There was no time to worry about why things weren’t as expected. Yuri’s orders were to make contact with anyone he could as soon as possible, in case the Solarians were preparing to destroy him.
“Scan transmissions grep STC.” Yuri dictated to the onboard computer, following the procedure set out in his briefing, based on the last known configuration of Sol’s Space Traffic Control.
“No results.” Replied the computer’s assistant service. Not entirely surprising. Languages and names change over time, perhaps they call it something else.
“Scan transmissions grep control.” Yuri said.
“No results.” Replied the assistant.
Yuri felt something. Like the excitement he felt earlier, but different and worse. Dread. He ignored it, he was too busy.
“Scan transmissions” Yuri said. As a last resort, he could check the whole list of transmissions and pick out any that looked useful.
“One transmission found.”
Yuri paused. One transmission, for the entire Sol system. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as the feeling of dread overwhelmed him. Of course, whatever he was thinking was silly. They were probably using a new transmission technology, making it undetectable on Union 105’s systems. Commander had even mentioned this as a possibility. Plus, there was one transmission – meaning there was something out there.
Nevertheless, it was hard for Yuri to give the next command as the dread made him afraid to find out more. But the urgency of the mission forced it out of him.
“Read result 0.”
“Channel. 100. Strength. 100 percent. Name. Welcome.”
Welcome. Knowing that the Collective would try to make contact they left a signal in the old technology, probably with instructions for connecting to the real network, Yuri figured. But if the Collective was welcome, why didn’t they remove the wormhole lock themselves? Surely if they put it there in the first place, they could remove it? Regardless, Yuri wanted to know more about who or what was sending the message.
“Scan result 0 location”.
“Unknown object detected. Likely interplanetary vehicle, probability 70%.”
The scan showed the outline of the object. It was a large ship, just a few light seconds away. Nowhere near as large as Peace, but it was still larger than anything Yuri had known to be part of the Alliance's fleet from the Collective’s 1500-year-old archives.
“Read transmission.”
“Transmission reads as follows: ‘Hello Collective craft. Glad to see that you’ve finally made it. Please dock and come aboard. I can assure you with the utmost confidence that you won’t be fired upon, regardless of your manner of approach.’"
Yuri had not been expecting such a friendly greeting, indeed it was strange. Almost satirical. Regardless of your manner of approach. Does that mean Yuri could approach guns blazing? Perhaps they could tell that Unity 105 had no weapons. But that would mean whoever sent it was aware of Yuri’s arrival. Maybe there was someone watching him after all.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Yuri ordered the computer to set a course towards the new ship, and again the thrusters fired. By now, after the trip through the wormhole, the g-forces did not feel quite as bad. He decided to see if he could open communication with the ship as he approached.
“Request voice com transmission 0.”
“Com requested. Com accepted. Announce yourself.”
That was fast, Yuri realized...did they automatically open communications permissions? Was it even a human on the other end? He wasn’t even ready, but he stammered out what he had been trained to say.
“This is Captain Yuri Smirnoff of the Collective Union. I am here on a diplomatic mission from the Collective Union flagship Peace. Our Premier presents his compliments to your current leadership and seeks an audience to discuss the immediate cessation of hostilities.” He felt just a tiny bit of pride to represent the Collective to...whatever was on the other end.
The response came immediately. “Welcome Captain Smirnoff! I hope you don’t mind if I call you Yuri. Glad to have you here. Has it been a long trip?”
Yuri was relieved to hear a human voice. It sounded like a military man, middle aged. Yuri could envision him, a tightly buttoned green suit, grey hair under a flat captain’s cap. Of course, he could look completely different. But Yuri was confused by the lack of formality, and the last bit. Were they aware of the seal being broken? Was this a joke? Perhaps the Solarians had developed a strange sense of humor.
“Thank you…may I ask who I’m speaking to?”
The voice suddenly shifted, becoming mechanical-sounding. “This is Captain Washington’s agent version 1.0.3.”
Yuri’s heart sank. It was another computer, of some sort. Unless Sol started giving people version numbers. “I’m not sure I understand, what do you mean by agent?”
It switched back to Captain Washington’s voice. “I’m what you’d call a virtual assistant to Captain Washington. I use Captain Washington’s voice, replicate his personality, and I follow his instructions when given. I simulate what he would do in all other circumstances based on voluminous data from his life. Please be aware that I lack permissions to operate the ship’s navigation and weapons.”
Weapons. Yuri thought. This was a warship. Yuri wondered just how welcome he was, and if the Captain was even aware of his arrival.
“I would like to request that I speak directly with Captain Washington please. This is a matter of utmost importance.”
“I’m sorry Yuri. You may not speak with Captain Washington at this time.”
Yuri had been prepared for all kinds of receptions from murderously hostile to cautiously welcoming. But this sort of friendly aloofness was not at all what he had been expecting.
“Is Captain Washington there at all? Will I ever be able to speak to him?”
“Sure! Captain Washington is on board. You will meet him after you board and can speak to him then.”
Yuri was somewhat encouraged, but skeptical. The agent wasn’t telling him something, but he wasn’t sure what. His ship reversed thrust, and the Solarian warship came into view.
It was very large. And very dusty. It must have been out of the docks for a long time. Yuri activated the telescope to get a closer look. On the side of the ship was a large number 70, under which was written "TS Valkyrie". A Terran ship. During the Sol-Collective war most ships used the prefix SAS – Sol Alliance Ship. Only the Terran Orbital Guard used the TS prefix.
The ship slowed more steadily, and after another several minutes, it came to a dock, latching on without issue.
“Tunnel ship EVA”. Yuri commanded the ship computer, allowing him to access the ship’s computer from his EVA suit. As he prepared to open the hatch, Captain Washington’s agent came on over his suit’s external audio channel.
"Welcome aboard Yuri. Please be advised, life support is not operational. Do not remove your helmet at any time. With that in mind, feel free to enter the dock at your leisure."
Life support is not operational. Yuri knew that wasn’t right. If that were the case, the ship would almost certainly be under evacuation orders. How could the captain be aboard? The feeling of dread was growing stronger again.
Yuri worked out the logic in his head. The agent could communicate with his suit and his ship. There was no way they were still using 1500-year-old comms technology on their own accord, so the agent must have been deliberately prepared for Yuri’s arrival. Which means the Solarians were expecting him, and would probably want to be around for his arrival. But there was no one around. So if they want to be around, but aren’t around, that means they couldn’t be around. And that probably had something to do with the fact that the Earth also no longer appeared to be around.
"Now you’ll see a green light on the floor. That’s gonna lead you right to the bridge. The captain is waiting for you there."
Yuri slipped out of the hatch and into the docking area. A green light was on the floor. As he walked forward, the green light also moved forward. Yuri began to follow the light for a few seconds, and then stopped.
There was no one. No marines, no crew, nobody. The lights were on, but no one was around. It was obvious now that the ship was abandoned, confirming what he was already suspecting. He felt a pang of fear creep up his spine. The thought that he should turn around and go back certainly occurred to him. Nevertheless, he had his orders, and couldn’t return with so little after expending precious hydrogen. He took a breath, and continued towards the bridge.