24 – Launches and Arrivals
(Chaser – Gate Room – Day 365,
0745)
Chloe Armstrong walked into
the Gate Room. The Valli‘son had provided them with the address of a planet
that was too harsh for permanent habitation. Chaser’s shakedown cruise
had been travelling to the planet to retrieve its Stargate. Because this was a
planetary Gate, it came with the base and ramp all of those did. The problem
was that the Gate didn’t work. It was being overridden by the Gate down on
Freedom Prime. And in the long term, the Gate needed to modified to be like
Destiny’s and Spera’s Stargates, which did not use a fixed point in space for
their addresses. ~Which is an insane feat of technology.~
And the only people in the
Alliance who could modify the Stargate that way, were the New Asurans. They had
begun their trip on Day 264 and today was Day 365. So they had been underway
for 101 days. And Eli had calculated that – if they were moving at the same
speed as Destiny – it would take over six-hundred days, which was more
then eighteen months, for them to cross Galaxy Destiny Two. And that was time
they simply did not have. ~Time to see if they can pull a rabbit out of their
hat.~ But for now, she had other things to worry about.
Chaser was scheduled to launch at 10.00 hours and before that,
there were diagnostics to be run. Doctor Dale Volker was working on the Gate
Room with Corporal Barnes. The Gate Room was as near a duplicate of the one on Destiny
as possible. This was because the designers wanted to make it easy for Chaser
crewmembers to adapt to serving on Destiny when the time came. And so
that the Ex-Destiny people didn’t have relearn tons of procedures. Chloe
was carrying a clipboard with places she had to check and the Gate Room was at
the top of her list.
“Good morning, how are we
doing here ?”
“Everything is on-line,”
Volker said. “Except for the Gate.”
“We managed to de-activate the
power source and wired the Gate into the ship’s power grid,” Barnes said. “The
Engineers installed a dedicated reactor to power the Gate. We rigged the
original to serve as a back-up in case the main power fails.”
“Nice work.”
Chloe checked the Gate Room
off her list and continued on her way. Next on her list was the hydroponics
bay. Camille Wray was overseeing the preparations here. Because they had
planted several weeks ahead of launch, the crops were already well underway. Because
they did not have Earth crops, but were working with local plants, it was not
entirely like the Hydroponics Bay on Destiny.
“Hello, Camille.”
“Morning, Chloe.”
“So, how are things going here
?”
“So far, we have the local
version of Lettuce, Spinach and Kale. Along with Hot Peppers, Strawberries and
Tomatoes,” Wray said. “There are also several plants that we simply don’t have
names for. But I started a suggestion box.”
“That sounds tasty,” Chloe said
as she ticked off Hydroponics off the list. “Carry on.”
Chloe nodded and headed for
the door – with the Infirmary being her next destination - but Wray clearly had
other ideas. She put down the tools she had been working with and followed
Chloe out into the corridor.
“Chloe, are you okay ?” She
asked. “I heard about your nightmares.”
“I’m fine. I spent the last
couple of nights sleeping on the ship, it helped.” Chloe said, which was true.
“And my old neighbors have been nothing but supportive.” Most of her neighbors
had been Primians and they had done their best to welcome her and Matthew to
the street.
“Chloe, it is totally normal
that seeing Nakai is bringing back memories of what they did to you.”
“Camille, it’s okay, I’m
fine,” Chloe said.
Before Wray could ask more
questions, Chloe walked away. She had caught up on her sleep in the last couple
of days. And combined with the thought that they would soon leave Freedom Prime
behind, it was making her feel better. She knew that Wray meant well, but she
simply didn’t want to talk about it. ~Speaking of not wanting to talk about it…~
The Infirmary was a large room with enough beds for twenty patients. Tamara
Johansen was in charge of the facility.
While they had been stranded
on Freedom Prime, Johansen had been spending her time in the Capital City’s
main clinic. They local doctors had been teaching her about the species that
made up the Primian population. She had also been to Exodus Two, where
she had learning to use Nakai medical equipment. Finally, she had been learning
from Doctor Samantha Cole. Cole had been assigned to Atlantis until she
had volunteered to become the medic for Telford’s team. She had been one of the
people carrying the casket through the Stargate after Doctor Carson Beckett had
been killed by an explosive tumor. The doctor had been very impressed by her
skills. Cole was staying at the Epsilon Site to be the Chief Medical Officer. Long
story short, Tamara had been very busy. Chloe figured it helped her to keep her
mind off her diagnosis.
“How are things looking in here
?”
“All stocked up and ready to
go,” Johansen said.
“So, how are you
doing with the memorizing ?”
“It took me a
couple of days, but I think I know most of their names now.” Johansen said with
a smile. “Even the difficult to pronounce ones.”
One of the advantages of the
crew expansion, was the fact that Tamara now had a permanent staff to lead.
Most of them were newcomers – hence the need to memorize their names – but
there were also some people that had First Aid training and had been reassigned
to the Infirmary. Chloe had heard that Tamara was already planning to give them
extra training once the ship had launched. There were also rumors that she
might get a promotion to Captain soon, which Chloe hoped were true. ~She’s
certainly earned it.~ She checked the Infirmary off her list and headed for her
next destination.
~This would be much easier if
the intercom was working.~ But the system had been acting up, which was why she
was stuck with a paper list and clipboard. But before she got there, the ship’s
alarm began to sound. Fortunately, she was close to the Auxiliary Control Room.
Located underneath the Gate Room, Auxiliary Control was Chaser’s version
of the Control Interface Room on Destiny. The room was currently being
manned by Eli Wallace and Lisa Park.
“What’s happening ?” Chloe
asked as she walked into the room.
“We have eighty-two contacts
approaching,” Eli said as he worked his console. “Oh, and I just got the
intercom problem fixed.”
~Great, NOW he fixes it.~
Chloe joined Park at her console. The signatures belonged to what appeared to
be flying domes. ~The New Asurans have arrived.~ Apparently, the New Asurans
had upgraded the hyperdrives on the domes. Chloe and Park exchanged a look. She
had read the reports on the original Asurans and the Replicators. And from
those reports, she got the impression that neither species had been very
friendly. But from Colonel Vale’s reports, she also had the impression that the
New Asurans were a far cry from their ancestors. ~If they had wanted to stab us
in the back, they could have done so several times over by now.~
And that was not the only good
news. Ever since her eyesight had been restored, Lisa Park had been in good
spirits. And her recovery had been good for Eli as well. Together, the two of
them had been working on fine tuning the Chaser’s systems. It had given
Eli some much needed distraction. From what Chloe had heard, he had been having
nightmares as well.
~I shouldn’t say this out
loud. But I’m glad to hear that I was not alone on that front.~ Well, until
Park had been healed. When they began the work on the ship, his nightmares had
stopped. She gave Park a smile and then
headed for the bridge. Something told her that things were about get very
interesting up there.
(Spera – Bridge – Day 365,
1215)
Spera had finished entering orbit of Novus Prime. It looked
like a very lush world with two continents and plenty of ocean. Between the two
continents were several small islands. The sensors told Hailey and Porter that
this was where the Stargate was. Zooming in revealed a large city that
connected all the islands. Vale looked at the image on Porter’s display. From
the architecture, he figured that the section of the city with the Stargate was
the oldest. ~The farther you go from the Gate, the newer the buildings.~ So
this city was probably the first settlement on the planet and likely the
capital.
After they had run out of
space on the islands, the People of Novus had begun cultivating the two
continents. The settlements appeared to have begun at the shore and then had
worked their way deeper inland. The problem was that the locals had run out of
space on both continents. This was visible, because all of the settlements were
surrounded by large slums. And there were large walls around what appeared to
be nature preserves.
“Is it me, or does this planet
look really overpopulated ?” Porter asked.
“No,” Vale said. “It’s not
you. This planet is a mess. But with the Command Ships and Berserker Drones
gone, they should be able to reclaim their colonies.”
“I think I’ve located a
government transmitter and found the proper frequency,” Hailey said. “We should
be able to send a signal, sir.”
“Open a channel,” Hailey
nodded and there was a beep as the channel opened. “This is the Earth Starship Spera
to the People of Novus. Please respond,” Vale paused. “I repeat, this is the
Earth Starship Spera to the People of Novus. Please respond.”
=/\= This is President Vincent
Greer of Novus, who is this ? =/\=
“This is Colonel Marc Vale
aboard the Earth Starship Spera.” Vale said. “We would like to send a
team to your planet. There’s some things we need to talk about. Such as Destiny,
the Vicerant and Berserker Drones.”
There was a long silence and then the channel came
back to life.
(Chaser – Gate Room – Day 365, 0947)
Chloe had finished her checklist and was back in the
Gate Room. The eighty-two flying domes were actually modified Nakai outposts.
Those domes had been landed on the surface of Freedom Prime. Seventeen New
Asurans had then boarded Chaser and had begun the modifications on the
Stargate. They were now running the final diagnostics. But Chloe figured that the
fact that the Gate was lit up was a good sign.
One of the New Asurans – a man called Frank – walked
up to her. Despite her research, she had been surprised by the New Asurans.
They seemed so…. ~Human.~ Frank stood next to her and looked at the Stargate.
Part of her thought that it was ironic that Frank was a botanist. The New
Asurans didn’t need to eat or breathe, yet he spent his time studying trees and
plants.
“May I ask you something ?” Frank said.
“What’s on your mind ?”
“Are you sure you want to leave Freedom Prime ? I know
it’s not Earth, but with the domes we just brought. Well, I suspect the locals
will turn it into a very nice little planet.” Frank paused. “I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to get too personal. It’s just that….” He bit his lower lip.
“You’ve been living on this planet for six months.”
Chloe opened her mouth, but no words came out. Despite
the nightmares, there had been good times as well. Like that time when one of
the Nakai younglings had reached adulthood and she and Matt had been invited to
the party. Which had been really fun. Or the visits to the local grocery store
where she had often spent time chatting with the cashier. Or when she had gone
on a tour of the off-world factory. Or one of the many other fun things she and
Matt had done the last couple of months.
And sometimes – she didn’t know why – the nightmares
would go away for a couple of nights. So there was a part of her that would
miss Freedom Prime. But the crew of Destiny had become her family and
she could not abandon them. And there was also the mission. ~That signal has to
mean something. And if we give up on it now, everything and everyone we’ve
lost….It’ll all have been for nothing.~ Before she realized it, she had
explained all this to Frank. When she was done, he simply nodded in reply. From
the look on his face, Chloe got the impression that he understood what she was
saying.
“And what about you ? Why are you out here ?” She
asked him. “And what makes a New Asuran different from the originals ?”
“Well, the Ancients….” Frank paused. “…the Ancients
were what Jennifer Hailey would call Grade-A Jerks. And because of that they
did, Oberoth and most of the Asurans hated Humans with a passion. But we
disagreed. It wasn’t your fault that Ancients were…”
“….Grade-A Jerks ?” Chloe said with a smile.
“Exactly,” Frank said with a nod. “We could have gone
on a rampage, killed any human we could find. But what kind of beings would
that make us ? And what would that prove ? Oberoth was wrong, very wrong. And
he did not tolerate other opinions. So we left Asuras and set to building a new
civilization. As for why I’m here….” He scratched his face. “….well, leaving
you in stasis just felt wrong. And I couldn’t pass up a chance to explore the
universe. Not to mention that signal Rush found, it’s….fascinating.”
“Boldly going where no one has gone before ?”
“Basically.”
One of the other New Asurans, another botanist called
Claus, turned to Frank. The New Asurans had finished their work on the
Stargate, which was now fully operational. So they had to head for the Ancient
shuttle, which would carry them back down to Freedom Prime. As soon as the
shuttle was docked again, the Chaser would head out. The shuttle was
docked at a special bay at the top of the ship. Chloe gave Frank a nod, then
headed for the bridge.
When she got there, the entire bridge was manned.
Colonel Young was sitting in the command chair, while Rush, Scott and
Lieutenant James were manning the consoles. Chloe was not surprised to see that
Rush was here. He had finally broken out of his isolation two weeks ago. The
fact that the Chaser was approaching completion had set him on the path
towards getting back in shape. Rush would monitor the sensors, Scott would do
the flying and James was manning the weapons. ~Just in case.~
Beyond the consoles, the windows no longer showed the
Mess Hall. Instead, they were functioning as screens that showed what was in
front of the Chaser. At the moment, that meant they showed Freedom Prime
and its orbital space. The ship had launched into orbit at 0730, just before
they had begun the checklists. Chloe stood next to the command chair.
“How are things looking in the Gate Room ?” Young asked.
“All ready to go.”
“Good.”
The Ancient shuttle launched. And returned several
minutes later. As soon as the small craft was docked, Colonel Young turned to
Scott and gave him the order to engage their Faster-then-light drive. Because –
unlike Destiny – Chaser did actually travel in conventional
hyperspace, she had special sensors to detect the Stargates. After Rush engaged
those, Scott took them to FTL. The chase of Destiny had begun.
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