Sheppard's Quest

By Gary Caplan

Commander Robert Sheppard and his crew aboard the Phoenix have a sworn duty to uphold order in the universe. Even when that duty means they have to put their lives on the line, each individual is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the Alliance of Worlds. In his latest adventure, Sheppard may have to do just that. He is facing dangerous new enemies with advanced technology, weaponry, and intelligence. It might just be his most deadly adventure yet!

When Sheppard is asked for help by his new allies, the Talcon, he can hardly refuse. From their planet-sized spaceship, the Talcon Starcity, the alien race is looking to establish colonies in the Milky Way. Their impressive technology forces all other planets and organizations to play nicely.

The Talcon have a problem that they think Sheppard can solve. Animals from Starcity are going missing. It seems like such a simple mystery, but the solution to the puzzle will take Sheppard across space and into the hands of a strange new entity. Despite his many years working for the Alliance of Worlds, there is still much Sheppard doesn't know about the universe and its many species. He'll soon discover some hard truths!

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Mar 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781975920159

Book preview

Terms

Foreword

I would like to thank those who inspired me to write this book: those with whom I had active conversations and who helped develop names or ideas, including Jim Varian, David St. John, Bob Fedick, Mark Caplan, and Brian Godshall. I would also like to thank Philip Athans for editorial help and suggestions on improvement.

Chapter 1

Collecting

The huge, partially crystalline, decahedron-shaped starcraft moved through the swirling hyperspace tunnel as it closed on its destination. It was guided by intelligence and had its own activity parameters. This was one of several worlds it had visited in the past, and it had a few other worlds to visit still. The starcraft emerged safely above a blue-green world. The sensors registered highly positive life signs. The main decahedral section detached, and both sections activated a cloaking device. The main section began to expand and morph its shape while monitoring a spatial distortion that was in the path of this star system’s orbit in space. The other section began releasing crystalline probes that moved downward through the planet’s atmosphere.

Once near the surface, the probes began to relay information back to the orbital sections. They scanned and studied many forms of animal and plant life. The invisible probes flew, swam, or landed and sampled the soil, all the while obtaining information about the nutrients the animals and plants needed for growth in their usual environments. This process continued until a detailed life-forms catalogue was completed. Then, using local matter, the probes morphed. It was time to collect some specimens. The cloaked probes flew stealthily and approached the specimens that had been selected by the main collector program. They began the transference process. Each specimen was collected intact, its atomic and molecular patterns deciphered, and then the specimen’s information was stored for later reintegration. The specimens were then converted to energy and sent to the Hub section for transport.

The Hub starcraft noticed that the spatial distortion was now much closer. Some unidentified entity was beginning to actively scan the distortions, but not from this area of space or hyperspace. The scans originated from the other side of the distortions. The Hub had some older required programs that activated after the recent set of distortions was scanned. This activated an alert that sent a transmission into hyperspace to the home system, and as required by treaty, to two allies and also a general alert to the Hegemony’s hyperspace communication network that notified their designated authority of a potential breach. The Hub then accelerated the remaining specimen collections. The sensors and computer algorithms calculated that a probable breach of local space would occur soon. Eventually the planet moved closer to the area of distortions that were directly in the planet’s orbital path. The specimens needed to be protected and stored for the future, perhaps to help reseed worlds that might be destroyed by a similar catastrophe.

Glowing light and swirling dark energy collided as the space rift formed. It was as if something were pushing through to get into this universe. There was a flash of energy across several spectrum levels. The Hub scanned the forming area, charting the space distortions. Then, as this was considered a priority warning event, the Hub transmitted the new data on a hyperspace link to the home world and to the ally Hegemony’s hyperspace communication network and its constructors.

The Hub section, having finished its mission, reconnected with the probe sections and began to plot a course away from the planet. Soon afterward, the planet, continuing in its orbital trajectory, moved into the area of distortions. At first no notable changes occurred; it was as if something were waiting for further contact.

There was a rippling of the space not far from the planet. Something big was emerging, about a tenth the size of the planet. The object had no definite form and seemed to shift within itself. As it emerged from the rift, it began to head directly toward the blue-green planet. It seemed to slowly change shape and began to vibrate and quiver, and each time tendrils grew out of it.

It headed down into the planet’s atmosphere. As the tendrils, which appeared tentacle-like, moved down into the atmosphere, they emitted dark gasses. Near the surface the pressure of the gas release sounded like steam horns bellowing. Creatures that could move hopped or ran away from the sounds.

The tendrils seemed to be drawing energy from the planet. As they moved closer to the surface, more tendrils sprouted, forming many somewhat thinner ones. Tendrils began to grasp trees and reach for animals. The main body of the entity moved into the atmosphere, releasing cascading liquids, strange gasses, and bursts of chromatic light. The heat increased, and eventually the surface water began to evaporate. Only a few hours later, the colors seemed to drain away from the trees and plants. The gasses released from the tendrils seemed to be of various types. Some seemed incendiary, while others were gel-like and seemed to dissolve animal matter. Strange, shadowy things sprang out and moved away from the main entity. It was as if the huge entity carried smaller parasites or creatures with their own agency. As time passed the entity continued to absorb the life energy of the planet.

Another probe, a different type, appeared in the system. It simply materialized as if leaving some other dimension: one moment there was nothing, then a flash, and the starcraft appeared. This spacecraft came as a response to the signal sent earlier by the Hub, and it went directly to the area of the spatial distortion and began to scan the area. Then it began to discharge some particles and emit energy, energy that seemed to reduce the area of distortion. Not long afterward the distortions and the rift seemed to be diminishing. It was then that several huge, crystalline objects appeared after exiting hyperspace at the other side of the planet nearer to the entity that had sent tendrils into the planet. These newly arrived starcraft were similar to the Hub and probe starcraft that had been in orbit earlier, only much larger.

The crystalline starships began to surround the tendril-making entity. The crystalline vessels released disruptive energies in pulses and used mass drivers to hurl highly accelerated matter at the entity with destructive effect. The hurled matter moved at speeds over half the speed of light and impacted with penetrating force, exploding several sections of the immense entity.

Chapter 2

New Allies and New Problems

Commodore Robert Sheppard listened intently to the briefing with the Talcon. Sheppard was a tall, robust man in his sixth decade with a light complexion, slightly graying hair, and blue eyes. Sheppard was dressed in his bridge duty uniform, its imbedded sensors providing data about his health and activities.

He believed in honor and duty and the Alliance of World’s mandate to explore space. As one of the Alliance of Worlds’ senior ranking officers, presently granted admiral-level rank due to past senior-officer attrition during the recent war, he, along with a few others, had been invited to the shared briefing being held on the Talcon Starcity.

It had been almost a year since he’d last been on the Talcon Starcity. Back then the Talcon were just coming out of stasis from the transit across to the Milky Way galaxy from the Magellanic Cloud where they had established previous colonies. The Talcon were interested in setting up some colonies in the Milky Way. They had begun their colonization process shortly after their immense starcraft, known as the Starcity, completed awakening over a quarter of their colonists and most of their military forces. The Talcon leaders decided it was in their interests to become friendly with the Alliance of Worlds and renew relations with the Hegemony, whom they knew from the past.

Most Talcon had small, closely interspaced, gray-blue feathers, though there were some other colors present. They had avian features with large eyes compared to humans. Instead of a nose they had a hawkor eagle-like beak. Unlike an Earth bird, they had arms and hands in addition to wings. Their hands were mostly featherless and had scales instead of skin, with opposable thumbs and mildly talon-like fingers.

Security was high for this gathering as the leader of the Talcon Starcity, Prince Kyr, was present, and there had been reports of enemy fleets not far away. The birdlike Talcon had been attacked by the Accad and their local allies the Varlon ever since they first entered the Milky Way. The combined forces of the Accad and the Varlon were able to inflict some internal damage to the Starcity’s systems before the first groups of Talcon were awakened by a reserve part of the internal security system.

Sheppard thought back to when the starships of the Sixth Fleet, under his command; members of his crew from his flagship, the Phoenix; and a few Hegemony allies arrived to counter the Accad and Varlon attacks on the r. Sheppard and his team were successful in thwarting the further deterioration of the internal security network that had partially been corrupted by the Varlon nanomachines. If the Talcon were not at least as advanced in nanotechnology as the Varlon, the damage would have been more extensive. Unfortunately for the Alliance of Worlds, the Varlon’s nanotechnology was more sophisticated and dangerous than the Alliance’s.

The Talcon Starcity was actually a world ship. At 6,400 kilometers across, it was about the size of the planet Mars. The gravity onboard most of the living sections was essentially about 80 percent usual gravity for someone from Earth. The overall shape reminded Sheppard vaguely of a vast, round, eagle-like entity about to grasp its prey.

As this was a joint meeting with the Talcon, the Alliance of Worlds officers had already given a general status report of the movements of the Accad and Varlon fleets in other areas of space. This was more of an old-style briefing as the standard computer interlinks and interfaces the Alliance used for virtual meetings did not link to the Talcon systems, and were not allowed to interface with the Talcon’s system because of their hosts’ security concerns. The Talcon were more technologically advanced than the Alliance, so a similar linking interface was not permitted. The result was more of group sit down with some key officers and personnel. The Talcon were now discussing the more regional area within a hundred light years of the Starcity.

One of the Talcon admirals who had been brought out of stasis only a few weeks ago commented, I find it strange that the reptilian Accads would ally with the arthropodic Varlon as the Accad hadn’t allied with anyone when they attacked our forces in the Magellanic colonies several decades ago. Another one of the Talcon senior officers Admiral Thesk added, They seemed to skirt by the Quor civilization as they initially attacked them but likely arranged a nonaggression treaty afterward, with them realizing the resources they would need to go against our forces and the Quor at the same time would delay them in their expansion.

The senior Hegemony officer, Fleet Admiral Narkelt, said, We also found this treaty the Accad have with the Varlon disconcerting as the Varlon have been xenophobic in the past. From what information we have collected, it may be due to the primary Accad leader being charismatic with the Varlon leadership, and his second in command being a more-than-capable negotiator.

Talcon Admiral Terkarsh said, So somehow their chief Accadian leader influenced the Varlon leaders, and his second in command made their more official arrangements.

Sheppard looked over at one of his senior officers, Fleet Captain Sherman, who was straightening out his single star cluster rank on the shoulder of his dress uniform. For a moment, Sheppard thought back: it was over two years since he had encountered the Accad supreme leader in combat, and it was his first major loss in his career. In a way that loss haunted him, although it did make him take more precautions when dealing with the Accadian forces. That loss forced a sense of foreboding to creep into some of his decisions.

Fleet Admiral Peregrine said, It may be a combination of factors, and from what the Betellians have indicated, some Jiyharr may also be involved in some administrative capacity. Sheppard sat next to two other officers. One was his longtime mentor and an exchange officer member of the Hegemony, a Karratin male named Gar fa’ eld, who held the rank of vice admiral. He had come to accept being called Garfield by the humans he worked with as a professor several decades ago while doing officer exchange duty at the Alliance of Worlds headquarters facility, Star One. Garfield was able to understand and enunciate most of the main Talcon language, and because of the Karratins’ somewhat similar government, he was more readily accepted by the Talcon nobles and senior Oligarchy. His people, the Karratins, had reinstated an altered title system long ago when they began accumulating planetary systems. It reminded Sheppard of the feudal titles of old Earth. Garfield’s title translated to Duke of Karro.

Also sitting on Sheppard’s left side was his friend and colleague Commodore St. John. Sheppard had been one of St. John’s senior starfighter pilots as a squadron wing commander when, over ten years ago, St. John was given command of an exploration task force that set out for the neighboring Magellanic Cloud. Sheppard had transferred to a command of his own and did not accompany St. John on that exploration mission. It was there that Fleet Captain St. John met and befriended some of the Talcon people. Once he returned from the exploration mission, he and his crew provided scientific information to the Alliance of Worlds, and they promoted him to commodore, giving him another star cluster.

Sheppard continued to observe the other officers. He noticed that, as a people, the Talcon had a cultural tendency to chat informally, especially during the small breaks they took to have snacks of nuts and berries and some Talcon tea. At the previous break, one Talcon officer who worked as an officer on board Prince Kyr’s ship and who was of similar rank invited Sheppard to join her on a tour. I wonder, sir, if you might be interested in a tour of one of our parks.

I would like that in the future, but for now I am just not able. The Talcon also had a formal side, but as guests who had proven themselves, Sheppard and St. John were allowed to have some informal words and offered a cup of tea with Prince Kyr just before this information-sharing session.

Sheppard briefly recalled the first time he spoke with this Starcity’s capable leader, when he and his search teams had been allowed to enter the vast ship via some automated docking systems. He eventually encountered Kyr as he was in the first group to be awakened during the Accadian attack. Prince Kyr had found Sheppard not long after the Alliance of Worlds exploration teams successfully neutralized some Accad soldiers. The Alliance teams also stopped one of the Accad’s formidable artificial devices, a Jiyharri-built androsynth, from further sabotaging a section of the then mostly dormant Starcity.

A familiar Talcon voice brought Sheppard out of his reverie as he was moving to get some more tea. Greetings, Commodore Robert Sheppard, said Renjir Felkestaar, the Talcon speaking in a higher-pitched voice to get Sheppard’s attention during the short break.

Greetings to you as well, Ambassador Felkestaar, replied Sheppard as he nodded and smiled at the Talcon. He had worked with this Talcon officer, who had assisted them when they first encountered the Talcon Starcity. He was acting as an ambassador for the Talcon people before the people of the Starcity awakened. Felkestaar had arrived as a guest officer, returning along with St. John’s exploration task force from that now famous mission to the Magellanic Cloud galaxy. Now Felkestaar was still a member the Talcon legation to the Alliance of Worlds, and another Talcon had been made their senior ambassador by Prince Kyr.

I just got a strange report that some of our animals on the Starcity have gone missing, Renjir said.

Oh, I have not heard about that, replied Sheppard.

One of the ministers in our agricultural section reported it yesterday. They inquired of me to ask you, if you or the other aliens in your rather mixed fleet might have taken some fauna samples from one of the woodland regions on the Starcity by chance or design.

Sheppard looked puzzled. Not that I know of, Ambassador, replied Sheppard. When did this happen?

It has evidently occurred over the last several days. According to the report, we detected some energy readings but unlike any we have encountered so far, said Renjir. We did not think it was Alliance of Worlds standard technology. The assessment is that you don’t have the necessary cloaking technology to get past our sensors. A few of our investigators thought it might be a prototype from your diverse corporate sector. It was also different than that of the Varlon’s chameleon field, which did initially work against our sensors, but now with analysis our technology is better able to reduce their chameleon field’s ability to distort our sensor readings. But perhaps the Hegemony members, or the Cynz or some others who have joined your fleet in the recent past, might be involved in some way.

As to who could be involved among the other nonaligned groups who have recently joined the Sixth Fleet, I’ll have to look into that, Sheppard replied. As for the corporate sector, I can ask, but I am not aware of prototype testing that has been authorized to collect animals.

Felkestaar nodded.

Oh, that’s good news: you just mentioned that you now have a better ability to deal with the Varlon’s nanotechnology weapons, continued Sheppard. "Perhaps you might share some of that technology as my ships don’t quite have that