Author: Robert Wagner
Category: Other
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/robert-wagner/page,16,504872-dauntless-_exploration_class.html
"Thanks, but no thanks," Herra said, putting her helmet on the table with a clunk. "The way my week's been going, I better leave it on."
Chen and Zayan followed her lead and declined as well. Kohora nodded slightly to the three Ishalan. They left the room. The two guards took up post by the door.
"Let us sit and begin." Kohora took the head of the table. "Please start with your names."
Herra's knees jutted up as she sat, banging into the bottom. It was hard as stone. She stifled her frustration and instead of a verbal outburst she settled for rubbing the sore spot. Chen and Zayan sat on either side of her.
"I am commander Herra," she said through gritted teeth. She added the commander hoping to make herself sound more legitimate. "This is part of my team. Our astrophysics Hui Chen." Herra pointed and Chen bowed her head. "This is Zayan...um yeah. Exoplanet, exobiologist, and overachiever." Zayan's smile grew even wider, his dimples becoming craters.
"Lovely place you have here. Very...formidable. Solid." Herra put on her best smile. "I first just want to give you my heartfelt gratitude about rescuing us. I know that we're probably the first humans in your station and I appreciate the gravity of that."
Kohara just sat there. He gave her a look that was as hard as the table. Unflustered, Herra went on with the spiel she had rehearsed in her head.
"We were in bad shape after hitting a particularly nasty nebula. Then we fell through an undocumented wormhole and ended up here." Herra's resolve began to crumble under the unwavering glare of Kohara. She rambled on. "And about that whole crashing into your town thing? I'm sorry about that. You did put us in that situation though. Am I right?" Her grin quickly flung itself off a cliff.
Kohara placed a long fingered paw onto the table. "Funny. I think I am using that word right. From outside the damage to your ship didn't look like it was caused by a nebula. Or an asteroid impact. Or any other normal hazard one could run into in space. It looked as if part of your ship has been sliced by a beam weapon of some sort."
Herra scoffed loudly. "Beam weapon? I think I'd know if my ship was hit by a beam weapon. Besides, who has the technology to do such a thing?"
"That is precisely my thought. That is what information I want to know, in exchange for my help."
Herra became fascinated by Kohara's eyes. They were like watching two pools of broiling lava. She pulled herself away and focused back on the talks at hand. "I know it isn't us. I wouldn't laser myself." She let out a forced laugh. "My ship, Dauntless, is an exploratory vessel. We've been-"
Kohara cut her off. "So what have your explorations found? Like I first stated, share with us and we will repair your ship and send it back safely to your space." He rose to stand in front of the star chart. "Unless you have another explanation, like with the damage to your ship, I saw one of two incredible sights today. I saw your ship come into our system on the back of a wyrm. I didn't believe the crewsman when he told me. He had to pull up the scanner data and show me. I had another scan done to verify. Want to tell me what that was about?"
"It was amazing-" Zayan began. Herra cut him off with a raised hand.
"Strange timing that. There we were, stranded by the damage we sustained from the nebula. Our engine broken off. We were out on the ship, trying to repair it as best we could. Things were looking dire. A wormhole forms right in front of us. The wyrm comes out and swoops overhead. It formed another hole and we got sucked along in its wake."
Herra folded her hands into her lap and smiled sweetly. She didn't know where this was going, so she made a move. "I'm sure we can come to an arrangement. I have credits in my bank. Over a thousand. I will give them to you in exchange for repairing my engine. Once we limp back into Earth space, we'll find our own way. I also have the coordinates to a juicy system I've been saving for a rainy day. It has two habitable planets in it. That I could sell to you for a discounted price if I could also get my broken engine attached and running."
"I see. So your docking clamps must have also be damaged by this mysterious nebula?" Kohara went on like he didn't even hear her proposal.
"Look," Herra said, feeling annoyed. "Are you interested in fixing my ship or not?"
"I'm interested in the same thing as when I first contacted you. All the data you have on the unknown aliens stalking this region. The ones you fought."
Herra carefully pronounced and paused between each word. "I don't know what you are talking about? We are an exploratory vessel, not a war ship."
Kohora made a guttural sound deep in his throat. He practically leapt from the star chart to stand across the table from Herra. He started hissing and talked so rapidly that she had a hard time following him. "You are a liar! Do you think Ishala are fools? That damage to your ship wasn't done by any weapon technology we know of. That debris we picked you up in was one of our cruisers. It was taken apart with ease after defending a wyrm from an attack by an unknown vessel. Wyrm activity has increased dramatically in this sector. I've gone my whole life without seeing one and now I have seen three in the last two sun cycles. These aliens have great power. the power to collapse wormholes, the power to attack the wyrms themselves. I have shared with you, now we need to know more about them." Kohora pointed a finger right into Herra's chestplate. "You will tell us if these attacks are by ab unknown alien race, or if it is in fact you humans doing it."
Herra felt as if she had just hit vacuum. The Ishalan had the wrong idea. They could be in a much worse situation than she thought. Her thoughts became scattered. She swept them back together.
She stood, watching the table. Using her height she glowered at Kohora. "Now look here. We're stranded, you picked us up. By our rights under treaty you are to take us back to Earth space. If that means you have to tow us back so be it."
A sound like air being decompressed, like a slow leaking balloon, came out of Kohora. Herra believed that was him laughing.
"That is all and well good. Except that no one knows your here." Kohora made a hand gesture at the guards. One keyed in something on a panel next to the door. It opened and four more guards came in. "Tonight you will be my guest. Tomorrow we can talk about your two choices again."
Chen's eyes were wide. She looked as if she was ready to rise up and speak. Herra put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't want to make a fuss. Zayan to his credit sat as calmly as before, his hands on the table.
"You heard Kohora. He's treating us to dinner and a movie."
Virgil watched the ship that towed them in cut off its beam. Reflexes kicked in and he grabbed the controls. Not that they would do much good since the ship was still dead. When the ship didn't explode when it touched down on the landing pad or went off bouncing around inside the space station, Virgil relaxed. He figured they must have tractor emitters built into the walls. That was pretty slick. Oh how he would like to take one apart and learn its secrets.
Starting out the window, he watched the Ishalan ship fly away. He saw nothing now except the boring walls of the space station docking bay. Figuring it was safe now, he went back to the engine room. There was no reason to waste time sitting in the cabin.
He was deep into taking the working engines power relays apart when he heard loud clunking at the back of the ship. His first thought was something else was falling off the Dauntless. Sanford came on the comm.
"I think we have visitors at the ramp, Virgil. Care to let them in?"
Virgil grumbled to himself. He wasn't happy about stopping a project before finishing it. "Stupid Sanford. I'm tired of his mysterious act. Why can't he get the door?" He was feeling sour by the time he opened the ramp. Air wooshed past Virgil.
Two Ishalan were standing on a floating platform. They were wearing loose fitting suits and one had a large grey box in his hands. Their helmets were dark tinted, preventing Virgil from seeing their faces. "Get in before we lose all our oxygen." Virgil snipped.
If the Ishalan were upset they didn't show it. Once on board, Virgil escorted them to the engine room without a word. Even thou
gh they were inside the Ishalan didn't remove their helmets. Virgil wondered what that was about.
"Can you two understand me?" Virgil asked once they were in the engine room.
There was a paused and then one of the Ishalan answered in a computerized voice. "We can."
Virgil now realized why they still wore their suits. He hadn't even thought about how the Ishalan would help him with the languages being different. His mind was too frazzled by all that had happened. It was still lots for him to process. Plus, how many times had he fixed the ship in the last day? It was no wonder that was all his mind obsessed about.
"Great. I ran diagnostics while I was waiting. There on that screen is everything we need repaired to get the ship back to functional. Are you guys sending over a bot to attach the other engine?"
The Ishalans just stood there at the doorway. One put down the case he was carrying with a clunk. Virgil figured it was tools but he was starting to feel not so sure about that.
"Hello? You want to look over the list?"
No answer came. Virgil huffed in frustration. He didn't have time for these games. Politics, he hated them. He picked up his electrospanner and went back to the regulator. He wished he had Sanford in here to at least watch his back.
He had no more than knelt down when one Ishalan talked again. "We are waiting directions to go ahead from control." Virgil couldn't tell if it was the same one or his pal.
Virgil thought it was funny Herra was going to negotiate with the Ishalan. She was fair at it back home, selling contracts to the highest bidder, but she's in over her head here. Better her than me though. The interpersonal blah blah blah of buying and selling his services would be a low point for him once he had his own ship. He'd probably hire someone who could do it for him.
Virgil went to work, losing himself in it. When he popped his head back up for a drink of water, he wasn't sure how much time had past. The two ding dongs were still standing like statues where they had come in. Virgil wondered why they even came over if they weren't going to lend a hand.
He was getting a bad vibe in the pit of his stomach. Could it be they had something else besides tools in the case? Was the command they were waiting for not to help but to take over the ship and killing anyone who got in the way?
"Aren't you two bored just standing there?" Virgil said, trying to engage them. He wished he could get some kind of reading of them. It would be tough even if they didn't have those suits on, being an alien species. "I mean, I won't tell on you. You'd be doing me a big favor."
The two moved, looking at each other. Virgil was not heartened by this. One of them said, "Only when the leader commands can we move."
Move. Not help. That was another bad sign. Virgil was getting flashbacks to when a pair of passengers came on board that ended up being disguised pirates, years back in the Denalt system. Herra and him discovered the fact right before they could sabotage the ship and take it over. After that Herra had nothing to do with ferrying people. The same feeling he had then he was having now.
What could he do? He was weaponless. He didn't want to leave them alone where, if he was right, they would be able to trash the engine room. Or once they were out of his sight they could make a run for the computer systems. He wasn't exactly sure what their orders could be.
Virgil thought about calling in Sanford. That might be to suspicious though and get him shot, orders or not. Besides, Sanford was a doctor not a fighter. For the record neither was he. He continued working on some burned out modulators. Then he had an idea.
He was wearing his protective gear. The Ishalan were not. He moved to the secondary battery system. Opening the panel on the wall, he moved his body in such a way to shield what he was doing. He placed the battery into recharge mode so it would shut down. Cutting into it, he stripped down the electrical wiring. Next would be the tricky part.
"I've got such a brown out in the panel in the floor I'm going to need to run some additional cable. Either of you willing to hold it while I spool the cable out?" Neither one rose to offer help. That was just fine with Virgil.
He grabbed a length of wiring, spliced it into the exposed wire, and ran it down into the floor. Virgil pretended he was tying it into a board. Instead he wrapped it around a screw in the metal grating that covered the floor. He went back to the open wall panel.
Virgil put his hand over the lever to reactivate battery power. "You may see the lights dim for a moment. Don't worry, that is to be expected."
Both Ishalan looked at each other then took a step towards him. Virgil flipped the switch, took two steps back, and held his hands up. The lights did dim and flicker as all the voltage in the backup battery system flowed into the metal grating of the floor. The two Ishalan began to vibrate like they were being shook by invisible hands. Virgil stood very still. His boots insulated him but he wasn't going to chance accidentally creating a current. The Ishalan fell to the floor and flopped like fish pulled onto shore. The panel next to Virgil began to spark. A whine emanated from it now. With a crackle and a pop the sound stop. So did the movement of the Ishalan.
Virgil took a cautious step back to the panel. As he suspected, he'd drained the battery backup. He flipped the switch back to recharge. He undid his trap. Looking down at the Ishalan he wondered if they were knocked out or dead.
Virgil crossed the room to the comm panel. "Sanford I need you down in the engine room. Don't worry about the Ishalan. They won't be able to see you now, if that's your worry. Just come quick."
Without waiting for a reply he clicked it off. He went to the case the Ishalan had carried on board. After a few minutes of working on it he was able to open it. Inside he found tools, not weapons, to his surprise. The tools looked not like the kind for repairing a ship and more like the kind for breaking into a computer system to him. Along the tools he found what he was pretty sure were explosives.
Sanford walked into the room. He looked down at the two bodies on the floor and looked back up without missing a beat. "I'm guess that is what you needed my help with?"
"They were going to attack us, Sanford, I swear it." Virgil sounded defensive, even though Sanford hadn't accused him of anything. "I send what we had left in battery back up through them. I don't know how strong those suits they have on are. Can you check if they're dead?"
Sanford knelt. He felt around the helmet of one of the Ishalan until he found out how to take it off. He pulled it slowly with one hand, cupping the head inside with the other one. The Ishalan had mottled fur of black and purple. Virgil watched him feel the skin below a hole on his head about where a human's ear would be.
"His hearts are beating. It's shallow and irregular though. I better take them both back to my office. They need to be monitored."
Great. If I was wrong it's better that they're not dead. We wouldn't get any help for sure if that was the case.
"I'll grab one, Sanford." Virgil picked the other Ishalan up under the arms. He dragged the alien out into the hallway. For being short the alien sure had mass. He was just about to the medical office when he heard the chime from the bridge that Herra was calling him.
Virgil unceremoniously dumped the Ishalan right inside the doorway of Sanford's office and ran to the bridge. He slapped on the comm, frustrated at what she wanted before even talking to her.
"Yeah Herra? I'm kind of busy here." he snapped.
"I know. It's been a hell of a day, right? I just didn't want you and Sanford to worry when we didn't turn back up tonight. We're going to be guests on the space station."
Virgil could detect the worry in her voice. That meant they were more like prisoners than guests. He just about laughed. Here they thought they had been saved. Instead they were out of the supernova, into the black hole.
"How's the repairs going?"
It was to bad it was just an audio connection. Virgil would have like to see her face and surroundings. "Oh swimmingly. You know, with all the help I have."
"Good." She sounded anything but happy. "Keep o
n eye on things while I'm gone. Herra out."
Virgil killed the comm. He would have lots to discuss when he got back to Sanford.
As far as brigs or jail cells went, this one isn't too bad, Herra thought as she paced around the large, open square.
The space had several rough looking chairs made out of the same white stone substance as the conference table. The plain pillows on them didn't make them look any more inviting. Neither did the three stone slabs one up against each wall besides where the door was, which had a thin mattress covering them. The walls were bare, yellowish tinged affairs. The floor was bare and metallic clicks follow Herra's every step.
Still, this was a five star hotel, compared to some places she had been before. Like the cell she was thrown into after a misunderstanding on Cigmas V. That place had been a hellhole. She showered for an hour after being let out and still felt dirty. Cigmas V was forever after on Herra's list of planets she would never return to.
Before he left Kohora assured them they would be well taken care of. The Ishalans were gracious jailers if nothing else. There were also smaller tables by the chairs with plates of what Herra assumed was Ishalan food. She didn't know if what was on them would be safe for humans to eat. Sanford would know but he wasn't here and Herra couldn't call him up. Happy he allowed it, it still amazed her that Kohora gave her the one call back to the ship on the way to their temporary accommodations. She hoped Virgil got her subtext about what was going on. She was afraid she was going to get out of this gilded cage to find her ship's computer systems stripped and the Dauntless destroyed.
Chen also wandered around the room. She touched every object and looked all around with a lot more curiosity than Herra felt at the moment. Zayan was sitting in one of the chairs. It only looked a little small for him. Looking at him made Herra have a funny thought. When she laid down tonight, her legs would be dangling off the bed. Bet I get zero sleep tonight. Zayan didn't look too happy. This was the first time since coming aboard Dauntless that Herra could remember him not having a smile on his face.