20

The slip tunnel, fortunately, was short. Jelly’s estimation of the time remaining on the mission clock gave me butterflies. I had no idea how difficult it would be to gather raw materials, nor did I know for sure the Bold Freedom had the ability to process them.

Our plan was based on the assumption that the ship’s crew was heading here for a reason. If they were just running blind, then we were in trouble and had sacrificed Henshaw and the Lady Faith for no reason.

 “Post slip tunnel evasive maneuvers complete. Initiating primary scan of the system,” Jelly advised.

 Normally, I went about my business or smoked a cigar as Jelly and X-37 mapped out the system and searched for slip tunnels. With time running out, I stayed on the bridge and devoured each piece of information as it came in.

The first thing Jelly was able to find, other than the basic distances and mass calculations of the planets, were several slip tunnels that seemed to have the same warning messages we couldn’t yet read.

 A short time later, Jelly delivered news that changed everything. Elise and Tom also waited in anticipation. This was a make it or break it moment. In the next few seconds, we would know whether or not we had even the slightest chance of saving the Bold Freedom.

 I studied the readings carefully. “Are those cities?”

“I believe they are,” Jelly said. “There are distinct signs of technology on the only planet in the green zone, one hundred and fifty million kilometers from the star in this system.”

“Can you determine whether or not the Bold Freedom has been here? Do they know these people?” I asked.

“Unknown,” Jelly said. “Continuing a deep scan and analysis of radio communications from the planet.”

“What about you, X?” I asked.

“I find it unlikely the Bold Freedom has ever been to the system,” X-37 said. “It’s more likely they encountered someone from the system or perhaps intercepted a long-range communication that has been floating through the galaxy for decades.”

“Those are cities!” Elise exclaimed, then put an image from her long-range scanners on the main holo display. One part of the planet was covered with lights that could only be cities. They weren’t as large as others I’d seen in the Union or even Sarkonian Empire, but they represented a hell of a lot more than some random colony or outpost.

“I’ve always wondered what a first-contact scenario would feel like,” Tom said. “I was reading a series of novels last month that explored the possibilities. Things could get interesting for us if we continue.”

“Sure,” I said. “Of course. Getting captured and killed by aliens sounds like fun.”

“I have no records of alien contact,” X-37 said. “And neither does Jelly. We’ve discussed this possibility at length.”

“I’m not sure if I’m more worried that you two have private conversations or that there might be aliens out here,” I said.

“We’ve concluded there must be non-human life forms someplace. It’s a statistical certainty,” X-37 said.

“Just nowhere near Union, Sarkonian, or Deadland space,” I said. “Keep us in stealth mode. I’d like to learn as much as I can about these people before attempting contact. The clock is ticking.”

The Jellybird cut across the system as quickly as we dared. Time was running short.  We gathered information as we approached the mysterious civilization. There were satellites and work platforms not unfamiliar to designs we knew, which indicated they were probably human or at least humanoid.

One of the uninhabitable worlds supported a mining colony with several freight haulers and a space station in orbit of the frozen planet.

“I don’t think they have detected us,” Elise said. She sipped nutrient paste from a tube then pulled water from another container.

Everyone on the ship looked rough—sleep-deprived and exhausted from remaining on high alert for too long. I’d quit telling them to go to their quarters for sleep and hygiene maintenance. We all took short naps in our chairs and drank mediocre coffee at room temperature.

 “Jelly, help Elise run a full scan of the facility and the ships. Do they have fuel we could acquire for the Bold Freedom? Do their ships have weapons?” I asked.

 “We’re on it,” Elise said. “I think I’m getting good at this.”

“Consider it a crash course,” I said, thinking of how much better trained Nebs’s crews had to be.

 “Those ships seem to be ice haulers,” Jelly advised. “They don’t have significant fuel stores—just enough for their own operations. Conclusion, we can’t get what we need from them.”

 “Continue to their home planet,” I said, desperate for information I needed to make first contact with these people.

“Would you like to hear their language?” Elise asked. “X-37 might correct me if I’m wrong, but I think they’re human. Maybe a lost colony or something. It’s like something out of an Earth fairy-tale. We are so far beyond Union space.”

“There will be disadvantages,” I promised. “They’ll see us as raiders.”

 We slowed to a relative rest far beyond the planet’s defensive systems.  They had automated satellites with primitive rockets and projectile weapons that were easily avoided in our stealth mode. There were also space docks, where they worked on rows of ships of a vaguely familiar but bulky design.

“I’d like to know what type of engines are on those things,” I said.

“I’m on it,” Tom said. “I’d like to have actual schematics, but I can make certain inferences from visuals.”

“Good. Let me know what you figure out,” I said. “Jelly, take us closer to the planet and start working on a translation matrix for their language. Can you pick up any image transmissions?”

“I can,” she said. “Would you like me to put one on the main holo view?”

“Absolutely,” I said, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms.

A man appeared standing in the middle of our bridge, talking to someone we couldn’t see. His words didn’t make sense, but neither were they threatening. It looked like some sort of administrative meeting, possibly with the ice haulers we had passed on our way in.

“Ahhg,” Elise complained. “It’s like their language is on the tip of my tongue. It feels like I should understand them, but I can’t.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Tom said. “I believe the order of their sentence structure is the same as ours, or at least close enough I think we could work it out with a little help from Jelly and X.”

Both of them typed notes and did screen captures of the man we were spying on in the holo.

I watched him for a while, taking note of his almost formal uniform. 

Jelly started to display words she’d learned so far.  Some of it sounded hilarious until more of the context was figured out.

“I should have a reasonable translation program established soon,” Jelly advised. “X-37 has helped immensely.”

“Languages are one of his auxiliary functions,” I said. “I’m going to get an hour of sleep.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Elise said. “Jelly said it would take us several hours under ideal conditions. If my calculations are correct, we’re already behind schedule.”

 “I know exactly how much time we have,” I said. X-37 had been giving me updates every quarter hour. “I also want to be fresh when we begin negotiations. It’s not every day we meet people who have never heard of the Union.”

 “That’s a wise decision,” X-37 said. “No need to rush to failure.”

Elise was listening but seemed distracted by information coming into her sensor terminal. “Yeah, that’s really smart. Do you want me to tell you about what looks like a major evacuation in progress, or wait until you have your beauty rest?”

 I didn’t take the bait. “Check your information. Be prepared to debrief me when I get back. X, make sure I wake up in one hour.”

“You’re such a jerk,” Elise muttered as she worked frantically to gather information.

I went to sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

* * *

Grady was waiting for me in the realm of sleep. He sat by my hospital bed in full combat gear, holding his helmet in his hands. That had never really happened. He never told the truth in the dreams or behaved as he should.

“What happened to the girls?” I asked.

“They lived,” Grady said. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Captain Clark wanted you court-martialed. If you haven’t been served papers yet, then someone put a kibosh on it.”

I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t received notification of court-martial proceedings, but I didn’t want Grady to be involved in any way, including speculation of what had or hadn’t happened to my career.

“You’re pretty hard on civilians,” Grady said.

I thought he was being unfair but wasn’t able to argue, because this was a dream and the rules were as unfair as hell. 

“I’m not talking about Carson’s World,” he said.

I realized the helmet he was holding in his hand was the same one he’d been wearing when he died on Dreadmax.

“I’m talking about Wallach,” he said, flipping the battered helmet over in his hands to look inside of it, and flipping it again so that the top of it showed. The nervous habit had been real, at least. I’d seen him do that hundreds of times.

“They’ve never heard of the Union. More importantly, they won’t submit. Wouldn’t be a problem if they had even a slight chance of escaping the Union’s wrath. You brought predators to their door.”

 “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I argued.

“I heard X-37 attempting to wake you up. You overslept. You’re such a lazy asshole,” Grady said. “Everyone on the Bold Freedom is going to die, because you couldn’t get them killed on Dreadmax like you did me.”

I sat up, wide awake, looking around my room for threats. After two seconds—it felt like a lifetime—I rolled out of the narrow bed and cleared the room—because the habit had saved my life, not because I was freaked out by a dream featuring my best friend’s ghost. 

 “Oh, good. You’re awake. I thought you might’ve died,” X-37 said sarcastically.

“You would have known if I died,” I said. “And why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I have been trying to wake you up for six minutes and fourteen seconds,” X-37 said.

“What’s the name of this planet?”

“They call it Wallach,” X-37 said. “Jelly and I have constructed translation software. You will only sound like an idiot eleven percent of the time you speak with them.”

“Great. Wait for me to make contact,” I said, trying to hide the fact that I was shaken. Grady had just used the name in my dream. Was I going crazy?

“Elise has already begun dialogue with their head of system security,” X-37 said. “My calculations indicate she is a superior linguist to you. Perhaps you should allow her to do all the talking.”

“What?” I shouted.

“You were asleep and the Wallach security chief threatened to fire on us if we didn’t respond,” X-37 said.

Already dressed, I grabbed my helmet and ran to the bridge.

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