Commandadmin: Created page with "{{TplLinesCrossedChapter|title=Chapter 18|chapter text=Chapter 18

Sean tapped out the command for ship-wide communication. “All hands, all hands, this is the Captain. Prepare yourself for Now-Space.
Repeat. Prepare for Now-Space.”
The Johnson dropped back into Now-Space with a flash. Momentum sped the Johnson an additional twenty kilometers before coming to a rest.
Sean reached for his bottle of pills in his shirt..."

2025-01-28T02:31:58Z

Created page with "{{TplLinesCrossedChapter|title=Chapter 18|chapter text=Chapter 18 Sean tapped out the command for ship-wide communication. “All hands, all hands, this is the Captain. Prepare yourself for Now-Space. Repeat. Prepare for Now-Space.” The Johnson dropped back into Now-Space with a flash. Momentum sped the Johnson an additional twenty kilometers before coming to a rest. Sean reached for his bottle of pills in his shirt..."

New page

{{TplLinesCrossedChapter|title=Chapter 18|chapter text=Chapter 18 
 
 
Sean tapped out the command for ship-wide communication. “All hands, all hands, this is the Captain. Prepare yourself for Now-Space. Repeat. Prepare for Now-Space.” 
The Johnson dropped back into Now-Space with a flash. Momentum sped the Johnson an additional twenty kilometers before coming to a rest. 
Sean reached for his bottle of pills in his shirt pocket. He looked around and noticed all of Top Deck did the same thing. 
Everyone looked around, saw the bottles. Laughter erupted. “I’m gonna miss Sharp-vision,” he told Dawn popping a pill into his mouth. It was sweet sour, but he felt good. 
Dawn, smiled after taking her pill, stood up, “Look alive people! This is still a GRID ship.” 
Deck Chatter slowly replaced a spontaneous lapse of discipline. 
Sean said, “Mr. Kirkland, signals?” 
Kirkland responded, “None, sir. There’s some background noise, but nothing to suggest advanced tech.” 
Sean nodded, “Very well, continue monitoring. Lieutenant Newton?” 
“Yes, sir.” Adriana answered. 
“Anything special?” 
She stared into a thin rectangular CRT. She was looking at images from Optics. She scanned normal light, infrared, ultra, violet, short and long radio, nothing to suggest an advanced civilization above ground. It would take 30 days to receive deep scan radar, but passive readings looked good. “Sir, there are no detectable advanced tech signatures. Passive data looks clean. Initial optics shows a world rich in resources. Spectral analysis indicates a world rich in oxygen, nitrogen, some rare elements. Traces of CO2 but in low quantity. Methane is also in low quantity. Oxygen is at 32% with Nitrogen at 65%. Median temperature is 24 Celsius.” 
“Mr. Foster.” 
“Yes, sir?” 
“Short jump to three-days light, please. Give two bells ring at ten seconds.” 
Foster replied, “Moving Johnson to within three light-days distance, sir. Sounding two bells at 10 seconds before jump.” 
“Very good.” Sean tapped out Ship broadcast, “Attention, attention. Short Jump within two bells. Ten second count down at two bells sounding. Ten second count down at two bells sounding.” He turned to Dawn, “Think of anything yet?” 
“Not yet, sir.” She smiled and pulled out a pill. 
Sean watched most of Top Deck pop a pill into their mouths. A crew of addicts he thought. 
Two bells rang, and then . . . this time it didn’t matter. 
Minutes later the Johnson dropped into Now-Space. 
Foster reported, “Captain, 3.287 light-days from planet.” 
Sean said, “Newton? Anything?” 
Adriana scanned the area. The results were pretty much the same as before. “Nothing’s changed, sir.” 
Mr. Kirkland, Relay all data to Scout one and tell her stand-by to launch.” 
Kirkland keyed in several commands, “Scout one, stand-by to launch.” 
“Roger,” was the reply. 
 
Molino would be piloting the shuttle himself. Cookie sat Observer Station two, behind co-pilot. His co-pilot was Evans. Medical sat behind Pilot, with two others in the rear with a six-person security team. At first, Molino wondered what a fighter wing commander could possibly do on an explorer craft. He had mixed emotions about this whole operation until one of his pilots pointed out that the Johnson was going out into unknown territory. The bogeyman was out there more so now than ever. Molino reluctantly agreed. It would be the bogeyman months in between. 
“Mr. Foster.” 
“Yes, sir?” 
“Short jump to three-hour light, please. Two bells sound to ten second countdown.” 
“Sir, I will be moving Johnson to within three light hours of the planet. Sounding two bells to start ten second countdown.” 
“Very, good. Proceed.” Sean said. “Dawn? Anything yet?” 
Dawn answered, “Still thinking.” 
Sean smiled and nodded. 
Two bells sounded. 
Then, the planet floating on the main view screen went from a small dot to a large disk set center. It was a beautiful world with white clouds, green landmasses and large pools of blue water. There were no snow caps. 
Sean said, “Newton?” 
“Readings coming in, sir.” Adriana’s CRT was flooded with dense data streams. She switched over to optics. A spectral analysis of one particular region looked promising. She saw signs of carbon. She scaled up magnification and got a surprise. 
Sean leaned forward and said, “Lieutenant? Pardon?” 
“Life, sir.” She looked up, “Signs of life.” 
Top Deck went silent. 
Sean walked over. “Humanoid?” 
Adriana switched to infrared. There, a heat signature like fire. She switched back to optics. Crude shelter. Then, people. Lots of people. Human looking people. “Yes, sir. Streaming data to shuttle.” She clicked on communications to the shuttle craft. “Cookie, I’m sending you data now.” 
Sean stood straight. It was happening. Life. Alien life. “Mr. Kirkland, get Dr. Loggar to report to Top Deck.” 
Kirkland keyed in Dr. Loggar’s room and lab office. “Top Deck to Dr. Loggar, please report to Top Deck. Please report to Top Deck. Your presence is urgently needed.” He tapped out. 
 
Loggar was at her desk when Mr. Kirkland requested her presence on Top Deck. She was reviewing the latest findings in Sean’s last test. So close, so close. She got up and hurried to Top Deck. It really could be only one thing. Our first contact with Humanoids other than the Necronians. 
 
Sean said, “Lieutenant, please, place optics on view screen.” 
“Placing optics on view screen, sir. Compensating for rotational drift.” 
Sean took a sharp breath in when he saw a large mass of humans assembled around a large fire. He could make out animal skin clothing. The scene skewed and drifted then stabilized. 
Loggar stepped out of the lift just as the image of similarly looking humans crowded around an elderly male. He had his hands spread wide and was talking. She stepped up next to Sean. He looked at her and smiled. 
“Kathy, amazing. Looks like we hit payday early.” 
Loggar nodded. The scene to her was beautiful. 
Sean said out loud, “Kirkland, pipe this through ship broad Vid. Give the crew a look.” 
Kirkland responded, “Sir, giving crew a view of main screen.” He noted the time. Midshipman Curtis won the main pool. Half-a-year salary.
Adriana had placed the vid stream with a 15 second delay. She gasped. 
Sean said, “Lieutenant, something wrong?” 
“Sir, maybe. Look.” 
Sean stared at the view screen. The older male was gesturing wildly. His hands started glowing blue and he flashed his hands upward. The area was washed in pale blue light and suddenly the entire crowd turned and faced the view screen. 
Sean held his breath, “What the . . . ?” 
The view screen drifted, skewed and stabilized. The crowd collectively raised arms toward the Johnson and dropped to their knees. The elder glazed into the view screen and Sean felt a chill down his back. The view drifted again, skewed, then disappeared. 
Foster said, “Sorry, sir. Line of sight lost. The area dipped below the horizon.” 
Sean nodded and started walking toward the main conference room, “Kathy, Lieutenant Newton, meeting please. Kirkland, tell shuttle to stand by. Dawn, Top Deck is yours for the moment.” The door slid shut. 
 
Sean sat at the head of the conference table. “What the hell did we just see?” 
Adriana replied, “Two things, sir. An assembly of humans and the display of magick. Possibly.” 
“Possibly?” Sean said. 
Adriana nodded. “We won’t know for sure until we investigate.” 
“And were they really looking at the Johnson?” 
Adriana shrugged, “Still hard to tell. We were seeing something that happened three hours ago. Coincidence? Not enough data.” 
Sean turned to Loggar,” Kathy? Thoughts?” 
“Sean, we definitely have to investigate. Adriana hypothesized that the SI are either here or not. So far there is no evidence of their presence. Could it be that this world has Necronian nanobots and some of the inhabitants are able to use it? Sean, this would help us answer more questions about the Necronians.“ 
“Newton? Have you had a chance to review the nanobots?” 
“Not yet, sir.” 
“Kathy, give Newton everything you can on the nanobots and . . .” 
“Sean, I’m . . . “ 
“Kathy, I don’t want to send personnel down unprepared. Newton can analyze and relay vital info to Cookie and the others.” 
“Sean, I know, but, I’m . . . I’m torn?” 
“Torn? How so? Wait.” He turned to Adriana. “Newton, could you excuse us for a moment.” 
Adriana nodded and backed out the conference room. At first she wasn’t sure how to really feel about Loggar. Now she knew. 
Sean turned back to Loggar. “Kathy, give.” 
“Sean, should we slow down a bit . . .” 
“. . . slow down? You wanted to rush headlong. Why the hesitation now?” 
“I just have a feeling about Adriana. Not sure she can be completely trusted, and she hasn’t been tested.” 
“Tested? For what?” Sean sucked in his lips. 
“She’s part Necronian. We don’t know her true intent here . . .” 
Sean gave her a cold stare. 
“. . . I just want to make sure we are making the right decisions.” 
“Kathy, I’m not sure I’m liking what you’re telling me. Paranoid?” 
“Of course not!” 
“Jealous?” 
Loggar tried to keep from shrilling. “Of what?!” She failed. 
The cold stare continued. 
“I’d just like to watch her. I just can’t reveal everything.” 
“How about what would make her job easy? Specs, maybe? Test results would be nice. Okay, you don’t want her to see what you deem too sensitive. Fine, just don’t treat her like a mushroom.” 
“Sean, aren’t you concerned that your Great granddaughter transferred to your ship. Someone you never knew existed. Someone who happens to be a super-genius. Someone that’s very attractive. We have to question her motives. We have to wonder what the Necronians are up to?” 
Sean took a deep breath. “Adruqu wrote that Adriana would help us. And I believe her. Adruqu has her motives and I’m sure most of it is in our best interest.” 
“How do you know the poor girl isn’t being lied to or manipulated?” 
“I don’t, but I’ve also learned my gut feeling is almost always right. And, it is telling me to trust her. Watch her if you want, but don’t impede her ability to perform her job.” 
Loggar frowned and gave an equally cold stare. 
Sean had more practice. His record is five minutes without blinking. 
Loggar gave up after thirty seconds. “Sean, I hope you are right for all our sakes.” 
“Kathy, and I hope you are wrong for all our sakes.” He got up and walked to the door. 
Adriana was talking to Dawn when Sean emerged from the door. He walked over to his Command chair and tapped out a special access code. A few seconds later he looked up. Kathy had walked out the conference room just in time. “Newton, you have command level access, now. Get what info you need and proceed accordingly.” 
Adriana caught Loggar’s stare. “Thank you, Captain.” 
Loggar walked over to the nearest lift and took it to below decks. 
Kirkland immediately started a new pool. He could see this being one of the biggest pools ever. Within minutes it reached a mid-grade level year’s salary. 
 
Cookie looked out the side window and saw launch tube. Not his idea of a first adventure. So far the Captain had them on standby. The minutes ticked away to hours. Cookie looked over to Molino who had his eyes closed. “Commander, you asleep?” 
Molino smiled, “Just writing myself a Vid.” 
“You are? Is that how you fight the boredom?” 
Molino nodded. “Yeah, then when I have downtime I enter it into a storage disk. Maybe one day I’ll see one of my Vids made.” 
“How many?” 
“That I have written? About 300.” 
Cookie whistled. 
“I’ve had a lot of standby time and . . .” 
Kirkland called over the net, “Scout one, download new orders and study.” 
Molino tapped at his CRT and he began to read new mission orders. He tapped out a new command. “Cookie, new orders for you.” 
A blinking light appeared on his console CRT. He tapped out the access code and read his new orders. He laughed when he saw schematics of the Necronian nanobots. Tears started to stream down his cheeks. This was happening he thought. This was finally happening. He continued reading. It only took five screens to understand what happened to the Captain. All the rumors about Loggar and magick and snippet Vids the Captain had graced the crew with coalesced into a revelation. 
Thirty minutes later Kirkland announced over the net, “Scout one. Launch when ready.” 
“Hot Damn!” Evans exclaimed. She never had the patience Molino had. Standby always sucked and it never got easier to go through. 
Molino kicked into action. “Guys ready and secure back there? Evans, move us out of launch tube.” 
Evans replied, “Roger, that.” 
 
Scout one emerged from the launch tube and headed for deep space. Once cleared of the Johnson, it banked sharply and headed toward the planet. A hot burn would get them there in twelve hours. 
 
Cookie held his breath as the shuttle launched. It had been on very rare occasions he had a chance to venture outside the Johnson. Now he was in planet fall. He thought about singing a shanty but changed his mind. The old Mess Hall Cookie would’ve done that. He was the new Explorer Cookie. A different Cookie. A Cookie that waited nearly twenty years to be here. A happy Cookie. 
 
Kirkland reported, “Captain, Scout One launched.” 
Sean nodded, “Very good,” and keyed in a command on his CRT, “Captain to Scout One.” 
Molino answered, “Scout one, here.” 
“Molino, wish I could have given you something with immediate action.” 
Molino laughed, “No worries, sir. There’s a big unknown in front of us. I just may get that immediate action yet with the new orders.” 
“Good luck. We’ll do regular audio checks every four bells.” 
“Very good, sir.” Molino replied. 
“Dawn,” Sean began, “Fighter wing on alert?” 
“Yes, sir. Wing groups twelve and eighteen are hot with groups six and two on standby.” 
Sean nodded. There was nothing else to do but wait for planet touch and subsequent reports afterward. 
 
*** 
 
Sean couldn’t remember the last time he ate in the Officer’s mess. The interior reminded him of a Spaceliner. Opulent and trendy. Nothing like Starboard’s Bow, which had a home diner feel. He looked over to Loggar. She was just finishing a Lobster Thermidor. She ran two fingers along the inside of the shell and placed them to her lips. A faint moan escaped her lips. Sean opted for lobster bisque and was still nursing the last half dozen spoonfuls. 
“Sean, you seem preoccupied lately.” 
He nodded. “A lot of things to do. And now with this new discovery, a lot of things to consider.” 
Loggar sipped at her glass of white wine. 
“Kathy, they looked at us. From about three billion kilometers it seemed like they were looking at us.” 
“But, Sean, that image was over three hours old.” 
“Which makes it all the more odd. And Magick?” 
Loggar nodded, “I’m hoping yes. None of the recent scans revealed nanobot signatures. Sean, that’s the most exciting thing of all. Necronian magick without nanobot.” 
“That we know of.” 
Loggar smiled. 
“Magick without technology.” Sean lifted his hand in front of his face. Then he frowned, “That may not be such a good idea.” 
“How so?” 
“Are we ready for it?” 
“I would say most assuredly. We’ve been looking for this for centuries.” 
“The Most High has been looking for it, not GRID population as a whole.” 
She nodded, “True, The Most High is also the most deserving. Human expanse into space was mostly pushed as a Most High Agenda.” 
“Would that include responsibility of war?” 
“Nonsense, Sean! The SI war was not our objective or agenda.” 
“Records show the SI were created in a quest to help humans explore.” 
“Yes?” 
“To explore for intelligent life or intelligent life that had magick?” 
Loggar clenched her jaws. 
“If it were The Most High’s agenda to push for exploration, then it would be the Most High who embraced or endorsed SI technology.” 
“Sean, The Most High never intended . . .” 
“. . . the SI turning on their creators?” 
She nodded. 
“Kathy, I agree with you. It is imperative we understand Magick. I get that now. This is SI territory for a reason and we are out here for a reason. I stopped really believing in coincidence with Necron and Necronian time travel. And I am absolutely convinced that Adruqu knows something about Humankind’s future and is working behind the scenes through proxies to an end point. My gut tells me she is helping us survive.” 
“I really wish I felt the same, Sean, I do. My thoughts are she is experimenting with us. Tossing us random variables to see how all this falls into place . . .” 
“But Kathy, she gave me the means to bring you back. . .” 
“Which further convinces me she is manipulating us to her end game.” 
“An end game of what?” 
Loggar shrugged, “Lab rats, but on a grander scale.” 
Sean slowly shook his head, “So why us? Why not the people below us?” 
“Maybe they have. We saw some display of magick. Maybe this planet is a grand experiment . . .” 
“ . . . and we happened to come here first?” 
“As you said, Sean, the Necronians can time travel. This could all be just one big manipulation.” 
Sean nodded. His bisque turned cold, however, he still finished off the last spoonful. 
 
*** 
 
Adriana stared into her desk CRT. The nanobots were fantastic. It felt weird looking at tech a once unknown ancestor created. Part alien. A chill traveled down her back and she began to wonder about the whys. Was this the reason for her existence? Begin a full circle of unlocking the mysteries of a dead alien race, which bizarre at it could get was not actually dead, but traveling through time doing all sorts of mischief, mayhem, and possibly malice with humankind? And this new discovery of an alien race. Adriana wondered, is one really alien when the discovered looks just like you? Possibly, identical internal organs in the correct slots? “Computer, region Y12X05Z83 please.” 
The screen zoomed to a cluster of buckyballs, hanson cubes and piper tubes. She was able to quickly conclude this was the memory assembly. “Computer, zoom to fit screen, please.” 
The screen shimmered to show a nanobot in its entirety. Ten multi-jointed legs attached to an inverted tin pie pan shaped body, which seemed strangely odd. There were numerous antennas that covered its body with the bulk of them clustered thickly underneath the concaved belly. She typed out a message to Cookie. He replied back that he was studying the body shape, too. He added that as a chef he sees things concaved to be filled or used to make as a mold. Since the legs were attached toward the bottom a swag would be that the nanobots sat on top of something or that something would use it as a top. Adriana glanced over to another work station across the room. Karolina and Ga Ka were talking in whispers and smiled often. She tasked Karolina with producing a checklist Cookie should use on Planetside. It took her an hour and it was thorough. Two hundred and ten items to confirm or class as not present. Ga Ka had studied Geology and produced another hundred items for Cookie to check. She thought Cookie would have a heart attack when he saw the list. Instead he squealed un-Cookie like and hugged everyone. 

 
}}

Lines Crossed Chapter Eighteen - Revision history