09: An Unexpected Loss

When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck;
when you invent the plane you also invent the plane crash;
and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution.

Paul Virilio

“Are you two prepared?” Del asked their novice Lezmonom warriors.

“We’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” Lizzle said, pulling on her gloves.

“I’m set,” the second one proclaimed, as he checked his helmet. “I’m so excited I can hardly stand it.”

“Remember, Kalib, you need to keep your head,” Siss cautioned. “There are hundreds of things to watch for. The slightest thing can go wrong, and we don’t understand enough to know what to expect. A minute sharp edge can puncture a suit, plus there may be radiation risks from breached engines.”

“I’m not sure I’ll adjust to this new name,” Kalib groused. “It sounds so ... foreign.”

“Hopefully we’ll get better at pronouncing your names. But for now, it’s easier using something we’ll all recognize.”

“I was hoping for one of those cool nicknames the rest of you use,” Lissle suggested.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind being Ka, or even Kal. I don’t know what a ‘kalib’ is.”

“It’s just a name,” Del said. “One coined by a certain minority to designate they’re separate from the dominant majority population. But it doesn’t have a distinct meaning, at least none I can recall offhand.”

“I can relate to being viewed as different,” he acknowledged. “Otherwise our ancestors would never have fled Tandorian space. Now, we outnumber you, so we’re hardly the minority.”

“Believe me, the cute nicknames were because we humans were named by rank, based on an ancient human language. Once we discovered we were in the same boat, it became a personal thing, marking us as distinct from everyone else.”

“And the Tandorians who joined them, like myself,” Siss said, “adopted the same convention. I’ve got to admit, it simplifies life tremendously. Luckily, with so few of us, we haven’t run into many conflicts. Now that we’ve increased our population, the trend probably won’t continue.”

“Since neither is claimed, I have no problem with either one,” Del said. “Single syllable names simplify exchanges in dangerous situations.”

“Use Kal, then,” Kalib said. “I has a nicer ring, and doesn’t sound as much like choking.”

“Can I be Lizz?”

Del chuckled. “It isn’t much shorter, but it’s fine. But if we decide to marry anyone else, all bets are off.”

Lizz’s face dropped. “You’re not planning it, are you?”

“No, I was teasing. The humans were never looking for additional partners. They did it more to prove a point about our ability to determine our own fate. However, once Al, Betty and Xi opened the door, the rest joined in before common sense prevailed.”

“I don’t note any obvious risks,” Siss advised, “but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll be safe. There just aren’t any immediate hazards. If you take a wrong turn, or move at the incorrect time, things change. Stick with us, pause when we do, and you’ll be okay. Remember, you’re here to observe, not risk your lives.”

“Still, we never got the chance to do anything this exotic back home. Imagine, exploring an alien ship no one has ever observed before.”

“What about the vessel we’re living in?” the newly named Lizz argued. “We never even knewwere Zssizliq before.”

“Yeah, but everyone treats it as normal. Here, we’re breaking new ground, taking chances and learning things before anyone else.”

“We’re going in as two separate teams of four,” Del detailed, “so you won’t see the others aside from them exiting their shuttle. We’ll enter the ship, get a feel for what we’re seeing and advance from there.”

“Wouldn’t we cover more territory if we split up, going in different directions?”

“We could, but we could have covered more with four members of our existing crew. Since this won’t involve any firefights, it was seen as a tremendous learning experience. Unfortunately, we need to separate the training opportunity from our uncovering answers before getting back underway.”

“In either case,” Siss emphasized, “we’re wasting precious time. Let’s head out and see what we can discover. Then you two can describe what exploring an alien ship is like!”

__________
Siss and Del demonstrated how to kick off using the shuttle door’s frame to launch themselves towards the ship. Lizz and Kal followed their lead and weren’t far behind when they reached the entrance portal.

“Damn, it’s standing wide open,” Del noted. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“What means that?” Lizz asked.

“Yeah,” Gary answered from their mission at the other end of the ship. “It means whoever was here—either the escaping survivors or those who subsequently discovered the vessel—never intended to return. The shuttle bay is similar. The entrance is open, and the two shuttles are gone. There’s no indication whether the surviving crew used them to escape or others took them. In either case, they were left that way, as the locking mechanisms weren’t damaged.”

“It suggests a rescue mission,” Del said. “The original crew likely encountered trouble and got a signal out. By the time the relief vessel arrived, everyone was gone. One, is there any trace of abandoned craft in the vicinity? Given the looks of the ship, I doubt they were sophisticated enough for faster-than-light travel. If so, they couldn’t have gotten far.”

“It all depends on how long it’s been,” the One said. “Traveling at sublight speeds, if it’s been a thousand years or more, they could be well beyond my scanning range. If not, surely anyone capable to investigating the remains would have thought it beneficial to retrieve the technology.”

“The idea of a benevolent rescuer isn’t unprecedented,” Myi said. “It’s the role the Tandorians played for a long time. Back in our glory days, we’d venture to new, unexplored regions, much as we’re doing now. When they identified a developing civilization, they’d offer assistance, but stipulate they needed to modify their society to fit into the larger Tandorian culture. They’d then leave them on their own to implement the changes.

“Since the cultivated worlds could see tremendous benefits from joining such an established and thriving galactic civilization, they had a significant incentive to change. The Empire would make periodic visits. If the societies made the necessary modifications, especially if they were nearing interstellar travel, the Tandorians would provide additional inducements. If they couldn’t accept requirements such as stopping their wars to work together for the common good, we’d leave them to their own devices. Typically, the worlds would hit a crisis point, couldn’t adjust, and just cease to exist. Yet we’d continue checking to determine whether they were ready to do whatever they needed to survive.

“It’s possible another culture is playing the same role, though I doubt they’re as experienced or sophisticated as the Tandorians.”

“For such a far-fetched idea, it makes the most sense,” Al reflected.

“Not much to see inside,” Siss noted. “No obvious dangers, though there’s junk floating everywhere.”

“I’ll say.” Kal reached out for something drifting by his head. “What are these?”

“It’s some variation of paper,” Del said, checking it out. “Careful, the prolonged exposure has left them extremely stiff and fragile. However, we can analyze their language if we can collect enough samples.”

“Is it worth bothering?” Myi prompted. “I understanding investigating the ship to understand the capabilities of someone we may face in the future. Yet the likelihood they’re still around, or that their language hasn’t changed in the intervening years, is remote.”

“We’re in the connecting passage off their smaller shuttle bay,” Gary announced. “There’s less abandoned equipment drifting here. It appears everything was locked away. Also, despite evidence of a fight, there are no apparent clues concerning what happened.”

“Siss,” Gary requested, “can you determine any risks, possibly if we break into the AI unit and remove its memory, if nothing else?”

She paused, considering it. “No. I’m getting a complete blank. I don’t perceive any hazards, though it may be I don’t understand what it entails. We’ll need to develop a better idea of what’s involved before I can detect any issues.”

“Still,” Al said over an open channel, “I’m sending in our engineers. While you might pick up some interesting information, they’re the ones who’ll determine what we’re dealing with.” He waited several moments. “Okay, Lamar and Taq are already preparing a shuttle. They guessed where this was heading and selected their Lezmonom teammates. They’ll be joining you shortly.”

“Should we wait for them?” Myi wondered.

“Nah, they know how to handle these situations. Since the ship is unsecured, they’ll make faster access on their own.”

“Okay, I’ve got something more substantial,” Gary said. “We have signs of an armed struggle. Hold on while I establish the parameters.” A few moments later he was back. “I’m now in what looks like their common room. There are blaster burns on the walls, along with dark stains on the tables, ceilings and floors.”

“Get samples,” Etta suggested. “We can run an analysis and determine what the occupants were like based on their genetic makeup.”

“As well as identify the weapon type from the blast remnants,” Kaci added.

“I’ll get it!” Trevor offered. “Man, I never imagined I’d be scrapping blood off the walls of an alien vessels a few weeks ago. No one will believe this!”

“Focus,” Myi urged. “Always concentrate on your task and any dangers around you. If you get overly excited about what follows, you’ll miss the obvious.”

“Any signs of forced entry?” Al pressed.

“Not that we can detect,” Gary reported. “There are several corridors leading off from here, but there’s no indication of an invading force. Also, the burn marks aren’t like you’d see during an organized attack. They’re scattered. I’m guessing this was either an isolated disagreement among the crew run amuck, or a full revolt.”

“Starting in the common room?” Al objected. “A rebellion seems unlikely there. It may foment in the dining area, but they’d likely launch it on the bridge, as it would have the most impact. I’m assuming a simple disagreement escalated.”

“Now that we know what to look for, we’re heading there based on the rough schematics the One is compiling. We’re seeing indications of a fight; with additional burn marks and bloodstains. There’s also actual debris from impacts, rather than random free-floating objects.”

“This is so neat!” Kal exclaimed. “I can almost smell the blaster burns.”

“That’s known as sensory integration,” Eli expounded. “When you see something which provokes intense emotions, you integrate personal sensual memories to fill in the gaps when you can’t experience it directly.”

“Don’t focus on the excitement,” Del counseled. “You’ve got a job to do. Remain objective and search for clues. Don’t concentrate on what you want to see or you’ll contaminate your conclusions.

“Lamar and Taq are transmitting images as they approach from another direction. I’m assembling an outline of the vessel,” the One explained. “So far, I haven’t detected any external signs of an attack.”

“It sounds like a sub-light voyage lasting a lifetime to reach a new world,” Al summarized. “It undoubtedly ended in the crew—cooped up without release for so long—killing each other and compromising their ship.”

“It makes sense, but doesn’t explain the lack of bodies,” Myi countered. “If someone recovered them, then clearly the distance wasn’t an obstacle. Otherwise, they couldn’t journey the distance, clean up everything and head back again without suffering a similar fate. There’s got to be more to the story.”

“We’ll need to examine the drives,” Lamar said. “We can determine roughly how fast they could travel, helping identify where they started from.”

“Or,” Gary said, “it implies another group capable of traveling between worlds intervened and honored another species’ dead. It either demonstrates an incredibly respectful culture or suggests the rescuers were from the same society. Whichever it was, they likely encountered the wreck hundreds or even thousands of years later.”

“One, can you track its origin, using its speed?”

“It’s not so simple. Its current velocity is relative to us. It doesn’t give any indication to how fast it was traveling in relation to its origin. What’s more, its momentum might easily carry it far beyond its destination.”

“Fine. Working backwards based exclusively on its heading; can you identify its starting point?”

“As we were saying,” Lamar continued, “we’ll have a more reliable estimate when we determine their capabilities. With a given speed, we can figure out the minimum distance traveled and extrapolate backwards from there.”

“So much for uncovering answers,” Al mumbled.

“It isn’t the messages you want that are the most valuable, but those which hurt the most,” Triznor offered. “By then, it’s too late.”

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time someone delivers news I expect, though those seem the rarest of all,” he grumbled.

“Be careful, people,” Gary warned. “These blaster burns appear to have weakened the structural integrity of the walls. Be prepared for falling tiles. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

“I’m not as worried about a bump on the head as a radioactive leak or booby-trap,” Myi said. “One might hurt, but you won’t feel the latter.”

“We’re entering the ship now,” Lamar announced. “We’re using a port nearest the drives, so we’ll start there.”

“I think we’ve got enough evidence of internal bickering,” Al said. “I doubt any further examinations will reveal anything new. We need someone to head to the bridge to see if there’s anything useful there.”

“We’re near there,” Myi said. “Trevor and Gartu aren’t learning much examining bloodstains. They’ll pick up more investigating a unique bridge design, so we’ll be prepared if we ever need to commandeer an unfamiliar ship.”

“Gartu?” Al asked.

“Don’t ask,” Myi cautioned. “I’ll explain it later and we’ll share a laugh.”

“It wasn’t my idea,” Gartu complained. “Still, I’m getting used to it.”

“The plans are appropriate,” Al agreed. “Keep an eye open for any AI or memory housings. We likely can’t read the data, but we can learn a lot by studying the technologies employed.”

“Got it. We’ll examine all the knobs and gizmos and see which way the zero-G toilets flush,” Gary teased. “We’ll uncover plenty of shit that way.”

“We’ve located a weapons locker,” Del said. “We can determine the types of armaments they used.”

“Great, we can learn how ancient weapons-technology works too!”

“Technology builds on their basics,” she pointed out. “If we understand their foundations, we can envision where it might be at specific stages in the future.”

“Good point. Grab a couple guns, shove ‘em in a bag and we’ll examine them later,” Al instructed.

“We’ve found the drive bays,” Lamar said. “Taq and I will try to determine how they operate, while Waq and Tulli observe. They’re pretty ... antiquated. Not so much old as primitive.”

“Primitive by Tandorian or Human standards?”

“Oh, believe me, this ship is way beyond anything Earthlings could achieve,” Lamar replied.

“You’re not kidding,” Gary said. “Looking under the counters on the bridge, the entire vessel is controlled via crystal-tubes.”

“Are you serious?’ Al asked.

“Don’t get me wrong. They’re leaps and bounds beyond our limited efforts in the field. Yet imagine if we’d never developed digital technology, instead perfecting the older devices. They achieved things with it we never imagined.”

“Except, it’s prone to overheating,” Al argued.

“From what I can tell, many of them extend into crevices open to space—the ultimate coolant and insulator.”

“Is there any sign the essential components failed? Could the common area fight have been provoked by technical difficulties? Say a loss of navigation or drive controls.”

“The drives don’t appear damaged,” Taq relayed, “though we’d need to do a thorough examination to be sure. They’re definitely not faster than light, though they likely managed a decent sublight speed.”

“This is fascinating, but it’s not terribly insightful. So far, there’s little worth entering the ship for in the first place. Is there anything we can learn from it?”

“I’m getting an alert from Lamar and Taq’s aids,” the One alerted them. “They’re unresponsive and in severe distress.”

“Lamar, Taq,” Al called. “Wag, Tulli?” He hesitated. “Dammit, we need to get them help!”

“We’re heading out,” Xi notified him. “We figured someone might need emergency care, so my assistants and I were waiting in the drive bay. It won’t take us more than a few minutes to reach them.”

“What’s happening?” Mui pleaded. “You’ve got to do something!”

“Be, you need to help her. We don’t need her losing control. We need someone who knows what they’re facing. We—”

“Mr. Al?” a lone feminine voice called.

“Yes, who is this?”

“This is Tulli. We were ... we were ... observing your engineers, when the wall behind them ... failed. It didn’t collapse or buckle, it simply came apart. Something popped and the steel wall just peeled away and fell! We were knocked to the ground and they are trapped under the metal sheet. We can’t get to them. They’re not making a sound. They may be dead!”

“Try to find something long, like a steel beam, and see if you can leverage it.”

“We’ve tried,” Wag said. “We know basic engineering principles, but there are no unsecured metal components here.”

“We’re on our way,” Siss told them. “Do you have a laser? If so, you can use it to weaken or cut through the wall covering them. Once weakened, you may be able to break it up with something heavy.”

“Their vitals are weak and they’re unresponsive,” the One divulged. “They’re losing a lot of blood.”

“We’re clearing away debris, but it’s not making much difference.”

“Tulli,” Al calmly instructed. “Head out to the port you entered through and direct Xi and her people when they arrive. Hopefully they can stabilize them until we can shift the fragments off them.”

“I’m going, but I feel like I’m abandoning them. They were protecting us, and now we can’t help them.”

“It’s not like you didn’t try. You’re doing what you can, which is accelerating how rapidly help arrives.”