SG Nova Roma, Chapter 3.28

28 – Paperwork and Another Planet

(Chaser – Science Lab – Year 2, Day 3, 1409)

Nicholas Rush was sitting at behind a laptop and working on a report on the Order of the Other outpost. Camille and Chloe had brought back plenty of pictures and even some samples. That beyond that, the MALP had run every scan it could. But even with all that data to analyze, there was only so much he could say about the Order and their technology. He had just finished the second page of his report when Colonel Young came in. Rush had been surprised that Young had send Camille and Chloe on this mission. While they had skills, they were not scientists. So Rush would have send Volker, Brody or Park. Young stood next to Rush and studied his report.

“I see your report on the outpost is coming along.”

“Yes,” Rush said. “Yes, it is.”

“Let me guess, you would have send somebody else on this mission,” Young said. “Some of the scientists,” Rush gave him a look. “They had the skills for the mission. And I talked to people, they needed to go on this mission.”

“So, how are you going to decide where to send the next mission ?”

Aboard Destiny or Spera, there had been an Artificial Intelligence in the mix. The AI would analyze data from the Seed Ships and Stargates and make recommendations to the crew. But Chaser did not have such a program. And the Order had only colonized about a third of the Far Galaxy, creating an area which the locals called Civilized Space. The problem was that once they were outside Civilized Space, there would be no intelligence for them to rely on.

“I’m working on it,” Young said. “Even at maximum speed, we still have five weeks before we reach the edge of Civilized Space.”

Chaser was officially called the Free Alliance Starship Chaser. It was no coincide that the name was shortened to F.A.ST Chaser or Fast Chaser. Because the Primians had given the ship a powerhouse of a hyperdrive. Not only was the ship faster then Destiny, even in intergalactic mode, the drive needed very little cooldown or maintenance.

Rush and Eli had done the math and calculated that – even in obsessed mode - crossing Civilized Space would take Destiny nineteen weeks. The math had also shown that that Chaser three and a-half times faster than Destiny. And that, in the long run, catching up to the Ancient vessel would not be a problem. Even if they made supply stops at planets, while Destiny did not, they would catch her in the end.

The real problem was that there was a good chance that they would not be able to get onboard. As long as the ship was in FTL, the Stargate would not be able to connect. And even if they got onboard, Destiny would still be in obsessed mode and they still had no way to override that. Which would lead to all sorts of supply problems. Although he would never say it out loud, Rush knew all this. And he also knew that the supply issues were exactly why Colonel Telford and his team had evacuated the ship to begin with.

The best Chaser would be able to do, was to shadow Destiny as close as she could and try to wait out obsessed mode. Alas, because the Vicerant had kept the ship in place for five years, that would probably be a long wait. And Chaser would probably not be alone, because the Nakai Central Authority had dispatched a new fleet just before the Vicerant had unleashed the berserker drones against them. The Deep Space Internet relays had noticed them and both the Delta Site and Atlantis had filed reports on this. And it was only a matter of time before that fleet showed up. To make a long story short, the Destiny Expedition was not going to have an easy ride.

Which both Rush and Young knew. The two of them exchanged a look and then Young walked out of the room. Rush sighed and then got back to writing his report.

(H4S-125 – Cave – Year 2, Day 17, 1903)

The Stargate on H4S-125 was in a cave that was about a hundred meters underneath the surface. In fact, the team had not found any route to the surface at all. The MALP had told them that the place was a series of tunnels and caves. Some were natural, but there were also sections that had clearly been added by machinery. The Intelligence files had indicated that this planet did not have an atmosphere and had not been provided with a Gate by the Seed Ships. But the Order had moved the Stargate there so that they could mine the planet for certain ores that they needed to make construction materials. Then – seven years ago – the ores had run out. So the Order had abandoned the mine.

Young and Rush had agreed that the planet was a good place to visit. Not only was it a potential source of information on the Order and their technology, there was a good chance that they would be able find some limestone for their supplies. Chaser had left with fully stocked CO2 scrubbers, but they figured it couldn’t hurt to have an emergency supply. The readings from the MALP also suggested that it was a good source of water.

The team consisted of six people. Because they both wanted to see Order technology for themselves, Young and Rush were on the team. And because they had been to the Order Outpost, Vanessa James and Chloe Armstrong were also here. But just in case something went wrong – and because they didn’t want to risk losing everybody who had been to H3X-107 – Camille Wray and Ronald Greer had stayed behind on the ship. Completing the team were Dale Volker and Lieutenant Matthew Scott.

As soon as they stepped through the Gate, they turned on their flashlights. Beyond their own lights, the place was pitch black. But the lights revealed a thick cable of some kind. Rush, Scott and Volker went left, while Young, Chloe and James went to the right. Young’s side of the cable ended at a big, bulky machine of some sort. This machine was connected to a large standing console. Both the machines and the console were covered in a layer of dust and plenty of cobwebs. Chloe approached the console and began pushing buttons.

“What have we got ?” Young asked.

“It looks like an emergency generator,” Chloe said

“One that is bolted to the floor,” James said, before trying to shake the machine, but to no avail. “And it’s pretty sturdy,” She walked around the machine, studying the floor. There were signs that somebody had tried to removed the pins and failed. “Which it seems they did try to remove.”

“Looks like they overdid securing the generator,” Young said. “Explains why they left the machine behind. Can you get it going ?”

Chloe worked the console. The generator actually consisted of three sub-units. There were was not enough fuel left to engage all three units, but she managed to pump all the remaining fuel into one unit and engage that one. It took a moment, but she managed to bring it up to forty-five percent.

“I have partial power, and we’ll probably only have a few minutes before the fuel runs out.”

“Let’s go see what’s on the other end,” Young said.

At the other end of the cable, Rush and his half of the team had found a machine of some kind as well. It was a large cylinder on legs that were wide apart and ended at the cave walls. Underneath the cylinder was an upside-down pyramid made out of crystal. Walking around the machine revealed a ladder that ended at a chair with console in front of it. Volker climbed the ladder and set to working the controls. Much to his surprise, the device actually engaged when he pressed the proper buttons. It was at that point that Young and company joined them.

“We found an emergency generator that Chloe got running,” Young said. “But there’s not a lot of fuel, so work fast.”

“I’d like to take a look at that generator,” Rush said.

“I can show you the basics,” Chloe said.

“Scott, go with them,” Young said.

“Yes, sir,” Scott said.

Rush, Scott and Chloe left for the emergency generator, while Volker set to operating the machine. The crystal pyramid slowly began to glow as he increased the power. Then a particle beam jumped from the tip and hit the ground. The ground vaporized as soon as the beam touched it, meaning that the device was some kind drill. Volker took pictures of all the displays and controls, then powered down the drill. That done, he climbed down from the machine.

“Am I the only one who thinks that is too easy ?” James asked.

“The Order thinks that they are the only ones who hand out Gate Remotes,” Young said. “They think that nobody can use the Stargates except the people they ‘approve’ for Gate travel.”

The Valli’son had provided them with that little piece of knowledge as well. They had also owned seven Gate Remotes, so – after some heated debate – they had given one of them to the Epsilon Site, where the Primians had been studying the device in detail. As soon as the New Asurans had arrived, they had joined said study. Which had provided some very useful information.

“So,” Volker began. “Not only are they playing the role of the Ancients, they have gotten the hubris down as well.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

The rest of team returned and Colonel Young led them deeper into the network. Nobody had noticed a row metal balls – each about the size of a golf ball - that was mounted on the cave wall behind the Stargate. They had begun recording as soon as the team had come through the Gate. The devices waiting until the team walked out range, then tiny greens lights came on as they transferred their footage to a small metal cylinder with an antennae on top. Two seconds later, the unit began transmitting.

(Order Homeworld – Security Room Two – Year 2, Day 17, 1915)

Brother Xander was a Jynacko. A currently very bored Jynacko. He had been the unlucky soul to get drafted to man Security Room Two at the planetary Doorway Base. Which was typical for his luck. Security Room One – which took care of planet-side security – occasionally had something to do. Usually these were small incidents – lab accidents, drunken Brothers or Sisters getting into a fight, maybe an escaped pet or two – but at least it was something. Security Room Two – however – was responsible for off-world security. And nothing happened here. Ever. So he was soundly asleep when the alarm began to bleep. He sat up and began working the only control console in the room.

~You have got to be kidding me.~ He frowned when he saw the source of the problem. ~Mine 4 ?~ Mine Four had been abandoned thirty years ago. So the alarm made no sense. ~But it’s still coming in.~ But before moving it up the chain of command, he wanted to make sure that this was not some kind of hoax. So he opened a channel to Security Room One and began explaining what was going on.