Renas, and Ela Rockos, Xubon answered.

I see, Solus rubbed his chin, planning in his head.

I am confident that our ships were not destroyed, as previously thought. Instead they are in a very near dimension or sub-space, and as we speak my team is working to find the coordinates. We are also getting information about the dig site to determine the origins of that energy beam.

Solus put his hand up, motioning for Xubon to stop talking. He stood up and walked around the table, pushing buttons and reviewing the data before him. After a few moments he turned to Xubon. So your current conclusion is that this beam of energy is the same energy as that confounded barrier that surrounds our planet?

Aha! I was hoping you’d see that, Xubon grinned and touched a control panel on the table to bring up two images of a spectrograph, then overlaid them.

The ships didn’t create the barrier! Solus exclaimed.

That’s my theory. I must further assume that the barrier has been there all these eons and the ships have become ensnared in it. It’s possible that the insertion of the ships has forced the barrier to become more interactive with our space-time, Xubon explained, and pulled up war-footage that showed the two ships doing the maneuver that ended the recent Selenac war. The footage showed enormous power exploding from the South Pole in the form of a massive anti-gravity wave burst. That burst swept out into the universe like a conical wave, causing unimaginable havoc. We never released the full findings of the blast to the public, Xubon added with a hint of fear. Even all the starships and bases put together could never have sent out a wave of that magnitude. A wave of power stretching thirty eight hundred light years in only a few real-time seconds, no less, Xubon thought apprehensively.

Politically, we should just forget this. With the insurgent level so high however, having two battleships down here would certainly make them back down. With that barrier up we can’t get reinforcements. Solus paced back and forth while he thought furiously for a couple of moments. "Even with the risk of raising genk with the barrier breaker project and the trillions of solare involved with it, those ships must be recovered."

If we recover the ships and the barrier vanishes, then it’s just a flock of angry politicians and big business. If we recover the ships and the barrier stays, then we have a better defense against insurgents down here, Xubon summarized. I can’t think of any other outcome. The extremely powerful force behind the barrier is cause for concern, but that can be dealt with later. We haven’t seen any other problems.

"Very well then, it’s decided. We need to advise the president directly on this matter, now. If I can