In Times of War, Part One

By Marius A Smith

When an agent goes missing during a covert investigation into a conspiracy between the Tarein and high-ranking members of Earth's government, a secret division of Temporal Security enlists Valentinian's crew to assist in the investigation. Their search begins with the disappearance of an exploration ship after its discovery of an ancient Thalshuk derelict in deep space, and soon involves a conspiracy within Temporal Security itself. Meanwhile, the Tarein are making preparations for a war against Earth. If the Tarein can locate the lost technology of the Vihl, they believe they'll be prepared to launch a successful campaign.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marius A Smith
• Release date: Jan 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215613986

Marius A Smith

Marius Augustus Smith was born in 1981 in Adelaide, Australia, and is a life-long fan of science fiction. He has travelled to many places around the world, with many more he has yet to visit, although some destinations can only be travelled to in the mind (at least until the invention of warp drive!). Also having an interest in history, especially ancient cultures, and Egypt in particular, Marius has incorporated these interests into his books. His favourite authors include Alexandre Dumas, Kevin J. Anderson, Drew Karpyshyn, Anne Rice and J. K. Rowling. Some of his not-so-common experiences include shovelling coal in a 1920s locomotive, and being an extra in a police line-up. Marius currently lives in Australia with his wife.

Book preview

In Times of War

Part One

The Course of Time

BOOK NINE

Marius A. Smith

The Course of Time:

Larissa

Cerah

From Time to Time

The Time of Humanity

Time and Time Again

The Time of Sacrifice

Mysteries of Time

From the Depths of Time: Part One

From the Depths of Time: Part Two

Time’s Curse

In Times of War: Part One

In Times of War: Part Two

Copyright © 2024 Marius A. Smith

This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.

Published by Marius A. Smith at Smashwords

All historical individuals or places mentioned or referred to in this book are portrayed in a purely fictitious sense. All other characters are purely fictitious, and no resemblance to individuals living or dead is intended.

No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form without the prior permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The Derelict

Time is always of the essence, because once it’s gone it’s gone for good. What the individual does with their finite allocation is what gives it its sense of value, or regret.

The time shuttle touched down in a clearing on the gentle slope of a low hill in the countryside of northwestern Poland. The single occupant, a Temporal Security investigator named Jai Biedermann, quickly checked the cockpit displays. It was 0525 hours on the 10th of June in the year 1941. Through the cockpit window he could see that even as early in the morning as it was, it was already a good hour after sunrise on a cloudy day, and the landscape was fully visible. The outside temperature was fourteen degrees Celsius. He’d materialised when he was already close to the surface, so no one in the local vicinity would’ve witnessed his descent, as sensors showed that the nearest life signs were several kilometres away. He’d timed his arrival so that he’d be on the ground before the expected starship crashed, and anticipated that he’d have only a few short minutes to learn what he could from it and get away before those who were going to bring it down would arrive to assume possession of it.

Looking up, he saw his own reflection on the inside of the cockpit’s window, the face of a dark-skinned man in his physical prime, and noticed that he hadn’t taken the time to shave in the last several days, being so preoccupied with his mission. Wearing the plain black top, trousers and boots that made up the core of a Temporal Security uniform, only without a coloured jacket, he left the cockpit and went to a locker in the equipment room behind it and grabbed a 2569 Smith-Guardian phased positron pistol, which was the current standard issue firearm used in Temporal Security in his time, and also a handheld scanner, and opened the shuttle’s hatch.

The ground was a little damp from a recent rainfall, but not muddy, and he found the cool morning air refreshing. He didn’t take more than a moment to appreciate it though, as time was short. His mission, and indeed his very life, depended on making it away before the Tarein arrived. In the far distance he could faintly hear the booms of heavy artillery, which wasn’t surprising, being the middle of World War Two, but the place where the starship would come down was in a remote area well away from the roads that connected any of the towns and villages in this part of the country, so it was unlikely that anyone would come across the site by chance.

Having intercepted a Tarein communication in which a prototype dimensionally-shifting Karathi ship had been mentioned, originally suspecting that it could be involved in the conspiracy that he was investigating, he’d been in touch with his Tarein contact, and then tracked the movements of the battleship that he was monitoring to find out where it was going to rendezvous with the Karathi. He’d witnessed it intercept and capture the small Karathi craft in a temporal beam that was supposed to hold the vessel suspended in a single moment while it was taken across time by the battleship. The event had seemed to indicate that the solitary pilot had been an unwitting victim rather than a collaborator, which he’d methodically made a note of in the log that he constantly kept up to date in case anything happened to him. But because of the experimental dimensional field still being active the Tarein hadn’t entirely succeeded in their objective. The Karathi pilot had desperately attempted to break free of the temporal beam by shifting the frequency of the dimensional field. Despite the pilot’s best efforts, his ship was still forced down to Earth where it would crash, although the intended date of its arrival had shifted to a slightly different time. Biedermann couldn’t be sure exactly when the Tarein had intended for it to arrive, his best estimates putting it to within a few years of when it actually would, but scanning ahead, his temporal sensors had indicated that it would arrive close to the spot where he now stood in about two minutes’ time. The Tarein would inevitably follow close behind it, but he needed to examine the ship first to find out why the Tarein were so interested in it before he reported in with his most recent discoveries. So far his only conclusion was that the Tarein wanted the dimensional drive itself for its potential military applications, despite having never heard of the Tarein having any interest in researching such technologies themselves. Even according to his Tarein contact, their government and military had expressed no particular interest in such technologies.

Sure enough, two minutes later the Karathi ship materialised with a blue flash at an altitude of a couple of hundred metres on a fast descent, smoke billowing from its engines, on a course almost directly towards him. The alloy of its hull had a coppery hue that was close to the colour of rose gold. It passed overhead and impacted the ground on the side of the hill a little higher up, churning up the ground as it skidded to a halt, its nose section partially embedded in the ground.

Breaking into a run, he hurried up the hill towards the ship, his scanner already active. He had to take his scans and get away again as quickly as possible, since at least one of the conspirators knew that he knew about the ship, but if he didn’t investigate it immediately it would be too late. His plan was that once he was back in his own shuttle he would activate the time field to protect himself in case they went back to prevent his investigation, most likely by killing him, so that he would still exist to then report in with what he’d learned. Unfortunately the Karathi ship had a unique type of shielding in the structure of its hull, so he wasn’t able to get any readings of its interior from outside. As soon as he reached it he released the hatch and went inside.

He was surprised to see that true to Karathi starship design, even a prototype ship had a ceiling adorned with detailed nature murals, with a brown floor and pale green walls to go with it. However, he didn’t waste more than a moment taking it in. One brief glance into the cockpit was enough to tell him that the pilot hadn’t survived the impact of the crash. Now that his scanner was able to get some internal readings, he searched for anything that might indicate what the Tarein wanted with it. In the absence of anything else of significance, it seemed as though they did just want the dimensional engine itself, lacking any such technology themselves. That piece of technology had survived intact, and appeared to be perfectly functional. But he couldn’t shake the impression that it was somehow tied in with the conspiracy in a more significant way than a simple matter of plunder, especially if they were willing to come here in Earth’s past with the two worlds being in a climate of rising political tension that already hinted towards war in the twenty sixth century. He was aware that Karathi scientists had been trying to reverse engineer the dimensional engine as well as the time drive of a ship of theirs from another timeline, and that they’d already launched several failed prototypes, but this one appeared to have worked, which was probably what had made it the target that the Tarein had thought warranted such a risk. Mindful that the Tarein would be coming for their prize any moment, he quickly took some final readings of its specifications and construction.

Deciding to clear off before the discovery became the last thing he ever did, he left the shuttle. In the same moment that he spotted the half dozen Tarein soldiers coming up the hill towards him he was struck by numerous energy blasts. His last instant of thought was that he’d failed his mission.

*

On the 13th of June in the year 2569, in the cold, silent void of space, the exploration starship Magellan was passing through a region that was emptier than normal, even for interstellar space, with no star systems within a fortnight’s journey even travelling at thousands of times the speed of light. Despite feeling the isolation, especially being a good eight months from Earth, the crew continued going about their duties in a disciplined manner without complaint. They’d known what to expect when they’d signed up to serve on a long-range exploration ship, and it was the unknown destinations that made such lengthy journeys worthwhile. They’d already travelled further into this unexplored sector than any Earth starship had before. Whatever they found, they’d be the first humans, and probably the first of the several other alien races who also served aboard the ship, to see the worlds that they would visit, and meet their people in the spirit of peaceful exploration. There was always a danger that the species that they encountered would turn out to be hostile, but in addition to ample armaments, the Victoria-class of ships had the fastest propulsion systems of all human spacecraft, making them ideal for exploration of the more distant parts of space. While other ships had travelled much further distances from Earth, the stellar sparsity of the region had made it a low priority in space exploration for a long time until other regions with more planets had first been explored, which left it almost completely empty of space traffic. It had been weeks since another ship had even entered sensor range.

Somewhat resemblant of a sleek, futuristic ocean liner, Magellan was a long vessel that came to a rounded point at the bow, with several dorsal and ventral observation domes along its length that offered excellent views of stellar and planetary objects. Internally it was designed almost luxuriously, with all kinds of sporting, leisure and entertainment facilities for the crew to use during their off-duty hours, since they were generally on the ship for extended periods of even a few years at a time, with only occasional planetary stop-offs.

On the bridge, which was located at the top of the slanted facade of the bow section overlooking the prow, Captain Julia Cook was wandering from station to station, exchanging a few words with her officers even though she already knew that they had nothing new to report, given that it would still be another week and a half before they reached the star system that they were on course towards. She liked to bend the rules of formality a little and get to know her crew on a personal level, even on a first name basis, though she could still be a strict disciplinarian if occasion called for it. Plus she thought it would be good for morale for the captain to be with them as often as duty permitted, rather than holed up in an office most of the time and only attending in person in the event of an emergency. And even during the quiet periods of traversing the outer regions of deep space where there wasn’t a star system within a hundred light years, there was nowhere she would rather be than on her ship.

Being a direct patrilineal descendant of James Cook, who’d led the expedition aboard the HMS Endeavour that landed in Australia in 1770, she’d always felt that exploration was in her blood, and she’d always felt a strong connection to her ancestor. And the fact that the first European to set foot on Australian soil had been a Dutch explorer named Willem Janszoon in 1606 only made her more determined to one day be the first human to set foot on a habitable planet that was until then completely unknown. In fact that goal was what had led her to their current mission. With the majority of space within a year’s journey of Earth in any direction having already been explored, she’d especially requested to take a ship into this lesser-known region in the hope of realising her dream. And as she looked around the spacious, off-white panelled bridge, complete with luxuriously comfortable seats and cushioned carpeting, with everyone wearing dark grey uniforms that were immaculate, she appreciated, as she often did, that she had a fine ship to do it with, and a fine crew.

She turned at the sound of the main double doors opening at the back of the bridge, where her first and second officers were returning from their meal break, and were deep in conversation. Her first officer was Commander Angie Simpson, Canadian by birth, though she’d spent most of her life since childhood in space. Her second officer was Lieutenant Commander Dominic Roberts, who was a little younger than her, and whom she’d known at the Houston academy but lost touch with over the years until they’d crossed paths again quite by chance at a conference on Messara a few years ago. During the time since the academy he’d served on two exploration ships, with an exemplary record, so when Julia had been given command of Magellan she’d requested him as a senior officer.

When they reached her, Dominic said to her in a southern accent that wasn’t all that thick but was still distinctive, Would you please tell Angie that she absolutely has to try the Cajun catfish. Make it an order if you have to.

It’s not something I’ve ever eaten before, Angie explained, her apprehension about it showing in her voice.

And you call yourself an explorer, Dominic said in a good humoured tone of disapproval.

To be perfectly honest, I haven’t tried it myself, Julia confessed.

There you go, Angie said to Dominic triumphantly. We ain’t all from Louisiana, she added in a humourously poor imitation of his accent.

That’s it, tonight the three of us are having dinner together, and you’re both gonna try it.

I suppose I could try something new, in the spirit of exploration, Julia said.

Angie sighed. Well I guess I will too then, so I’m not the odd one out.

Captain, I’m picking up something on the edge of our sensor range, a man’s voice called out from the sensors station at the front of the bridge.

Curious about anything that broke the monotony of the empty region they were passing through, Julia, Angie and Dominic all went over to see what the sensor operator had found.

What is it, Neville? Julia asked.

Judging by its mass and composition, I believe it’s a starship, Neville said. It appears to be adrift. I’m not picking up any power signatures.

A derelict this far out probably means there’s no one alive on it, Dominic said.

What’s its vector? Julia asked.

About thirty seven degrees off of our present course, at a declination of twelve degrees, Neville responded.

That’s not so far out of our way, Angie prompted, grateful for any distraction that would liven up this part of the voyage. And it might help us to get an idea of what sort of beings we should expect to encounter in this part of space.

Nijah, set a new heading on the coordinates that Neville will send you, Julia said to the middle-eastern woman at the helm.

A moment later, Nijah said, I’ve got the coordinates. As her finger flicked over the helm controls, the vista of stars veered slowly as the ship changed course. Minutes later she shut down the super-light speed engines as they got nearer to the vessel. After a couple more minutes at sub-light speed, she reported, We’re closing in on the ship now.

With no suns nearby we’re not likely to see anything, Julia figured. Melina, activate the forward lamps.

Lamps active, Melina called back a moment later from the systems’ console. A Jor Ginsm woman, she was hairless with yellowish-orange skin that deepened to near red further back from her face, which was framed by faint brown freckles.

Through the main window, which reached halfway around the front of the bridge and curved right back overhead, there was still nothing yet to see but the endless expanse of distant stars, but before long a shape slowly became discernible as a tiny speck. When they were only a few kilometres away, Magellan’s bright external lamps were more than sufficient to get a good look at it.

Dark metallic grey in colour, to the point of being almost black, its basic shape was a triangular bipyramid, as though two tetrahedrons had been put together base to base, forming a three dimensional diamond shape with three upper faces and three lower, with sharply pointed top and bottom ends. At its widest point around the middle its shape flared outwards along each of the three sides, following the shape of the ship.

It must be a derelict of some sort, though I’ve never seen anything like it, Dominic said. There’s no light from any windows.

It doesn’t look like it even has windows, Angie remarked.

Bring us to within a kilometre of it, and match the speed and direction of its drift, Julia ordered, and received an acknowledgement from Nijah.

It looks like there’s some sort of pattern all over the hull, Angie observed. Neville, give us a magnified look at it.

Neville did a visual scan, and then activated a holographic screen that appeared in front of the main window, showing an enlarged image of a section of the ship’s hull. It was covered in innumerable intricate swirls and curved marks in sunken relief.

There’s doesn’t seem to be any particular pattern to it. It just seems all random, meaning that it’s probably decorative, Dominic concluded. Neville, what can you tell us about the interior?

Neville was troubled by the sensor readings. I can tell you that the hull’s made of a unique vanadium polymer composite, engineered in a way that I’ve never seen before, but it’s making it impossible to get any interior readings.

Even with our sub-fermionic quantum sensors? Julia asked in surprise, referring to the latest sensors that Magellan had been fitted with before departing from Earth, which gave sharper and more accurate sensor readings than conventional sensors, and with a higher resolution at a greater range as well.

The composite’s molecular lattice is much denser than I would’ve expected. It would give the hull extra strength and durability, but it doesn’t allow even our quantum sensors to penetrate it, Neville said.

I dare say it’s an intentional aspect of its design, Julia concluded. That could imply that it’s a military vessel of some sort, but I don’t recognise the ship’s configuration. Anyone have any idea what species built it?

No one in the room had any insights to offer.

As though on cue, the bridge doors opened and a Lurxsa man entered at a brisk pace. He had dark grey skin and silver hair that was neatly combed back, and bright green eyes that currently held an expression of deep concern. Captain, where did that ship come from? he asked, his binary vocal system giving his voice an echoing effect.

Seeing his distress, Julia didn’t hesitate to answer. We just detected it adrift, so we came to have a look. Do you recognise it? She figured that if anyone did, it would be this man, Enik-Pel, the ship’s chief historian and xenoarchaeologist.

Indeed I do. It’s a Thalshük military craft. I strongly recommend putting the ship on alert.

Not one to ignore an educated recommendation, Julia ordered, Sound the alert, and power up weapons. Stand ready for evasive manoeuvres if it becomes necessary.

Melina activated the alert, and a deep sonorous tone sounded throughout the ship twice to indicate a standby alert. At the tactical station, a man named Albert Newman powered up the ship’s weapons and announced that they were at the ready.

Julia retuned her attention to Enik-Pel. I’ve heard of the species from some of the more recent expedition journals, but little is known about them. Only a few ships have ever visited their home world.

They’re well known in Lurxsa history. My people were anciently enslaved by them, and were only liberated by the fall of their empire millennia ago at the hands of an alliance of worlds that they’d attacked, occupied and oppressed, who banded together and fought back.

Then this ship has most likely been adrift since then. It was probably abandoned at some point. Either that or the crew are long since dead.

The ship may still have active defences, if it still has power.

There are no indications of energy signatures, or of recent propulsion activity, such as ionised particles in the vicinity from exhaust, Neville informed Enik-Pel.

All the same, I advise that we proceed with caution.

We’ll certainly keep that under advisement, Julia assured him.

Are we going to send over a team to check it out? Angie asked.

If you ask me it’s too good an opportunity to pass up, to examine a starship of an anciently extinct race, Julia said with a gleam of exploration in her eyes.

Who should lead the first investigation team? Dominic asked hopefully.

You don’t need to remind me of the protocol that states that the captain isn’t supposed to enter an unknown situation until an advance party has cleared it of any danger.

Does that mean...

That’s right, you can lead the first team.

While Dominic was excited, Angie was disappointed.

Don’t worry, Angie, we’ll be leading the next ones, Julia assured her.

Neville, is there any sign of a way in? Dominic asked.

In the centre of each of the three faces of the lower half there’s a slight circular indentation. They’re probably shuttle bay hatches. They’re big enough for our shuttles to be able to fit though.

Any idea how to open them?

I’m afraid not.

I guess I’ll have to make it up as I go. Dominic turned to Enik-Pel, and asked, I can see that you have some concerns about this whole situation, but would you be willing to accompany my team over there to have a look around? You know more about it than any of us. But don’t think of this request as an order; you should feel perfectly free to decline if you want.

Most of what I know is historical background knowledge. When it comes to specific technologies I’m afraid I wouldn’t know any more about it than you would. But having said that, I do have a certain curiosity, as it relates to the history of my own people. I’ll go with you.

Thank you. We’ll meet in shuttle bay D in ten minutes.

Will we be able to communicate with them over there? Angie wondered.

If our sensor beams can’t penetrate the hull, then chances are that communications would be blocked as well, Neville said.

You’ve got two hours to have a preliminary look around and take some internal scans, then I want you to report back, and we’ll plan how to proceed from there, Julia said to Dominic.

Understood. Dominic touched the black stone on the ring on his left hand, and an eight-inch holographic screen appeared above it. On it, he selected several names on his contact list and sent them a message requesting them to meet in shuttle bay D, and then took his leave of the bridge.

Ten minutes later, he and Enik-Pel were in a shuttle with four other people, all seated in its cockpit.

I’ve received clearance for departure, their pilot, Patrice Alderman announced. She, like each member of the party, had a pistol, a handheld omniscanner, and a compact utility pouch clipped to her belt by magnetic plates, which was all standard equipment when going into an unknown situation.

Take us out, Dominic ordered.

With expert handling, Patrice raised the shuttle off of the floor and guided it smoothly from the shuttle bay.

Once they were in open space, Dominic said to Haruto Tanaka, the technician who was monitoring the shuttle’s systems, Activate our lamps, I want to take a closer look at the hull. Then, to Patrice, he said, Take us in slowly.

As they got closer to the hull, with the ship seeming to loom over them, the patterns across its hull became more pronounced.

It still looks pretty random to me, Dominic commented offhandedly.

Whoever constructed it might simply be an artistic people, Natasha Volkov said from the back of the group, looking past them with fascination.

It was built by a militaristic race called the Thalshük, Enik-Pel said for the benefit of those who didn’t yet know. And while they did take an artistic pride in just about everything, they were a race of conquerors whose reach spanned numerous worlds.

Speaking of them in past tense, I take it they’re no longer around? Jordan Jensen asked. Of mixed African and European ancestry, he had the largest physical stature of the team, which worked well for him being the chief of Magellan’s security force and also the ship’s main fitness and self-defence instructor.

They were wiped out Millennia ago when an alliance of numerous species formed to fight them, and ultimately wiped them out, Enik-Pel said.

Sounds like they had it coming, Natasha said.

That they certainly did.

There’s some discolouration around that lowest point there, Jordan observed, pointing out a dark brown tinge that faintly covered the lowest few metres where the ship’s hull came to its lower point.

Bring us closer, Dominic said.

Patrice veered the shuttle towards that area, taking them closer than most pilots would have, and brought the shuttle to a halt. They all stood up and leaned forward for a closer look, with the surface of the ship’s hull being only a couple of metres from the nose of the shuttle.

Looks like residual dirt traces, Haruto said. There are even clumps of dried mud embedded in the grooves of the artwork pattern.

So this thing was able to make planetary landings, Jordan concluded.

I would’ve thought it was too large for that, Dominic said.

It seems this lower point was used to spike into the ground to hold the ship steady. That part of the hull would likely be reinforced, Natasha said. She looked to Enik-Pel for confirmation.

I can tell you about Thalshük history, but when it comes to starship design and technical details, I don’t know any more than the rest of you.

Take a scan of the soil composition, since we’re this close. An analysis might give us some indication of what planet it landed on before it got lost out here, Dominic said.

Haruto reached over to the sensor controls and carried out the scan. Done.

Patrice, take us up to that hatchway. Let’s see if we can find a way inside.

Patrice guided the shuttle up to the circular indentation and positioned them directly in front of it. Any idea how to get through?

We could try cycling through the various communication frequencies to see if one of them triggers an opening mechanism, just in case it’s an automated system, Haruto suggested.

No harm in trying, Dominic said.

A couple of minutes later, Haruto was forced to report, No luck.

If this thing’s been here for millennia, I’m sure no one would mind if we blast open one of the hatches, Jordan suggested. Carefully, of course.

Better check in with the boss before we do something like that, Dominic said, and activated his multi-com ring to call Julia.

You look a bit stuck, she said when her face appeared on the small holographic screen.

We’ve tried using communication frequencies to trigger the hatch, but it didn’t work. The only other idea we’ve got is to use the shuttle’s cannons to ‘remove’ the hatch.

I’m a bit hesitant to damage such a magnificent artefact. Are you sure there are no other options?

If we’d been able to conduct internal scans we might have been able to find another way to trip the system, but chances are there would be no active power systems left to open the hatch anyway.

Very well. But try not to cause any more damage than is absolutely necessary.

We’ll do it as surgically as possible, Dominic assured her.

Julia gave him a nod, and closed the call from her end.

Might I suggest being ready to retreat, just in case weapons fire triggers any active defences? Just as a precaution, Enik-Pel said.

Of course. Dominic nodded to Patrice, who plotted an escape course and was ready with the engine controls to implement it immediately.

Jordan powered up the weapon system, and setting the cannons to low power, he fired a single shot. A brilliant blue flash of light erupted from the front of the shuttle and struck the hatch, but left it pretty much unscathed, other than a small blackened patch in the middle.

Was that it? Natasha asked teasingly.

That was just to test the durability of the metal, so I know how much power to channel into the cannons without overdoing it, Jordan said. Considering how durable the metal was, he raised the cannons’ power level quite a bit, and then programmed a firing pattern. This time a rapid series of considerably brighter energy bursts were fired around the circumference of the hatch, successfully blasting it away and leaving a large, dark hole where it used to be. How’s that?

Much better, Natasha said with a smile.

Can we get any internal sensor readings now? Dominic asked.

Haruto did a scan, and reported, Only of the shuttle bay itself. It’s lined with the same substance as the outer hull. I’m picking up three small spacecraft inside. There should still be enough space for Patrice to land our shuttle in there with them. Hopefully from there we’ll be able to get in through an interior door.

Alright, take us in, Patrice.

As the shuttle glided forwards, and its lamps shone into the hole, coupled with the light from Magellan’s lamps, they saw a chamber that was empty aside from three shuttle-sized ships that were the same triangular diamond shape as the main ship, also with intricately patterned hulls. They were nested inside indents in the floor that matched the shape of their lower points. All six members of the team felt the thrill of being the first to enter a ship that had been drifting for thousands of years, and as explorers they felt privileged to be there, even Enik-Pel, despite the sadness he felt for what the Lurxsa had suffered through during the time of the Thalshük Empire.

There’s internal gravity, so we can land the shuttle normally, Haruto said.

Meaning that the ship still has some residual power, Dominic said. At least no defences were activated when we blasted our way in. The only trouble is that with the hatchway gone, we’ll need to suit up to get to the internal door.

Patrice brought the shuttle down gently onto an open area of the landing deck and shut down the engines, and all six of them went into the room behind the cockpit where the bio-suits were stored in lockers. First removing their utility belts that had their equipment attached, they each pulled a bio-suit on over the top of their uniforms, and then resized the belts to go on over the top of them. Once they all had their helmets on and were ready, Dominic depressurised the shuttle and opened the hatch. As they stepped out one by one, they each spared a look back out through the hatchway where Magellan was visible nearby, its lamps so blindingly bright that they illuminated the whole shuttle bay, before making their way towards a door that led into the rest of the ship. In the vacuum, their footsteps didn’t make any sound on the deck, but the gravity felt pretty normal, if only just a fraction heavier than Earth standard.

This looks like the door control, Haruto said, pointing to a panel on the right side of the doorframe that had an illuminated control, indicating that it too still had power. We should stand to the sides in case it’s pressurised on the other side. We don’t want to be blown out. Just think how embarrassing it would be if we had to call the captain for help as we float past the bridge’s window.

Good point, Dominic agreed as they stepped to either side.

Haruto touched the door control, and the door slid open. There was no blast of air from the other side.

Natasha unclipped her omniscanner and had a look at the readings before anyone went deeper into the ship. I’m able to get some internal readings now. The inner structure is composed primarily of titanium-based alloys, just like our starships. It’s a vacuum throughout the ship, so it should be well preserved. Needless to say, there are no life signs.

Let’s check it out, Dominic said, and led the way inside.

They were no sooner inside the passage beyond than the lighting came on, albeit at a low level with numerous flickers and wavering brightness. The walls were metal, but of a lighter colour to the outer hull, and had a strip of the decorative patterning along them at waist height.

I guess the lighting’s an automatic system that comes on when it detects life signs, Enik-Pel said.

We should be vigilant, in case any internal defence systems have become active as well, Jordan recommended.

Haruto closed the shuttle bay door, and immediately they began to hear a faint hiss that was gradually becoming louder.

Again Natasha checked her scanner. The ship’s repressurising, probably part of the same system that controls the lights.

Is it breathable for us? Patrice asked.

Yes it is. It’s got a slightly higher concentration of oxygen, but nothing dangerous. It’s also a fraction higher in carbon dioxide and argon. After a minute the hiss of the air pressure stopped, and Natasha reported, The pressure’s pretty normal too.

Feeling brave, Patrice? Jordan asked.

You bet, she replied, and removed her helmet. She took a couple of shallow, cautious breaths, and once she was certain it was fine she started to breathe naturally.

We might as well conserve our suits’ oxygen, Dominic said, and he and the others also removed their helmets.

Have a look at this, Jordan said, pointing out dozens of scorch marks on the inside of the shuttle bay door, but they were all superficial. It looks like someone was trying to shoot their way through to the shuttles.

They must’ve been pretty determined, to try that many times before accepting that it was futile, Patrice said.

It wasn’t locked when I opened it, Haruto said.

At least not from that side, Jordan responded. But if we try to open it now, with this passage repressurised, we’d all be blown out into space.

Dominic checked his scanner, and was still able to establish a link with their shuttle. We’ll wait until we’re ready to leave before we try it. If it doesn’t open, we can still remotely tap into the shuttle’s weapon system and blast this door open, so either way we’ll be able to get back to Magellan. Anyway, I’d better report in before we go any further in case we lose communication deeper inside. He used his suit’s communication system to call Julia, this time just an audio call.

How’s your progress? Julia’s voice answered.

We’ve entered the ship’s interior. Some basic systems are still functioning, such as gravity, lighting and life support. We’re able to get internal readings using omniscanners, so whatever’s blocking Magellan’s sensors is just in the outer hull. But the shuttle bay is lined with the same substance, so we might lose communication when we go in deeper.

Remember, I want you back in two hours, or I’ll have to send someone in to find you.

We’ll be there, Dominic said, and ended the call.

So, which way? Jordan asked, seeing that the passage ended in a sealed bulkhead in either direction.

There are two directions, so how about we split into two groups. I’ll take Enik-Pel and Patrice this way, Dominic said, indicating the way to the right, and the rest of you have a look that way. Report in every ten minutes so we know that everyone’s alright. Or immediately if you come across anything dangerous or of particular significance.

Both groups went in their respective directions and scanned to make sure there was air on the other side of their bulkhead door before opening it.

*

In a dark chamber deep inside the ship, a system had been triggered by the arrival of the investigation team, and an activation sequence had begun.

*

As he proceeded deeper into the ship, Dominic regularly checked his scanner, and noticed that in the heart of the ship there was an area that he couldn’t get any readings from. He pointed it out to Enik-Pel and Patrice to hear their thoughts.

I don’t know anything about Thalshük spacecraft, but I suppose it could house either their power reactor or part of their propulsion system. It is after all three decks in height. The shielding might be a necessity, Enik-Pel speculated.

That makes sense. They’d want to protect the crew from any energy fields or radiation that those systems might generate that could be harmful, Dominic agreed.

Chances are it’s made of the same stuff as the hull, Patrice said, and consulted her scanner. Yep, it’s the same composite. Well, it looks like this ship has thirteen decks.

My lucky number, Dominic said with a smirk.

I guess we’re not going to see the whole ship properly this time around with a two hour timeframe.

Once we’ve been able to ascertain that the ship’s safe we’ll be able to take longer visits to have a better look around.

After proceeding a little further, Patrice pointed out a particular door. This looks like a lift.

The way the lights are faltering, I wouldn’t trust it. Keep an eye out for some stairs though. I wouldn’t mind a look at their control centre, Dominic said.

From what I know of their race, prideful but also strategically minded, it’s likely that the control centre will be higher up in the ship, but not right at the very top, as that would put it against the hull, which would pose a greater risk to the senior officers in the event of a hull breach. It’ll be a few decks lower with other sections surrounding it, Enik-Pel said.

See, this is why I needed you on the mission.

All three of them stopped when they turned the next corner. Further along the passage there were two skeletons sprawled on the floor, with their bones resting on piles of dust that had once been their flesh and clothing.

The poor souls. What could’ve happened to them for them to have died in the middle of a passage like that? Or to the rest of the crew, since no one came to take them away afterwards? Patrice asked.

Must’ve been a pretty miserable end, to have been left where they dropped, Dominic said, though not without compassion.

I would’ve thought they’d be preserved, having been in a vacuum for so long, Patrice commented.

That would seem to indicate that they died some time before the interior was depressurised, so we can rule out life support failure as the cause of death, Enik-Pel said.

Dominic led the way over for a closer look.

They’re definitely Thalshük, Enik-Pel said. You can tell from that small bony ridge down the middle of the lower jaw and that short horn sticking out of the chin. Other than that, physiologically speaking they’re not all that different from humans or Lurxsa.

Would there have been aliens serving in their crew? Patrice asked.

No. And being a military vessel, they wouldn’t have even had aliens among the serving staff in the kitchens, so to speak. If other races were ever brought aboard, it was only ever as prisoners.

Because the races they’d conquered would turn against them the first chance they got?

Absolutely. Unfortunately, during the time of their empire my people were still very primitive, and lacked education or technological understanding, otherwise they would certainly have worked against them more actively, I’m sure of it. They just didn’t know how to do so effectively.

Dominic recorded some scanner readings of the remains, and then led them further along the passage in search of some stairs in the hope of finding the ship’s control centre before they were expected to report back to Magellan.

Around another corner they found another skeletal corpse, but this one had an energy weapon still clutched in its hand.

I wonder if this was the guy who was trying to shoot his way into the shuttle bay, Dominic said.

What’s more troubling is why he might’ve wanted to, and why he wasn’t able to simply open the door, Enik-Pel said thoughtfully.

Surely if some catastrophe had occurred they’d evacuate the ship? Patrice said, and then thought, Unless the ship was on lockdown as a quarantine measure. They might’ve had some contagion aboard that they couldn’t risk taking home with them, and set a course to the outer reaches of deep space. She quickly checked her scanner for any sign of such a contagion, and was relieved to find none.

If there was a plague or virus, it would have long since died out over the last few thousand years, Enik-Pel said.

They continued on their way, and found that there were closed doors every so often that separated different sections of the ship.

Dominic opened a door at random, and was delighted to find a stairwell leading both up and down. Let’s go up two levels and have a quick look around, and then head up a little higher and see if we can find the control centre.

When they emerged into another passage they again found the remains of several bodies, except this time they looked mummified; dried and withered flesh still clung to the bones, with tatters of clothing still on them. They even had their hair, which was long and grey in every case.

Was the crew made up of a bunch of old ladies? Dominic asked.

Grey is the natural hair colour for all Thalshük, just as the silvery colour of my hair is common to all Lurxsa. The men and women alike generally had long hair, but to my understanding they had no facial hair, Enik-Pel explained.

It’s a shame their clothing’s decayed so much. We might’ve been able to tell a bit more about them otherwise, Patrice said.

It would seem that these ones had died a bit more recently before the ship was depressurised, for their state of decay to be less advanced than the ones on the shuttle deck, Dominic said. It’s like these people were left to their fate in stages.

They may have stopped using certain sections as the situation worsened, and each section became a sort of morgue progressively, Enik-Pel said.

Maybe the life support system shut down automatically when there was no one left alive, and depressurised the ship to preserve it for salvage by their people later, Patrice speculated. Like the way the lighting system seemed to operate automatically as needed to conserve power.

Enik-Pel was interested by her theory. If that’s the case, the last to die might still be well preserved, if we can find them.

I hope they won’t still have that ‘dead cat’ smell then, Dominic said, wondering if they might do well to put their helmets back on before making that discovery.

I shouldn’t think so, not after this long, even in a vacuum, Enik-Pel assured him.

That’s a relief, Patrice said, having also considered putting her helmet back on just in case.

I think I’ve isolated where the control centre is, based on where all of the ship’s systems seem to interconnect, Dominic said after examining his scanner readings. Three levels above this one.

I must admit, I am as curious as you are, Enik-Pel said.

Let’s have a look then. Dominic again led the way up the stairs.

After going through the door at the right level, they followed a short passage in the direction where the convergence of the systems seemed to be. Sure enough, it led them to the control centre. It was a wide chamber with consoles and screens lining the walls and in free-standing clusters in the middle of the room. Most of the controls and displays were inactive, other than a couple that pertained to the life support, gravity and lighting systems. The writing on the displays was completely unreadable, being in the long forgotten language of the Thalshük. Most distinctive of all were the six bodies on the floor. Unlike the other ones that they’d found, these were all perfectly preserved, though they did look somewhat emaciated.

Amazing. They almost look like they’ve only just died, Dominic said.

They were dressed in black trousers, boots, and sleeveless tops, with open sleeveless hooded robes over the top that were a vivid reddish-brown colour, with numerous symbols down the front on both sides. They each also had a pistol on their belt on one side, and a ceremonial dagger on the other. Their ashen-olive skin looked smooth and untarnished by the passage of time.

The life support system must’ve shut down the moment their life signs stopped registering, Enik-Pel said. When the air was withdrawn and the heating was shut down, the vacuum and the cold preserved them. It must’ve been the heat and the ongoing presence of oxygen that allowed the other bodies to decay and even mummify, at least until the vacuum prevented any further decay.

How much longer must these ones have survived than the first to die then, since there wasn’t really anything but bones left of them? Patrice asked.

A few years, probably.

They just left the bodies down there to rot for years? And for all that time no help came for them? And for a race of conquering warriors, they don’t look all that robust.

Their muscles seem to have atrophied before they died, Enik-Pel said, looking at their bare arms.

I thought that was just part of the early stages of decomposition before the vacuum halted it, Dominic said.

Enik-Pel shook his head. The vacuum and the lack of heat would’ve halted it pretty much immediately. The Thalshük were indeed a warrior race. They would never have allowed their muscles to have wasted away like that if there was any way to prevent it. I think they must’ve starved to death. Something must’ve gone wrong with the propulsion system, leaving them adrift and preventing them from being able to get fresh supplies or repair parts.

But surely they would’ve called for help? Patrice reasoned.

Indeed they would have. The Thalshük wouldn’t have just abandoned a ship full of their soldiers to die. My assumption would be that their communication system was inoperable as well.

What are the odds of that? Dominic asked.

Considering that we saw no scorch marks or other signs of weapons fire on the hull, I can only conclude that it was sabotage of some sort. We should keep an eye out for the body of a stowaway.

Why did some die so much earlier though? Patrice asked.

From what I’ve read about the Thalshük, I dare say that once they knew their fate, the lowest ranks among the crew would’ve been executed to preserve what food remained for the higher ranking officers. Those would be the skeletons we first saw, which would explain why there were scorch marks on the shuttle bay door. Those poor unfortunates were probably trying to escape the culling, but the door was sealed on the inside to prevent their escape.

And I suppose the ones that weren’t as decayed were from a second culling when the supplies were getting low? Dominic asked.

In all likelihood, Enik-Pel said.

Then why didn’t these last few use the shuttles to get away to at least give them a chance? Patrice asked.

That I couldn’t tell you. Futility doesn’t seem an adequate answer, as they would’ve kept trying to survive until their final breath.

Any chance of reviving the ones in here, if they’ve been so well preserved? Dominic asked.

I very much doubt it. Some level of internal cellular degradation would still have occurred, not to mention that death by starvation would mean that their bodies were no longer able to function anyway. But it’s probably for the best. No good could possibly come from a species like theirs making any sort of return, Enik-Pel said with a tone of grim satisfaction.

I dare say that now that there’s air again they’ll resume decomposing, Patrice said.

After this long, I honestly have no idea. And it probably depends how long it was before the depressurisation occurred, as well as how long before the ambient heat dissipated.

A little hesitantly, but with his curiosity getting the better of him, Dominic knelt down beside the nearest corpse and touched its arm with his bio-suit’s gloved finger. The flesh crumbled at the point of contact, as did a little more of it in the area immediately surrounding it.

You just couldn’t help yourself, could you? Patrice said.

I barely touched it. At least now we know there’s no possibility of reviving them.

*

When the activation cycle was complete, the lights came on in the sealed chamber in the heart of the ship, and eight of the twenty almost horizontal stasis pods against the walls opened. In each of them, a Thalshük officer opened their eyes. After taking a few breaths, they climbed out of their pods. Four men and four women, they were all dressed the same as the bodies in the control centre.

Observing that the lighting was wavering and at a lower level, one of the men asked, How long have we slept?

One of the women went over to a wall console, which had just finished powering up, and after checking the readings she reported with surprise, Almost five millennia, or more accurately, 4,850 years.

Who came aboard? Have our people found us? one of the other women asked.

The one at the console replied, I’m detecting six life signs, all alien. Five are unfamiliar, the other is a Lurxsa. They’ve divided into two groups of three and are moving about the ship. They have a large starship of their own close by.

With no way of knowing what’s become of our people, since they haven’t found us in all this time, we may have to use the aliens to carry out emergency sanction twelve, one of the men said.

The Lurxsa will be of no use to us, but the others might, another said. He had a distinctive scar down the side of his face starting from behind his right eye.

Release the neutralising gas, the first man who’d spoken ordered.

Her fingers flicking over the controls, the woman at the console responded a few moments later, It’s being released. The aliens will be unconscious in a matter of seconds.

*

Several decks down from the shuttle bay, Natasha was saying to her companions, What sort of propulsion system do you think they have? From the outside there are no visible engines.

Some kind of spatial displacement drive perhaps? Haruto speculated as they made their way along the passage, checking behind random doors as they went. The whole level seemed to be dedicated to crew quarters, all of which seemed rather spartan. They too had come across several skeletons, all with their flesh completely gone.

Jordan had just poked his head through yet another door that opened to sparsely decorated quarters when he noticed that he was suddenly feeling tired, like he was ready to go to sleep. He turned to say something to the other two and saw that they were struggling to remain standing. With alarm he realised that it was something that was affecting all of them, and that it might actually be some form of internal defence system that they’d inadvertently triggered, designed to incapacitate rather than kill, at least he hoped it wasn’t lethal. Natasha and Haruto slumped to the floor unconscious. Jordan reached for the control to activate his bio-suit’s communication system, but before his finger reached it everything went dark.

*

A concealed door opened on the deck of the shuttle bay and the eight Thalshük emerged, two carrying small medical kits, and all eight of them wearing respiration masks that covered the mouth and nose. One of the women was also carrying a small, flat electronic device. They divided into two groups of four, with a medical kit in each group, and went straight for the nearest stairwell. One group, including the woman with the electronic device, went down to where Jordan, Natasha and Haruto were, while the other group, led by the man with the scar, ascended to the deck where they found Dominic’s trio lying on the floor of the control centre unconscious.

The woman holding the medical kit promptly knelt and placed it on the ground near Patrice and took out a small pen-like device. Turning Patrice’s head so that it faced to the side, she pointed the tip of the device at her temple and activated it. It emitted a thin laser beam that burned a tiny hole through the skin and through the bone beneath. She deactivated the beam before it actually reached any brain matter. Without hesitation, the other woman of their group knelt next to her, waiting, and the one with the laser scalpel first pointed another device at that woman’s temple that cast a wider beam to temporarily neutralise the nerves beneath the skin, and then while the woman knelt perfectly still, she used the scalpel on her temple in the same way that she had with Patrice. She then passed the scalpel and the numbing device to the man who was already kneeling by Dominic, with the man with the scar kneeling beside him. He proceeded to carry out the same operations on Dominic and then the man with the scar.

While he was doing that, the woman operating on Patrice took an electrical syringe from the medical kit that had a long, thin needle. She also took out a bio-scanner and used it as a guide as she proceeded to press the needle through the hole in the kneeling Thalshük woman’s temple and into her brain until it had penetrated to a specific depth, and then activated the syringe, which withdrew a carefully controlled amount of material, a dark, viscous substance. After then withdrawing the needle, she took a small ampoule from the medical kit and used the same syringe to also withdraw a tiny amount of its contents, and then inserted the needle into the hole in Patrice’s temple. Again using the bio-scanner as a guide, she injected the material mixed with the additional compound deep inside Patrice’s brain. When she was finished, she replaced the syringe’s needle with a clean one, and also replaced the injection chamber to avoid cross-contamination before passing it and the additional compound that she’d used to the man who was operating on Dominic and the Thalshük man with the scar. Taking a tissue regenerator from the medical kit, she set it to a fine beam and used it to seal the wound on Patrice’s temple, leaving no trace that it was ever there.

When the other man had also concluded his operations, the four Thalshük stood up. The one who’d operated on Patrice put all of the medical devices back into the kit, and said to the other woman and the man with the scar, You’d better conceal yourselves quickly. If the aliens find you it will arouse suspicion, especially if the Lurxsa has knowledge of our race.

They nodded in acknowledgement, and all left the control centre.

A couple of minutes later the woman and the man who’d carried out the operations on Patrice and Dominic were joined at the concealed door by one of the younger women from the group who’d gone downstairs, who was carrying their medical kit. The operations were carried out successfully. The others have gone to hide themselves.

They entered the hidden chamber and sealed the door behind them, which blended with the wall perfectly.

Taking off her respirator, the woman who’d operated on Patrice went over to a console, and after making some adjustments, said, The neutralising gas is being withdrawn from the ship and the air composition is returning to normal. The aliens will regain consciousness shortly.

We should monitor them until they leave before returning to stasis, the man said.

Agreed, the younger woman said.

Did you leave the key with the aliens? the man asked her.

No. If they have it too soon, before the integration has taken hold, they might hand it over to their superiors. We hid it prior to the operations so that only when the integration is taking hold will they know where to look for it, she replied.

A wise precaution. And if they depart before the integration is complete they will be able to find their way back here at another time.

The concealing agent will be effective for about half a day, as they’ll no doubt run medical scans on themselves when they regain consciousness, and after that time the integration will be well under way, the woman who’d reset the life support system said.

The three of them gathered around a display to monitor the movements of the visitors from Magellan when they awoke.

*

Dominic started stirring to the sound of a voice coming from his bio-suit’s communication system. It took him a moment to realise that it was Jordan. He answered the call. What’s your situation?

The three of us just found ourselves waking up on the floor. Judging by how long it took you to respond, I’m guessing the same thing happened to you guys? Jordan said.

It would seem so, Dominic said as he got to his feet. Enik-Pel and Patrice were also getting up as well. Is everyone alright though?

We seem to be. We just don’t know what happened.

Maybe you should come and join us up here for the moment. It’s probably best that we stick together until we figure out what happened.

Will do, Jordan said, and closed communication.

The first thing that Enik-Pel did when he was standing was use his scanner to compare readings of himself and the other two to try to figure out what had rendered them unconscious.

Got any explanations? Dominic