Ep.#3.6 - Evolution , page 12
“She’s a hacker hunter,” Vladimir realized, a bit impressed.
“So, a computer-geek kicked your ass?” Jessica joked.
“She didn’t kick my ass,” Vladimir argued.
“I analyzed comm-trails and back-traced illegal access attempts for a corporate cyber security firm.”
“Captain,” Doctor Barra interrupted. “Even if they completely cured her, there would be residual damage that I would have detected.”
“Maybe she was cloned?” Jessica suggested.
“Jerrit’s is genetic,” Kayci explained. “If they cloned her, she’d just get it again in a few years.”
“She’s not a clone,” Nathan insisted.
“How do you know?” Jessica challenged.
“It doesn’t make any sense. They didn’t ask for payment, and cloning is not cheap. Plus, it’s illegal in Alliance territory.”
“She did say she was moved to another world.”
“I’m pretty sure I was still in Alliance space,” Breyanna stated. “Besides, I feel different…very different.”
“How so?” Nathan wondered.
“Smaller, for one. I was not a small gal. I was about one hundred and seventy-eight centimeters, and noticeably overweight. Kind of a side-effect of the job.”
“You’re about one sixty-five, and fifty-five kilos at most,” Jessica told her.
“Are you serious?” Breyanna questioned, looking at her arms and torso. “My God, my boobs! They were a lot larger.” She started to panic and reached for her hair. I had long hair as well,” she exclaimed as she felt her short-cut hairstyle.
“Were you a blonde?” Jessica asked.
“Redhead.”
“Not anymore.”
“What the hell?” Breyanna exclaimed, starting to panic.
Jessica pulled her scanner from her belt and took an image, handing the device to Breyanna afterward.
Breyanna’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “Oh my God! What did they do to me?” She looked at the others. “This isn’t me! Who am I?”
Nathan could see the fear and panic in Breyanna’s face and stepped forward to console her. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out,” he promised her, wrapping his arms around her as she began to sob. He looked at Jessica as the woman cried in his arms.
Jessica just shrugged, as perplexed as any of them.
* * *
General Gogol stared at the view screen on the briefing room wall. “And you believe that tiny spike represents a second jump?”
“I do,” the Maturo’s sensor officer replied. “If you remove the energy signature from the jump, what remains looks very much like the energy signature of another jump.”
“But not exactly,” General Gogol pointed out.
“No, but that could be because of the overlapping signature of the preceding jump.”
“Assuming they were somehow able to execute a second jump even before the first one had occurred.”
“I’ve spoken to our chief engineer, and he says it is technically possible, but very few people would be able to pull that off, especially in a ship like the Traverna. Even he did not believe he could do so.”
“You’re not convincing me,” the general admitted.
“I’m not trying to, sir. I’m just reporting the possibilities, based on my sensor readings.”
“I don’t suppose you have any way to verify your theory?”
“Unfortunately, none of the Genstar assets were actively scanning the Traverna at the time she jumped, and they never thought to take old light readings of her escape from multiple angles.”
“Of course, they didn’t,” General Gogol snarled. “Any guesses as to the distance of their second jump?”
“We originally estimated their first jump at seven light years but have not found them at that distance. The second spike, assuming it is a jump signature, would be between one to three light years.”
“Then we go out to ten light years and start searching backwards,” Captain Hyam suggested.
“Why ten?” the general questioned.
“That is the Traverna’s maximum jump range.”
“Let’s start at twenty-two,” the general insisted.
“General?” the captain questioned.
“The Traverna can series jump ten light years at a time. If they did two max-range jumps, that’s twenty light years. And every ship’s captain likes to keep an extra light year of jump range in reserve, just in case they jump into trouble,” the general explained. “I’m betting the Traverna did so as well. Besides, if the Aurora is looking for her, and they came to the same two-jump hypothesis, they’ll start just beyond the Traverna’s max-jump range as well. With any luck, we’ll come up behind them.”
“As you wish, General,” Captain Hyam replied.
General Gogol looked at the sensor officer. “Nice work, Lieutenant. If this leads us to the Aurora, you’ll be a lieutenant commander before you know it.”
* * *
The sun had set hours ago. Nathan sat on the ground, leaning against one of the trees that had been knocked over by their escape pod during their crash-landing. Nathan’s watch, still set to ship-time, said it was only fifteen hundred hours. If he were on the Aurora right now, he’d be meeting Vlad for dinner in about an hour, and then going to the gym for his evening training.
Jessica came over, making her way over the uneven, slightly sloped landscape by the waning light of the world’s more prominent moon. “Hungry?” she asked, offering Nathan a ration pack.
“Thanks,” Nathan replied, accepting the food-packet. He opened it and tried to look inside. “I believe Nellie was making Coran lasagna tonight.” He reached into the bag, pulling out a nugget of food, popping it into his mouth. “Not exactly lasagna,” he said as he grimaced, chewing.
“Did you buy any of that?” Jessica asked as she sat down on the ground next to him and opened her own food-packet.
“Her story wasn’t any more far-fetched than ours,” Nathan said as he swallowed his food.
“There’s more to it, that’s for sure.”
“You think she’s holding something back?”
“Actually, no.”
Nathan looked at her. “Well, that’s a first.”
“Her reaction when she saw herself on my scanner pad…even I couldn’t have faked that.”
“Then what are you thinking?”
“Doc says that medical SA pod was state-of-the-art. That means it was expensive.”
“So, someone was willing to spend a lot of money saving her.”
“The goal wasn’t to save her,” Jessica insisted. “They were just using her to test something. Something dangerous or illegal. Probably both.”
“Whoever it was, they could afford to send a sizable force looking for her,” Nathan stated. “Had to be corporate-level stuff.”
“But why would they want to transfer someone into a different body?” Jessica argued. “If cloning is illegal, then surely cloning someone else and transferring someone into that body is illegal as well. Not that a big corporation would care.”
“Yeah, but not that many people would have the kind of resources needed to afford that kind of service,” Nathan said.
“That’s what worries me,” Jessica admitted. “If my suspicious mind can’t come up with something, then whatever they are planning is really scary.”
“Recommendations?” Nathan asked.
“Honestly, leave her here and get as far away from her as possible,” Jessica suggested. “Hell, I’d even activate the homing beacon on the pod just to make sure they find her.”
“That’s pretty harsh, don’t you think?”
“On the other hand, if we take her with us, we might learn more from her and eventually figure out what’s really going on.”
“Then you do think she’s hiding something,” Nathan surmised.
“She may not even realize she’s hiding something.”
Nathan looked at Jessica. There was something different about her tone, and it worried him. “What is it?”
“Like I said, she’s got training. That means either she’s lying…”
“Or?” Nathan asked, fearing the answer.
“Or she’s some kind of weapon.”
Nathan sighed. “I was afraid you’d say something like that.”
“If she is, then we should probably know that as well.”
“What are you thinking?” Nathan asked.
“What if she’s some kind of prototype?”
“Prototype for what?” Nathan challenged. “If you’re making a weapon, why move someone’s consciousness into a different body?”
“I don’t have all the answers, Nathan. Just the questions. But if someone is developing a kind of deep-cover agent slash weapon, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll eventually try to use it against us. Better to find out now.”
Nathan leaned back, sighing. “I’ve got to stop being such a good Samaritan.”
“Fat chance.”
* * *
The alert indicator began beeping and flashing over Nikolas’s tactical display but stopped a moment later.
“Miss me?” Josh asked over comms.
“What took you so long?” Nikolas asked.
“Medical made me take a nap.”
“Oh, you poor thing.”
“It was that fifteen hundred-year-old gal they’ve got working there. She wouldn’t give me the stims, but she gave me some root to chew on that’s supposed to do the same thing.”
“Why did she make you take a nap?” Nikolas wondered.
“Probably to demonstrate her authority over me,” Josh complained. “Doc Chen never would’ve done that.”
“I suspect Doc Chen knows you a bit better.”
“Damn right. I don’t suppose you found anything?”
“Nothing.”
“Well, I have an idea,” Josh told him.
“I’m afraid to ask.”
“Everyone is assuming the Traverna’s first jump was five light years, and that her second jump was five or less than five, right?”
“Because she’s got a ten light year max.”
“Yeah, but she can jump ten light years at a time for about twenty jumps before she has to do a recharge layover.”
“Because her charging system can’t keep up with max range jumps forever. It starts to fall off.”
“That’s right. If she doesn’t, she’ll only jump nine light years, then eight, then seven, and so on, until she can’t jump at all.”
“What’s your point?” Nikolas wondered.
“What if she jumped ten light years, both times?”
“But her first jump signature indicated a five light year jump,” Nikolas reminded him.
“But what if they were wrong?” Josh said. “What if the second jump event somehow altered the energy signature of the first one?”
“Seems unlikely.”
“Maybe. But maybe that’s why that double-jump trick was so good at shaking a tail?”
“Did you run this idea past my mom?”
“Damn right, I did,” Josh replied. “She said theoretically that might be true, but she had no idea how you could do two max range jumps only a split-second apart, at least from an engineering standpoint.”
“But she’s not an engineer,” Nikolas stated, seeing where Josh was going.
“And Vlad is,” Josh replied over comms. “And probably one of the best. If anyone could pull off a double max-range jump, all within the same second, it’s him.”
“So, we’re changing our search pattern?”
“Hell yes.”
“Did you get permission?”
“I don’t need permission,” Josh insisted. “I’m the CAG, remember?”
* * *
General Gogol wasted no time getting to the bridge after being hailed moments ago. “Report?” she beckoned as she entered.
“Your hunch paid off, General,” Captain Hyam announced. “Our search drones have picked up the Traverna’s jump trail. She came out of her double-jump nineteen point three light years from her departure point. They were stationary for about fifteen minutes before jumping another ten light years. I’ve taken the liberty of sending the majority of our drones to that area.”
“If they jumped again that soon, then the damage to their jump systems must have been minimal,” the general decided.
“The Genstar commander was certain the Traverna’s propulsion and maneuvering were inoperable at the time they jumped away. He also stated there were several hull breaches that had not sealed up automatically.”
“Which means they would want off the ship as soon as possible,” the general added. “Show me their jump plot.”
Captain Hyam looked to his tactical officer, who immediately activated a holographic display of the area of space in question in the middle of the bridge. “The last engagement was here,” the captain stated, pointing to the red icon floating in the air amongst the stars. “Our drones detected them again here,” he added, pointing to the orange icon halfway across the holographic projection.
“Show me all habitable systems along that heading,” the General instructed. A moment later, several of the stars became encircled in green, one of them directly along the Traverna’s course.
“The Nishida system,” the tactical officer reported. “Two hospitable worlds, one of which has a thriving colony.”
“That’s only three jumps,” the general realized. “That’s where they’ll be.”
“It could be a ruse,” the captain warned. “If they managed to get maneuvering restored, they could have changed course. I would advise that we continue searching along their original course, focusing first on the ten light year jump points. It should be easy to verify their arrivals and departures and confirm that Nishida is their destination.”
“Agreed,” the general replied. “But I want this ship in the Nishida system as soon as possible. If they are there, I do not want them to get away.”
“We can be there in a few minutes,” Captain Hyam promised.
General Gogol smiled. She could feel that she was close. She would have Nathan Scott, and the Aurora, and the missing Genstar package. Once she did, her place in history as the greatest Zhulati commander in Alliance history would be assured.
* * *
Aiden and Cameron had been taking four-hour shifts on the Aurora’s bridge since her arrival. The nap she had just awakened from was the first real rest she had taken since she had left Libertara. She never could sleep worth a damn on those shuttles. The beds and staterooms were just too small. After a decade of command and the accommodations that accompanied it, she had become spoiled.
Cameron often wondered how Nathan managed to sleep on the Voss. Even the captain’s quarters on that ship were small. Not quite as cramped as those on a shuttle, but still more compact than Cameron found comfortable.
Despite the fact of them being identical, walking onto the Aurora’s bridge was different than walking onto the Celestia’s, especially now that she was shut down for overhaul on Libertara. The Aurora’s bridge was alive. Every display was active, and they weren’t just showing simulated data like most of the Celestia’s bridge displays. The Aurora was in space, in every sense of the word. Even when the Celestia had been in transit, she still hadn’t felt as alive.
“Good morning, sir,” Aiden greeted when he noticed Cameron’s entrance.
“Anything to report?” Cameron asked as she glanced about.
“Just a few more passing contacts with recon drones,” Aiden replied. “Whoever is searching for them is pulling out all the stops.”
Cameron looked up at one of the overhead view screens. “Someone’s off grid.”
Aiden glanced up as well. “Josh and Nikolas. Josh does that from time to time. He likes to follow hunches.”
“He’s leaving a whole sector uncovered.”
“He’ll double-back once he’s done following his gut,” Aiden assured her. “He always does.”
“We can’t afford that kind of inefficiency,” Cameron insisted. “Especially now.” She turned to the comms station. “Get Josh on the line.”
“Yes, sir,” Ensign Dass acknowledged.
“He won’t answer,” Aiden said under his breath.
“I know,” Cameron replied, also in a low voice.
A confused look came across Aiden’s face. “Then why?”
“To remind him that he still has to answer to those above him.” Cameron smiled, turning toward Aiden. “It keeps him from getting too far out of line.”
Aiden didn’t look convinced.
“Trust me,” Cameron told him. “I’ve been trying to maintain control over Josh for a long time.”
“Have you ever?” Aiden asked.
“No. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up now.”
“Dragons One and Two aren’t answering, sir,” the comms officer reported.
“Keep hailing them every few minutes,” Cameron instructed. “They’ll answer as soon as Josh realizes his hunch isn’t panning out,” she told Aiden. “And Josh will offer some lame excuse, like he thought he detected something jumping away on whatever heading he decided to chase. He may go off to chase hunches from time to time, but he always comes back.”
“I’m afraid to ask what happens when he doesn’t,” Aiden admitted.
“Well, that usually means he was right, and has therefore saved the day.”
“Or he got killed.”
“Josh doesn’t believe in getting killed,” Cameron joked.
* * *
The night had been far shorter than any of them had hoped, lasting only six hours. Still, it had been enough to get a few hours of sleep, for most of them.
Not for Nathan, however. Something made sleep impossible for him. It might have been the unusual noises coming from the darkness, or the strangely lavender hue of the nighttime skies. Most likely it was their predicament in general. Only a few meters away was a woman they did not know, who obviously had significant combat training and had easily taken down the largest of them. That woman was either lying or believed the lies she had told were the truth. Either way, neither he nor Jessica slept well that night.
