The oval ship carrying Horotic and his resistance fighters floats silently through space. Inside the ship, crew members lean over stations or confer at various holo-diagrams.
Crexa remains seated at her station, paying careful attention to the numerous readouts playing across her screen. One such readout catches her attention and she arches a brow with interest.
“Master Guard Horotic…” Crexa calls loud enough to be heard over the drone of voices on the bridge.
Horotic halts his conversation with a shrike to his left and turns in Crexa’s direction.
“What have you got, Crexa?” Horotic inquires. He moves swiftly toward Crexa’s station and stands by her side, eyeing the readouts on her screen.
“We’re approaching a new world…uncharted,” Crexa states without moving her eyes from her screen. “Preliminary energy readings indicate there’s a good chance they have a portal. A big one. The telemetry is off the charts…Excuse the pun. Big enough to send a ship through…That’s for sure.”
Horotic smiles and places a wing on Crexa’s shoulder. He leans closer and follows her wingtips as they fly over the screen—adjusting indicators and frequency readouts. This is the first good news he has heard all day.
“This is good,” Horotic says in a hushed whisper. “This is very good. Are you able to pick up any communications signals? Can you establish a link to the surface?”
“Not yet, Master Guard,” Crexa say regretfully. “But, we’re still pretty far out. I’ll complete a few more scans, and keep bouncing communications at the surface. By the time we’re close enough to jump; I’ll know everything there is to know about this world.”
Horotic squeezes Crexa’s shoulder and offers her a wide grin.
“I’m sure you will,” Horotic trills. “Good work.”
Crexa returns his smile and tilts her head coyly.
“Thank you, Master Guard,” Crexa states and returns her attention to her station. A faint smile remains on Horotic’s face as he strolls back to the shrike with whom he was previously having a serious conversation.
_
_
Several Hours Later
The ship is floating several hundred miles above the newly discovered world’s surface. Horotic is once again leaning over Crexa’s station.
“We’ve established communication, Master Guard,” Crexa trills excitedly. “But the signal is still very weak. No…It’s more than that.”
Crexa grows silent and fiddles with the various displays and holographic buttons on her console. She eventually becomes agitated and trills with frustration.
“It’s almost as if the signal is being jammed….At the source,” Crexa explains—a hint of incredulity seeping into her shrill voice. “But why? Why would anyone do that? For what purpose? I’ll work on it some more. See if I can…Unjam the signal. Or find a work-around.”
Horotic nods ascent and inhales sharply. He locks eyes with Crexa for a brief moment.
“If any shrike can find a way…It’s you, Crexa!” Horotic says with a sly wink. “I trust your skill implicitly.”
Horotic barely turns from Crexa’s station before a loud claxon sounds throughout the ship.
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“Warning. Enemy ships eleven-hundred meters off the aft bow,” the automated voice of the computer trills.
Olerg disengages from his conversation with a female shrike and hurries to his station. His hands fly over his console. Raneel glances over at Olerg before returning his attention to his own console’s displays.
“The computer is right, Master Guard,” Olerg exclaims. “Sensors detect at least four enemy ships…Or at least unidentified ships…Off our aft side.”
“Master Guard—”Crexa trills. “The jamming signal….It’s originating from those ships. They’re jamming our communication with the surface. The signal is getting stronger the closer they get to our position.”
Horotic sighs and rotates his feathered head on his shoulders. With a look akin to satisfaction, he turns his gaze to meet that of Raneel.
“You have your orders, Raneel,” Horotic trills with a sly smile. His eyes narrow to thin slits. “The success of our mission is paramount. We can not fail our kin. Whoever is controlling those ships…Will not impede us. Arm weapons and prepare to fire.”
Raneel nods and he scrolls through several holographic displays—displays of the ship’s weapons capabilities.
“Weapons are…Armed,” Raneel informs Horotic. “Ready to fire on your command.”
All eyes are on the front view-screen as four ships float into view.
“Master Guard, unidentified ships have raised shields but are not arming weapons,” Olerg states. “They’ve also slowed their forward momentum. They’re barely moving at all, now.”
“However, they’re making no attempt to communicate with us,” Crexa interjects. “I’m hailing them…But nothing. Silence. The only signal coming from those ships is the signal that is jamming our communication with the uncharted world’s surface.”
Horotic takes all of this in with a grim expression. He stares at the view-screen—willing the commander of the other ships to make their position known.
“Try again, Crexa. Let them know we only wish to use the portal on the world’s surface,” Horotic commands. “We have no intention of staying. We’re only passing through.”
Crexa shoots Horotic a look that says: “Really?”
“Well, aren’t we?” Horotic mouths so that only Crexa can see.
Crexa mouths a few choice words of her own and bends her head to her station. She works quickly in order to comply with Horotic’s command. A few failed attempts at communication later and Crexa shakes her head.
“Nothing, Master Guard,” she begins. “They’re not…”
“Master Guard, the lead ship is arming their weapons…,” Olerg trills loudly.
Horotic grows rigid, the feathers at the top of his head raising, and his beak drawing tightly shut. So it has come to this.
“Prepare to fire,” Horotic orders. “So it begins.”
On the view-screen a circular port opens on the lead ship. A purple light slowly traverses the outside of the circular port, and then spreads to the port’s entire surface. Every shrike on the bridge stares at the light as if transfixed. They are hoping the shot does not come. Raneel glares at the screen as if daring it to come; his wingtip hovering over the weapons console.
No one is expecting what happens next. From the surface of the unknown world, a large energy burst breaks through the atmosphere and slams into the lead ship. The bright light emitted from the burst causes every shrike on the bridge to shield their eyes or turn their head.
Horotic takes a single step towards the forward viewing screen and shakes his head in confusion. “What? What has happened? Did we fire?”
“No, Master Guard…,” Olerg says. His voice quivers and he swivels to look at Horotic. “That shot came from the world’s surface.”
Another energy burst finds its target and the lead unidentified ship wobbles but does not explode. Small fires are visible on two of its decks. The ships off to either side of the lead ship break off and slowly head in a different direction. The disabled lead ship floats as if dead.
“Try to communicate with that ship again,” Horotic trills. “See if there are any survivors and if they need our aid.”
“Excuse me,” Crexa says. Disbelief colors her expression and her mood. “They were prepared to fire on us, Master Guard.”
“But they didn’t,” Horotic corrects her. “We are not savages, Crexa. We will offer them aid. But they will remain on their damaged ship.”
A sudden chime alerts Crexa that a communications signal is incoming. She smiles and flaps a wing excitedly.
“Master Guard, we are receiving a signal from the world’s surface. They’re hailing us,” Crexa cries loud enough to be heard on the next deck.
“Now, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” Horotic utters. He stares at the forward view screen with a mixture of relief and apprehension. A familiar face fills the screen and Horotic releases a sharp gasp. The large shrike seen previously speaking with Horotic in his command center smiles back at the shrikes upon the bridge.
“It’s about time you got here, Horotic…,” The large shrike mocks. “Get lost along the way?”
Horotic looks around at his loyal crew before returning his eye to the front.
“You could say that,” Horotic says jokingly.
-
-
Zorobo receives a communication at his console. Zorobo’s eyes flash the now familiar purple and he hurls everything off of the console that isn’t nailed or welded down. A single word escapes his mouth.
“Nooooooooooooo!”