Chapter 2

“To achieve the impossible; it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.” - Tom Robins

Mars.

 

Named after the Roman god of war around 1500 BC, Mars has been idealized as a new home for humans within their own solar system for thousands of years. Today, the arcology Neo Elysium on mars housed more than one billion souls and had become the beacon of human civilization for modern mankind.

Phobos and Deimos lazed high above in the sky, their awkward and uneven edges visible even from this distance. Mining platforms sprouted like thorns from the side of each moon, mining precious materials from nodes found just below the surface. Giant barges could be seen every once in a while, anchoring at an outstretched dock, getting ready to be loaded for transport to refining facilities elsewhere in the system.

Corporal Ethan Cross lazed on a park bench, enjoying a late afternoon coffee, the warm breeze and bright sunlight a welcome end to hours hunched inside over a desk processing deep space surveyance data. ‘I don’t know why this isn’t making sense. It’s simple science. Subspace ripples mean there is or was something there, but all scans and imagery show it as empty space,’ he thought to himself, trying to puzzle out the mystery. ‘No known science or scientific reasoning explains it.’

In the distance a clocktower rang its bells, announcing the change of the hour. Children ran to the calls from their parents as they prepared to leave, on to their next adventure of the day. He smiled, remembering growing up in these neighborhoods and the fun he and his schoolmates had had. Stomach grumbling, Ethan got up and headed down the winding cobblestone patch towards the next transit stop.

As he passed through the neighborhood, Ethan stopped at a street vendor selling wraps made with Earth raised beef and spices to satisfy his grumbling belly. Stacked on top of each other and slowly braised on an open flame, the beef was then sliced off in hunks and put in a fresh wrap filled with sauce and vegetables. Saying a thank you to the vendor and tucking the bag away in a jacket pocket, he continued his stroll to the nearby transit hub.

Before long, a glowing white pod descended from the sky beeping as it made it landing descent. Firmly settled in place, doors to the curb opened, inviting Ethan to enter. A pale light emanated from the walls and roof of the interior of the pod, decorated only by a handful of built-in bench seats. Sensing no further movement outside the doors, the pod doors closed slowly with a quiet whooshing sound. Ethan leaned forward, swiped a keycard from a band at his waist and pushed a button labeled “Century Station”.’

‘Hello Corporal Cross and thank you for riding Elysium Air. Please remain seated and buckled for the duration of your transport to Century Station,’ a friendly robotic female voice sounded within the confines of the pod and then was quiet. The sound of oxygen scrubbers and ventilation was all that could be heard as the pod ascended through the sky with perfect balance.

Below stretched out the full glory of the Neo Elysium arcology, its massive central hub dominating the landscape of neon lit city, with smaller habitats linked to the exterior in conjunctive circles, each slightly overlapping the other and the inner core.

‘Hundreds and of years ago this was thought to be extremely difficult if not impossible. A thousand years ago, and they man didn’t even know what Mars was. Now look at us,’ Ethan mused. Bright signs could be seen decorating sections of The Hub, familiar symbols burned into memory from countless advertisements from the biggest commercial and industrial names in this sector.

Outside of Neo Elysium’s habitational area, robotically operated facilities stretched for hundreds of miles in all directions along the Malea Planum, feeding the massive industrial manufacturing system that was Mars. Mag lev lines connected each of these facilities, with trains ferrying goods to and from Mox industrial spaceport where they were loaded onto waiting freighters.

The sky darkened as Ethan’s transit pod continued to ascend. Above, blinking lights could be seen as the next stop prepared for his arrival. As the pod slowed, warning bells chimed, and the same friendly female roboticized voice came from nowhere, ‘Thank you for riding Elysium Air, Corporal Cross. Have a nice day!’ it said.

Standing up from his seat, stepped out of the pod and on to steel grated flooring. Wide girders and a glass enclosed railing stretched beside him in both directions, with a hallway and elevator in front of him.

‘Station life isn’t glamorous, but that view…man,’ Ethan thought to himself, looking out over the edge. Far below, the Hellas impact basin could be seen curving up from surface just above Neo Elysium, its scarred and pocked marked bottom a deep burgundy red, darkened from the shadow of the craters edge along the surface.

Anchored off Mars in 2189 by the Galactic Naval Command, Century Station’s sole purpose was to survey and review data collected from deep space satellites and relay devices. It was an important tool in the belt when it came to understanding what was happening on the other side of the galaxy without being there.

A bell chimed overhead, indicating the quarter mark of the hour. Sighing, Ethan continued the trek back to his office. The hallway ahead led through to a central chamber the housed the core of the station, its bright glow lighting the interior of the station. Platforms built themselves around the core, spiraling overhead with various functions performed on each level, bold white lettering written on the bulkhead entrance denoting level name and functionary information.

Moving forward to the railing, he looked up and marveled at the technological masterpiece as he always did. Long blue banners streaked with gold hung from floating poles, the grizzled visage of Admiral Ulysses Cain stamped onto them, each made slightly different than the next by a change of pose or expression. His century and a half long life was noted and emblazoned along the bottom with a simple note, ‘A sense of Duty, like no Other’.

Steeling himself against encroaching emotions, Ethan stepped into a waiting elevator pod, lifting silently upwards to where the Deep Space Reconnaissance offices of the Vindicatus were located. Many in the Galactic Naval Command still grieved openly about the loss of Cain and what that loss meant for everyone hit differently. He waved in silent greeting to a passing transit pod; they didn’t wave back. ‘Smug asshole’s,’ Ethan thought to himself. ‘I can’t wait to be out of this place and to my next posting.’

Stepping out of the pod, he walked across the open Deep Space Survey promenade, the Galactic Naval Commands symbol stamped into the floor, engraved with the Latin quote ‘Aut viam inveniam aut faciam’ which translated into ‘If I can’t find a way, I will make one’ in galactic common. Ethan made his way through the doorway for Section 36, the door snicking closed quietly behind him. A uniformed guard nodded his head in silent greeting and waved Ethan through the security scanner. ‘Late night tonight, Corporal?’ the guard asked as Ethan walked up.

 ‘Too much work, not enough time! If you know of anyone with cheap cloning technology…’ he muttered sardonically. The guard chuckled. He collected his things from the waiting tray and waved goodnight. He passed dozens of offices as he walked, all dark due to the late hour of the day.

Finally reaching his office, he opened the door and flicked the lights on. His amenities were sparse, but he had good workspace, a private bathroom, and a simple couch for when he needed it. As he got settled at his desk and organized himself, a notification popped up on his screen with a bright red warning icon.

Intrigued, he clicked on it. A voice recording played on the screen in front of him.

‘Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This Captain Adamo of the transport ship Javelin,’ the patchy voice recording stated. ‘We have been attacked and spun out of warp by an unknown enemy while enroute to Mars and are on a crash course descent onto a nearby planet. I repeat, we have been attacked-.’

The transmission cut out. Coordinates and maps pinged on his screens, highlighting where the Javelin had gone down. ‘Hmm, what have we here?’ Ethan said aloud.

He spent several minutes digging through a data block, to find that the transmission had been cut off at the source and had not encountered any type of disruption along its transmission path.

Flexing his fingers in an arch, he set to work; all thoughts of his subspace ripple in deep space problem gone. ‘Solace,’ Ethan called out to his slumbering AI. ‘Wakey wakey. Let’s see what puzzle we can unravel today, shall we?’

*

Ethan awoke with a start, wiping drool from his lips and scrubbing sleep from his eyes. ‘Shit!’ he grumbled half asleep sitting up on the couch. The dim lighting in the room told him it was still the early hours of morning. Yawning, he stretched his arms and legs out, falling back into the couch, exhausted. He had stayed up for hours trying to patch the relay transmission back together, but something was prohibiting him from completing the loop, so he had plugged the data into his system to comb through while he slept.

Stumbling over to his desk, he sat down and lazily started sifting through print outs. The computer chimed and a notification appeared on his screen. ‘Finally! Maybe some answers! But to which question?’ Ethan pondered. He clicked the icon and it opened into a data stream relating to his subspace ripple; the only bit of information to be recovered from the data was an energy signature that was unrecognizable.

In quick succession, two more notifications chimed. Ethan clicked on the first, bringing up a data stream about the SOS signal he had started decoding last night. It was still corrupt, but somehow it managed to bring up coordinates for where the attack had happened.

He input the Javelin’s flight path information and got comfortable. ‘This is going to take a bit. Maybe a few more minutes of sleep,’ he mumbled.

‘Morning boss,’ came the bubbly voice of Solace from the room around him.

‘Damnit Solace, do you always have to do that?’ Ethan grumbled, half out of his seat in shock. He rubbed his eyes again, clearing his vision. ‘I need coffee.’

‘Looks like you slept well last night,’ replied the voice of Solace, disembodied and floating through the room.

‘Thank you, Solace, three hours is more than enough these days... isn’t that what the doctors are saying now?’ Ethan asked sarcastically.

Solace appeared beside him in the room, her holographic form a nimbus of glowing light. ‘I’ve calculated the trajectory of The Javelin’s descent and all information points to the ship crash landing on the planet Pheibos IV. Pheibos IV is a super earth, with an earthlike atmosphere that is currently in a class five magic phase with no advanced technology present when last surveyed five years ago. As according to galactic law, there is to be no contact with denizens of this planet.’

‘Holy shit, this is an Article 9,’ Ethan said quietly, disbelief in his voice. He had been looking through empty cups on his desk for some drinkable. ‘I’ve never seen one of these before. They never happen anymore!’

‘Sir, you need to advise command about this. As per Article 9 law, this crash needs to be investigated and if need be, the land around the crash site repatriated,’ Solace said. ‘Sir? Are you listening? You need to go, now!’

‘I’m listening, Solace,’ Ethan muttered as he moved to leave. It was still early, but there was always a watch commander in the CONN. ‘And I’m going too, okay? Don’t worry!’

Collecting his tablet, wiping a hand across his face and shaking fingers through his short black  hair, he left his office and ran for the promenade. Not used to the physical exertion, he huffed and puffed as he ran to the security gate leading back to the Deep Space Reconnaissance promenade. It was a different guard this time, but Ethan running had gotten the guards attention.

‘Corporal is everything ok?’ asked the guard.

‘Just. Get. Me. Through,’ wheezed Ethan, slapping his personals onto the table and swiping his keycard.

‘Okay sir, you’re through. Are you sure I can’t help with anything?’ said the guard, concern on his face.

‘Nope! Just fine!’ Ethan yelled through wheezing breaths as he collected his belongings from the table. Running across the promenade, he noticed a white elevator pod coming to rest on this floor, its doors opening and the passenger getting out. ‘This is what happens working a desk job,’ he thought to himself.

‘Hold that pod,’ he yelled loudly at the exiting passenger as he run as hard as he could to make that pod.

Crashing into the interior wall of the elevator, he swiped his key card again and pushed the button for the CONN. ‘Thank you!’ he managed belatedly before the doors closed. The white pod lifted silently, gaining elevation fast as it ascended to the top of the station. Clutching his aching side, Ethan worked to calm his breathing and rapidly beating heart.

‘No use dying of a heart attack yet now,’ he told himself.

The elevator pod came to a stop minutes later and opened its doors to the sprawling CONN Promenade that built into the glass domed roof of the station’s central core. Even at this early hour of the morning there was a more visibly armed and larger military presence here than on most other levels as sensitive information passed through here to the far reaches of space, dictating Vindicatus operations galaxy wide.

Nearing the CONN entrance doors, Ethan began to sweat. He had never had to make a report to CONN before and his nerves were frying at the thought of it. Had there not been someone directly behind him in line, he would have bolted. Gritting his teeth, he pushed through the doors and into the foyer beyond where he was greeted by more armed guards and body scanners.

Used to this process, Ethan emptied his pockets, swiped a key tag, and walked through the scanner. ‘Green lights and no beeps, hallelujah!’ thought Ethan with a sigh of relief. ‘You’d think after living half of my life with these damn things that I’d be comfortable to them by now, but  nope!’

Getting to a service kiosk, Ethan put in an urgent request to speak with the Watch Commander, supplying as much information as he could type into the request box to convey the right sense of urgency. The kiosk froze for several seconds before a responding message came back.

‘Report to Section 42 and ask to speak with Sergeant Nellis, Commander of the Watch.’

Clicking on the directions brought up a map display, giving him a bird’s eye view of how to find Section 42. ‘Right, a few more floors and there. We can do this,’ Ethan muttered to himself, tapping on the screen with a finger as if to reinforce to himself where he was going. He knew he was a bit out of shape, but this was torturous.

Crossing the foyer to a bank of elevator pods, he hopped in and input his destination. There was no usual hellos or goodbyes from these pods however, like down on the surface of mars; these were sparse and utilitarian.

‘How did the Javelin’s system not recognize what type of ship had attacked them or who they were?’ the thought came unbidden into Ethan’s brain. ‘The Naval Database Recognition System shows every single registered ship in existence. How did they get attacked while under warp?’

The pod doors opened, and Ethan was greeted by a pair of armed guards in traditional fatigues. ‘Corporal Cross, come with us,’ said the guard on the right. ‘Sgt. Nellis is expecting you.’ Without further response, they turned heel and started walking away at a brisk pace.

Ethan stood still in silence for several heartbeats. ‘Wha… how?’ he managed to sputter before following, his report clutched in his hands. He worked through the paperwork in his head, reconfirming facts and information tie ins. After a few winding hallways, they came to a wide set of double doors with more armed guards. The guards conferred and IDs were scanned before being allowed to step forward for security key swipes and retinal scans.

Finally, the doors opened to long hallway made of glass, its walls getting taller the deeper the hallway went, eventually disappearing as it opened up overhead into a much larger space. Glass display panels ringed the walls and roof forming into a giant dome, covering every inch of space available, dozens of feet off the ground so they could be seen from any spot in the room.

The floor depressed down into the shape of a bowl, which was split into two distinctive groups by a catwalk with a central podium, each side full of workstations full of monitors. The circular room had series of side tables that showed holographic and interactive maps of star systems that showed real time ship locations and relayed live radar. The entire room was a hive of chaotic activity, the din of voices kept quiet by low hanging disbursement panels that spread throughout the bowl.

‘Corporal Cross’ called out a weathered voice. ‘I understand you have something for me?’

Looking away from the spectacle in front of him, Ethan looked around before spotting the officer that stood waiting for him. He was a balding middle aged human, sporting a simple salt and pepper moustache that matched the steely blue eyes that stared back at him with cunning intelligence.

‘Sir, Corporal Cross, Sir,’ Ethan said, saluting nervously. ‘I have an Article 9, Sir.’

‘Alright son, follow me. Let’s see what you have there,’ said Sergeant Nellis, returning the salute. ‘Article 9s are not common anymore. It’s probably a glitch, but we will check it out.’

Ethan handed the Staff Sergeant his tablet. ‘Professional, and caring. I’m impressed,’ he thought to himself, following silently as the Sergeant walked across the catwalk to its central podium.

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Nellis stood for several more minutes reviewing the data on Ethan’s tablet, nodding to himself before putting it down and clapping his hands loudly. ‘Okay people, listen up. Private Jing, let’s look at what Corporal Cross has found, shall we? We have an unidentified craft attacking a registered transport ship in neutral space, which has caused it to crash land on an earth like developing world. I need verification and I need it now!’

Ethan stood there stunned, goggling at the sheer amount of data that started to appear on the screens around him. Deep space relays started reconfiguring themselves to point in the direction of the Omega Expanse and alerts were sent to the nearest VINDI command, located at Liberty Station.

Taking a breath, Staff Sergeant Nellis continued, reading off the screens around the room. ‘What do we know about The Javelin? What do we know about Captain Adamo, his crew, and their current passenger index? Where has it been, how long was it stopped for and where was it going? I need all of it people. Let’s get to it!’

Sergeant Nellis walked back to him from the middle of the room, giving him a hard scrutinizing stare. ‘What else do you know?’

Ethan gulped. ‘Sir, I… uh, well. There are some irregularities, Sir,’ he started, sweat dripping down his sides as he froze in chaotic thought. ‘First, whatever craft attacked them was not registered within the CNC system. Secondly, the Javelin was in-route to its next jump when it was attacked, throwing it out of warp. Neither of these should be possible, yet we are being told they are.’

‘Any idea what type of powerplant was on the enemy ship, Son? Or what type of weaponry could be used to mount such an attack? Theoretically of course,’ Nellis said, eyeing Ethan sideways as he spoke, the crowd of workstations and screens beneath and around them buzzing with activity.

‘Sir? Uhm, no not really Sir. Without knowing more information, getting the scans onboard from the ship… something, I have no way of even speculating,’ Ethan said.

An analyst come forward and handed a tablet up to Sergeant Nellis, who perused it for several minutes before looking back up to Ethan. ‘You’re sure?’ he asked.

‘Sir, yes sir,’ responded Ethan, confused. ‘What’s this guy getting at?’

‘Okay kid, your report checks out and so does your credentials. To be frank, we haven’t had one of these in a long time and the given data, the chance of a total fatality is extremely high. Liberty Station does not have any spare hands for an investigation, so we need to send someone from here,’ Nellis said, handing the tablet back down to the waiting aide. ‘That someone is you. Go pack your bags, you’re going on a field trip.’

* *

The massive structure of Sojourn Gate loomed ahead of Ethan as he waited for jump clearance, its elongated cylindrical shape alive with an energized light that ran through a coiled inner core. It pulsed rhythmically, sending waves of bright light forward through the apparatus to outstretched antenna sparkling in the blackness. Anchored in the orbit of Neptune in 2153, the Gate controlled all intergalactic travel into the Sol system and served as the main port of call for the Terran Navy. As a central navigation and trade point throughout this sector of space since then, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the galaxy had come to make the Gate their home.

Docks extended from the gate in every direction around its circumference, housing all manner of spacecraft from all over the galaxy. The low orbit surface of the station swam with activity, tugs shunting barges of goods or empty hulls from one spot to another, keeping up to the frantic pace of progress.

He was on board the TF Pelican, a scout and surveillance ship that had been assigned to him by Sergeant Nellis to use for the mission. At first glance the Pelican wasn’t anything special to look at, armed with based weapons and simple shielding technology. Under the hood however stood an upgraded deuterium drive, an upgraded sensor sweet and an integral med bay.

‘The Mission,’ Ethan repeated to himself in his head, smiling. ‘Finally, I’m doing something rather than being stuck at a desk. Terrifying and exiting at the same time.’

Traffic moved at a steady pace in and out of the gate and before long he had his clearance. Aligning his ship to the chosen space lane, he flicked several switches on the dashboard and prepared his ship to jump. As the shields move into place over the cockpit windows a voice broke over the comm system. ‘Sojourn Gate to Pelican, your flight plan and permissions check out. You are clear for jump.’

‘Pelican to Sojourn Gate, copy that,’ Ethan said, pushing the button for the mic on his cockpit dashboard. He pushed the throttle forward and idled towards the inner core, its rhythmic strobing guiding him as it pulsed away from him, lighting up the gateway.

‘5… 4… 3… 2… 1…’ came the countdown from gate control.

 Several warning bells sounded as he passed through the threshold of the gate, the nose of his ship poking through the gate in Hawking’s Passage while the bulk of his ship was still in earth space. ‘Aaaand here we go,’ Ethan grunted to himself, gritting his teeth as the threshold passed over him, remembering his first time using a jump gate in training; the sudden, immense pressure had been enough to make him violently ill immediately after jump.

 Once the pressure subsided, Ethan leaned forward and flipped the same switches again, resetting security protocols for normal flight. An alien voice came over comms as the shields came down, its language translated moments later by their Unicom. ‘Welcome to Hawking’s Passage Corporal Cross, home of the Arcadis gate. Flight path looks nominal, prepare to exit gate.’

Before him stretched the blackness of space, the gate array now floating behind him. Like Sojourn Gate, there was heavy traffic coming and going from the gate of all shapes and sizes from all over the galaxy. ‘That’s a Raytheon Avenger, I’ve never seen one of those before!’ he thought to himself, taking in the scenery as he maneuvered the Pelican out of the gateway.

With warp instructions entered into his nav computer Ethan got up to get a coffee from the small mess behind the cockpit on the starboard side, tossing his boots off to the other side near the cot. ‘You know boss, I can do that for you,’ came Solace’s voice over the shipboard speakers, her flickering form appearing beside the cockpit seat as she sat down.

Finishing his arrangements, Ethan walked back to the cockpit and leaned against a bulkhead sipping at his coffee. The Pelican entered warp under the control of Solace, the normal blackness of space replaced by the familiar blue, green and purple hues of a warp bubble.

‘Thank you, Solace,’ Ethan said. ‘What can you tell me of our destination?’

‘Pheibos III is rocky planet, 1.23 times the size of and of a similar terrestrial surface to that of Earth, but little else is listed from the last survey. Hmm, that’s odd. There are several classified documents that are above your security clearance,’ she asked, looking back over her shoulder at him. ‘Would you like to see them?’

‘No. If Command didn’t feel it necessary to divulge this information it must not be related to our mission,’ Ethan said. He checked his ongoing scans of the data packet he had received from Command prior to departure. ‘Nothing yet.’

Ethan paced nervously. He had been briefed before he left Century Station by Sergeant Nellis and his team one more time regarding rules of engagement and the complications that could arise in the mission and the list wasn’t small. ‘How long until we are at the next gate, Solace?’ Ethan asked, moving to stand beside the cockpit seat, rest a hand on the back.

‘A few hours boss, you should get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there,’ she said without looking up.

Ethan looked at her, a small smile on his face. ‘Solace, I’m in the middle of drinking a coffee, there won’t be sleep for me anytime soon.’

‘Ah, yes. Coffee. Grown on Earth since the 15^th century Earth, it became one of the first intergalactic trade exports in the early 22^nd. It is a highly naturally caffeinated substance at 94.8mg per average brewed cup that has helped military pilots and soldiers increase wakefulness and improve mental clarity since the 19^th century. Are you feeling nervous about the upcoming mission Corporal?’ Solace asked, looking up at him in concern.

‘I, uh…yes? No? I don’t know. It’s complicated, I don’t know if you’d…’ he began.

‘Understand such a complex thing as human emotion? Corporal?’ Solace interrupted, smiling. ‘Sir, I’m programmed to help you, which means I’m programmed to understand how you work so I can anticipate your actions to properly assist you. It also means I’m programed to understand your weaknesses and help guide you through them.’

‘I …’ Ethan started.

‘I can read your mind, Sir, remember?’ she reached up and tapped the back of his neck where his accelerator chip was located.

‘Right. Okay, well…’ he mumbled before heaving a sigh. ‘Yes. Yes, I’m nervous. This is my first solo assignment in the outer reaches, way above my normal pay grade or even security clearance.’

‘I know I can do this; I’ve been training my whole life for missions like this, but all of my training doesn’t make up for real the lack of real world experience of actually doing it on my own before,’ Ethan said, hot cup of coffee rubbing the bottom of his chin as he spoke.

‘Your right, I don’t understand, but what I do know is what your vitals tell me. Elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, heart palpitations; Sir, you’re having an anxiety attack!’ she said, startled, before pausing to give him a stern look. ‘And that’s what the coffee is for. I get it now.’

‘Carry on, Solace,’ Ethan said, grinning to himself as he paced the deck, sipping his coffee. ‘Can you bring up a holoscreen with the Omega system blown up? I want to know more about where we are going, not just the planet itself.’

‘Certainly, Sir’ Solace said. Moments later, the Omega Expanse projected from a holoport in the ceiling, showing its binary star, multiplanetary system. Pheibos A has 3 planets in sun-synchronous orbit, with Pheibos III being the only habitable planet in the system. Pheibos I and Pheibos II are too close to their star to hold life of any kind, their barren, rocky surfaces reaching hundreds of degrees Celsius every day. Pheibos B on the other hand has no orbiting satellites or planets.’

‘Well, that sounds fun; Let’s not go to I or II and instead go straight to III,’ he said sarcastically. ‘What about the nebula? I’ve started scouring through the data pack that Command gave us, but so far it hasn’t found anything interesting.’

‘The Jack Nebula covers an area of space roughly 1 light year squared, which is a huge chunk of space in the outer edge of Omega system. It is an incredibly hot and dense emission cloud that was deposited in the emptiness of the void and somehow migrated here, ever so slowly working its way towards the systems binary stars. It is advised to stay a safe distance away as temperatures inside the cloud could range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of degrees, enough that if our shields were to fail, it would melt the Pelican in minutes,’ Solace explained.

‘Didn’t the SOS report state that The Javelin went through the nebula Solace?’ asked Ethan, eyeing her askance.

‘Yes sir, it did. I… just, don’t have any idea how the ship survived,’ she stated. ‘It doesn’t make sense according to the laws of physics and thermodynamics.’

Ethan took another sip of his lukewarm coffee, chewing on the inside of his lip as he thought. He had taken to trusting his gut when it told him something bad was afoot, something that he learned through basic training after almost being killed by a mistakenly live frag grenade.

‘Sir, we are approaching Vanguard Terminus. Preparing to disengage warp,’ Solace said, interrupting his reverie.

Vanguard Terminus yawned before them, a giant circular gate like the Arcadis and Sojourn gate, but it lacked the massive space station and extensive docking systems. Vanguard Terminus was also much older than the Arcadis and Sojourn gates, predating the existence of mankind by several thousand years.

‘Bring us in please, nice and steady,’ Finnegan said from the deck where he was still pacing back and forth. ‘Open comms to Vanguard Terminus.’

‘Channel is open, Sir,’ came Solaces response seconds later.

‘GNC Pelican to Vanguard Terminus, requesting jump clearance to Astrahaas Gate in the Omega Expanse,’ Ethan said, sipping his last sip of cold coffee.

Silence greeted them as they approached the gate.

‘Solace, scan the system for other ships nearby. This place is a ghost town, and I don’t like it,’ Ethan said.

With silence continuing to stretch, Solace worked fast. ‘That’s a negative boss.’

‘GNC Pelican to Vanguard Terminus, requesting jump clearance to Astrahaas Gate in the Omega Expanse,’ Ethan repeated, walking back to the cockpit and switching the mic on, his tone hard. ‘Please acknowledge receipt of transmission.’

No response came back, but the gate came alive moments later, its blinding energy coil directing the Pelican towards the gate array. ‘Sir, they’ve powered up. My systems show the gate is acting nominally. Weird why they haven’t said anything,’ Solace quipped.

‘Slow, Solace,’ Ethan muttered, annoyed. ‘Why hadn’t the gate responded?’

The Pelican moved forward with its impulse thrusters, gliding towards the glowing gate array. ‘5… 4… 3… ,’ counted Solace, before she was violently interrupted by multiple flashing red icons on the radar display accompanied by a warning message from the ship’s computer.

‘Sir! Multiple inbound missiles. Taking evasive actions!’ Solace yelled over her shoulder as the ship pitched and rolled.

‘2… 1… ,’ finished Solace as the Pelican passed through the gates event horizon, all radar and sensory icons dim to the emptiness of space around them.

Silence greeted them from Astrahaas Gate.

‘Solace, what the hell happened there?’ asked Ethan angrily sitting overtop of Solace as she sat in the cockpit chair. ‘Who in the fuck fired on us?’

Solace grumped and faded back behind the chair, looking at him. ‘I don’t know, Sir. There was no visible ship, just the inbound missile alert. I will start combing data to see what I can find.’

 ‘That was close and probably not the last,’ he thought, shaken as he looked down at his coffee cup in his hands. ‘Thank god for artificial gravity.’

‘Get us the hell out of here in case something hostile comes through the gate. Send out probes to the nebula and the Javelin attack site,’ Ethan said. ‘I want to know what else is out there, no more surprises. Then we can determine whether Nellis was right or not.’

‘Probes away, Sir,’ Solace said. ‘For what is worth, welcome to the Omega Expanse.’

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