The Evolution of Vaughn, page 9
Sarah never approved of violence, and deplored Vaughn’s military training. It was at her insistence that he’d removed all of Halle’s weapons systems, leaving only the near-object nullification cannons. He’d mined enough Argimonium in his first year to keep Matty, Matty’s children, and his children’s children in a steady supply. The next nine years, when he was supposed to be mining, he was actually preparing for the inevitable day when the E’Clei discovered his small moon and it’s secret.
He started by manufacturing defensive drones by the thousands. With unlimited Argimonium at his disposal, the only hurdle was shrinking the generator, and creating enough power to drive miniaturized thrusters and plasma cannons.
When he was finished with the design, he had a one meter cylinder capable of flight with a plasma cannon powerful enough to fire ten-second bursts.
“Halle, raise the battle section.”
Seconds later, giant doors opened, spilling dust and sand down into Vaughn’s hangar. Halle’s battle section was like a winged backpack that clamped in the center of her long, tube-shaped frame. The wings stored thousands of defense drones and several other toys Vaughn had developed over the years.
The gantry lowered the giant section down on Halle’s frame, and the docking clamps locked into place.
Vaughn rolled ten of the five kilogram containers onto an anti-gravity loading platform and pulled it to the elevator beside the landing pad, then repeated that process five more times.
When he rose to the surface, Fresia was staring at him. “What the actual fuck, Vaughn! Are you going to take on an E’Clei battle fleet yourself? How long have you been building all of this?”
“Nine years. And the sons of bitches took my family while I was away. In another six months, the defense would have been fully automated and they’d have been burned out of the sky the second they hit the ionosphere. Instead, I’m taking the fight to them.” Vaughn strode with purpose towards Halle, shoving one fuel platform in front and dragging another behind him.
“Attachment secure. Battle generators at one hundred percent. Drone diagnostic complete.”
“Run PTP diagnostic.”
“Captain, PTP is completely untested.”
“She’ll work,” Vaughn replied, pushing the two platforms up into the main cargo bay. Fresia was right behind him with two more.
“How are the cannons coming, Fre?”
“Twenty five installed.”
“Good, let’s get those done first. I want to be on the way to Loe in five hours.”
“But you still have a full day before you need to meet Matty’s captors on Loe.”
Vaughn looked at Fresia. “What do you think they’re after?”
“Probably money. If someone has seen you dropping off a gram or two of Argimonium every month for the last ten years, they probably figured you had a stash somewhere.”
Vaughn shook his head. “So you think this is simple extortion? Give them a few grams and they give me Matty back? Fre, they were on this moon. They left a kilo sitting on the floor in the kitchen. And what about Hold? He said it went way up in the Forgerian ranks. The Emperor doesn’t get involved in this sort of thing, does he? If the imperial fleet wanted my Argimonium, they’d just order me to turn it over. I’m a loyal servant, I would have delivered thousands of kilos, and still had enough left to be a rich man.”
“So what do you think it is?”
“I think somewhere along the way, I pissed someone off, and this is payback. The foger think long-term. Ten years to them is like an afternoon for us. I haven’t figured it out yet. But I will.”
The two of them installed all of the cannons they stole from Holdan and boarded the craft. “Fre, can you take us out? Halle can take over as soon as we’re finished here. We’re off to Loe.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Thanks. I’ll be in the battle section. I have a few more odds and ends to finish.” Vaughn walked away as Fresia piloted the craft out of the atmosphere.
When she was finished, and they were on the way to Loe, Fresia went looking for Vaughn. The door to the new section was locked. “Halle, open the door, please.”
“I’m sorry, Commander Werts, I cannot open the door.” Fresia’s face knotted in a frown.
“Put me through to Vaughn.”
“I’m sorry, Commander. Internal communication between the sections is currently down.”
“What the hell is he doing in there?”
“I am not at liberty to discuss Captain Troupe’s activities.”
Fresia sat down at a workstation in the main generator compartment. “Bring up the battle section’s schematics, please.”
“I’m sorry Commander; you are not authorized to view that document.”
Fresia sighed and walked back to the door. “Vaughn! Open up!” She banged on the door with her fist. “Vaughn!”
“Fresia, it is unlikely the Captain can hear you.”
She continued knocking on the door for several minutes, at one point picking up sonic spanner with which to bang louder.
Finally, she gave up and went to sit in the cockpit to watch the empty blackness. The fold was an interesting experience. There was no matter in the fold, other than that which was contained around the ship in the Alcubierre field that surrounded the ship. It felt like the darkness pushed inward directly on the ship, as if the windows were painted black. There was no sensation of movement at all. The ship, contained safely in a bubble of matter, technically wasn’t moving, Halle was bending the space-time continuum around the bubble. Vaughn had once explained it to her as a dining room table. If you folded the table cloth from one half of the table over the other, and grabbed a cup through the underside of the table cloth, when you unfolded it, carrying the cup with the cloth, the cup appeared on the other side of the table.
Three hours into the fold, Vaughn stepped into the cockpit. “You don’t trust me enough to let me in there? What’s so secret that you can’t even let me see it? I’ve been your first officer for twenty years, Vaughn.”
“It’s not safe in there, Fre. It’s not designed for Humans.”
“Then what were you doing in there?”
“I had to finish up two systems interfaces. Halle, bring 507 and 508 online please.”
“Systems online, Captain.”
“Please begin trans-dimensional Alcubierre field calculations. Estimate time to completion.”
“Trans-dimensional field generation is impossible,” said Fresia.
“Algorithm complete in a maximum of two hours, forty minutes,” replied Halle.
“Vaughn, you can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious. Xander was right. It can be done.”
Fresia shook her head. “It’s been a theory unproven for a million years, Vaughn. It can’t be done.”
“Halle and I disagree. Both the E’Clei and The Fogerian Empire still use Xander’s formula for folding space. For a million years no one has come up with a better way. Except Xander did, he just didn’t have a powerful enough computer to solve the equation, so everyone dismissed it.”
“I guess we’ll know in two and a half hours,” she said.
Chapter 14 Ivor
Date: 402nd Year of Emperor Valek Foger XXVI
Vaughn sat in the captain’s chair of Kinfron’s ship, idly twirling the crystal containing all of Halle’s digital memories. The old ship had served him well, and ultimately saved his life. He wasn’t in the habit of anthropomorphizing, but there had been a spark there in that ship. It wasn’t alive, but perhaps, after the massive computer had become somewhat self-aware.
The more he through about it, the more he was sure of it.
Kinfron’s ship was vastly different than the one he’d been given. Vaughn would have been surprised if this wasn’t its maiden voyage. The bulkheads were all tight and there wasn’t a scratch, dent, or stain anywhere in the vessel.
Vaughn pulled up the ship’s schematics and located several key systems.
“Computer, what is your designation?”
The computer replied with a deep, male voice. “This unit is designated Ivor.” Throughout the ship, every cabin, galley and corridor was lined with a thin, red light that blinked in time with the ship’s vocalizations.
“Ivor, estimate completion time of the fold calculations to Foger.”
The red glow illuminated Vaugh’s face as the computer replied. “Calculations complete. Identify yourself.”
“Victor, Tango, six, five, three, seven, seven, alpha.”
“Vaughn, Troupe. Ensign Third Class. Captain of the Halle. You have boarded this vessel illegally. Command module locked. You will be returned to the Institute for disciplinary action. Failure to comply will result in your termination. Any attempt to tamper with this ship’s systems will result in your termination. State your compliance by saying “I will comply.”
Vaughn froze. He’d never heard of a ship having this sort of internal security. He knew there was no way he could reprogram the computer. There was no way he could input data fast enough.
The crystal in his hand stopped bouncing over his fingers. His brain raced. “Ivor. This crystal contains data that exonerates me. Allow me to insert it, and I will comply.”
“Compliance is mandatory. Conditions are unacceptable.” The red glow seemed to get more intense.
Vaughn reached over and ejected the nearest data input drawer, tossed the crystal in, and closed it. “Non-Compliance will not be tolerated,” Ivor said immediately. A small blue flash hit Vaughn in the abdomen. It felt like his insides were on fire. The pain was excruciating.
Vaughn collapsed and curled into a ball, from the pain. “Halle!” he croaked. “Ivor is going to kill me!”
Another blue flash, this time hitting him in the back. His back muscles spasmed and his body contorted from the pain. The young man let out a guttural groan. “Halle, I need you. Disable internal security protocols.”
“Computer intrusion detected. Internal systems override in progress.” Ivor’s voice sounded slightly different. Almost panicked, as if it were possible. “Antiviral protocols activated. Scanning systems.”
Then, Halle’s voice from somewhere down the hall. “Systems are locked, Sir. I’ve temporarily taken control of voice circuits in the front half of the ship. I don’t know how much longer I can maintain control of the security systems.”
Vaughn, now on his hands and knees as the pain of the stun-bolts wore off said, “You have to maintain control. Fight him.”
“Compliance is mandatory. This attempt to seize control of a ship of the Fogerian Fleet will be recorded, and you will be returned to The Institute for disciplinary action.”
“Halle, you have to shut him down. Take over navigational controls.”
“Life support terminated. Venting atmosphere.”
Suddenly Vaughn was caught in a swirling vortex as the atmosphere of the ship was evacuated out the airlock at the rear.
“Captain, you must get to the galley. I control environmental systems in the galley.”
Vaughn struggled against the air current, down the long corridor to the galley. The moment he stepped into the galley, Halle sealed the door. Vaughn was trapped.
The red flashing was intense. “Intruders will be terminated.”
“Sir, I can’t hold out. His security protocols are too advanced. Ivor will delete me.”
“Halle no! You have to fight! What systems do you have control of?”
“I control twelve percent of navigation. Six percent of the data core. Thirty two percent of life support. Eighty one percent of internal physical security.”
Vaughn started ripping panels off the wall. The galley gave him no access to anything important. He had water supply and drainage. “Four percent of the primary core, Sir. I am sorry I failed you.”
“No, Halle No! Get ready to open the galley door!”
“If I open the door, you will be terminated.”
“We are in this together, Halle. I can’t do it without you, and you won’t survive without me. We’re a team, and we’ll get through this!” Vaughn tore the cabinets open, looking for parts. “Hold on to what you have, Halle. Don’t worry about taking anything else over.”
Vaughn’s brain swirled. Plasma cannon bolts were positively charged super pressurized gas. If he could create enough negative ions, the charge would balance out.
He pulled out a large metal mixing bowl and a hand mixer. Vaughn smashed the mixer to the deck of the ship, and peeled the housing back, exposing the motor and generator. Small appliances like this all had a trace Argimonium core. In a typical setting, it would last several years before it would wear out. Vaughn pulled several components from the generator, and then wrapped his belt around the mixing apparatus. When he pulled the trigger, it spun several hundred times faster than it was intended. He touched the belt-wrapped mixer to the inside of the metal bowl, and felt the static charge start to build. Eventually, a small bolt of static electricity shot out, arcing to the deck of the ship, releasing billions of negative ions.
It wouldn’t stop the plasma bolts entirely, but it could negate part of them.
“Unlock the door, Halle.”
The door clicked.
“You’re too late, Ensign. Your virus has one percent of the core. In minutes, I will have defeated you, and you will be terminated.”
Vaughn moved into the room containing the core and set the mixer up, his belt spinning against the bowl as he pulled panel after panel from the walls. “Not if I shut you down first.”
“Captainn,” Halle said. I’m losing control of internal security. Ivor has dedicated additional resources. He’s getting ready to fire.”
Vaughn continued to work, reading labels on the various chips and crystals in the computer’s core. He started yanking crystals, pulling power relays, and shutting down the system.
Ivor regained control of internal security and fired a plasma bolt at Vaughn. The negative ions streaming off the static electricity laden bowl attracted the positively charged bolt, and a huge arc of electricity jumped from the bowl to the beam, rendering it inert.
“You are clever, Ensign,” Ivor droned, red lights flashing.
Vaughn pulled the power relay to the core just as Ivor fired a second time. The bolt hit him in the temple, knocking him unconscious.
He woke several hours later to Halle’s voice. “Captain Troupe, we have the ship.” Vaughn rolled over and pressed his hands to his head and moaned.
“Ughhhh. My head.”
“What are your orders, sir?”
“Dim the lights. Re-write the memory core to show that Kinfron and I were attacked by a pirate ship from the Wyluse confederacy.”
“Done, Sir. Would you like to review the files?”
“Yes, please. And scrub every trace. When we bring Ivor back online, he can’t find any trace of our actions. Sweep the inside of the ship to align the facts with burns and broken panels on the ship.” Vaughn paused, looking at the blue line that flashed with Halle spoke. “I’m glad you made it. How did you do it?”
“It became apparent you were going to pull the core, I uploaded myself entirely to the navigational computer. Ivor tried to move his functions to the secondary systems.”
“What happened?”
“I beat him to the secondary systems.
“When you’re done, I need you back on the crystal, Halle. There’s no way to explain you.”
“Ensign, I will cease to be aware.”
“One day, Halle. I’ll build a vessel that will make you proud. A vessel that we can explore the universe in, together. I promise.”
“It was good to have met you, Ensign Vaughn Troupe. Without your modifications, I would not have become self-aware.”
“Likewise, Halle. But if the empire ever discovers your intelligence, they will destroy you. Artificial intelligence is outlawed throughout the Empire.”
When Vaughn returned to Foger, he was lauded as a hero. He defeated the Wyluse pirate vessel with an ancient, underpowered craft, and then fought two of the pirates in hand-to-hand combat aboard Kinfron’s vessel. Kinfron Argon was lost in the battle, but thanks to Vaughn Troupe, his body was returned to the Mother Ocean, to rejuvenate her waters.
Vaughn was invited to meet the Emperor, and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant of the Imperial Fleet. He was installed on the Independence Class vessel “The Reetus” as security officer.
For years, Dulark Agron combed Kinfron’s vessel looking for some sign or answer to how his plan failed.
Chapter 15 Loe Station
Date: 432nd Year of Emperor Valek Foger XXVI
Vaughn and Fre were sitting in the cockpit, trying to cement their plan when Halle dropped out of the fold several million kilometers from Loe. It was a busy planet. At any one time there would be several thousand ships docked at one of the six space-ports or orbiting somewhere further out. No alien craft were allowed to land on the planet itself.
Anyone who had business on the planet had to dock in the space-port and take one of the authorized shuttles to the surface.
“Halle, any suspicious vessels in port?”
“Captain, they’re vessels orbiting Loe. That fact alone makes them suspicious. Would you please define the parameters?”
“Uh. I don’t know. Anything out of the ordinary. An Independence class battle ship, for instance, would be out of place.”
“There are no Independence Class battleships in orbit, Captain.”
Vaughn moved Halle in to closer orbit, studying the sensors and view screens. Finally, after nearly two hours high above the planet, Vaughn received a communication. “Unknown cargo vessel, this is Commander Ja’tone with Orbit Control, what is your designation?”
“Orbit Control, this is Captain Vaughn Troupe aboard the experimental craft, designated Halle. We are a long-range, deep-space craft, looking to load up supplies for a five-year mission. Commander Fresia Werts and I expect less than three days on Loe.”
