“I hope you didn’t run a trace on the man.”
Vadir held up his hands as he followed Captain Miller into the large yellow tent. “I promise you I did no such thing.”
The inside of which had a single large foldable table. There on it sat a strange-looking metal sphere. Vadir wouldn’t need a trace to know the Terrans didn’t build it but they must have gone to some trouble to make it work for them. The Welcome Wagon had all positioned themselves around the table with just enough room for Vadir to position himself opposite Captain Miller.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that’s a scouting drone used to image any given area.”
“You’d be right,” said Webber. “Took us a while to rig it to understand our inputs. Much like your ship, the language is quite the barrier.”
“Mind if I?”
Captain Miller’s eyebrows narrowed but he nodded and Vadir placed both hands on the strange spherical drone craft. His veins glowed yellow as those same lines traversed the shape. Alien voices, unrecognisable and impossibly close but distant filled his head with mindless babble. He lifted his hands. And pressed a series of buttons much to the protest of Welcome Wagon but Captain Miller gestured for them to back down. The projection showed the Dauntless Spirit alone and it proved easy for Vadir to find the points of entry he needed.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve come across this tech before,” said Gregory.
Vadir looked over to him and nodded. “We travelled far and found many relics belonging to those that came before us. This drone is slightly larger than previous ones I’ve tinkered with. It shouldn’t come as a surprise but like you, my people’s technology was also reverse-engineered from stuff like this, left behind to just waste away until we found a use for it.”
“It looks like there are no immediate signs of any breaching either,” said Captain Miller.
“Those inside have all either perished or they are biding their time,” said Sergeant Munroe. “I don’t think our new friend here needs reminding of how stubborn Mortes are.”
“It won’t be easy, but I know my way around that ship, we shouldn’t be in there long.”
Captain Miller stared at Vadir. “You said to the Navy Secretary that there are hatches on the outside of the ship. Are you confident you can get us in that way?”
“I was a part of the ship’s maintenance team, bypassing the manual lock should be easy. Convincing the ship’s onboard A.I. that you’re not hostile could be tricky, but there should be no reason as to why it shouldn’t recognise my clearance codes.”
“You mean there’s another one like the one we found in your ship,” said Gregory unfolding his arms.
“Yes, and it has more responsibilities too like handling security breaches, assisting the pilots in minor course corrections and managing the ship’s energy consumption. It should also be able to guide us to the Archive Sector since it's there we will find a data shard containing what you need. You can leave that to me.”
“How can we trust you though?” asked Caleb. “Who's to say you don’t wipe that data the second you’re plugged in.”
“Same reason you could have killed me when you found me but you didn’t. I need you just as much as you need me. That’s the truth, and for those who have seen inside my head, you know where I stand. After we’re done I want you to take me to this Site 51, so I can help you even more than I already am. The technology of those who first discovered your world is the very same that went into everything the Kaskari built,” Vadir said, resting his hand on the table.
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“Is that why you think Site 51 will have everything you need?” Miller asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Fine, I hope you're right. Our next problem is destroying the ship. What can you tell us about its main power source?”
“It’s powered by opening a subspace aetherial tear within its core chamber. The psionic energy is then taken by the extractors, and stored in coolant stores before being converted into mass power. This is what allows the ship to travel through the Aether and powers more or less everything from weapons to the Psionic field generators. Since this kind of power is fairly unstable in large quantities. Measures exist that monitor the energy levels within the core chamber. If they go too high, the extractor vents are sealed and an internal protective field activates before the tear is sealed. This avoids internal damage to the core chamber.”
Vadir paused only to see if anything he had said so far was sinking in. Only the Captain and his two engineers seemed to follow what he was saying.
“So how does that help us destroy the ship?” Mason asked.
“The self-destruction of a Kaskari vessel has two stages. The first part involves triggering a large tear in the core chamber, enough to induce ship-wide instability. Once a tear is large enough, the command is given to initiate the sealing without engaging any kind of protective field. The ship is then pulled apart, piece by piece and dumped into the Aether. An ignition trigger also activates in the extractors that detonate anything present within the stores.”
Once more the Welcome Wagon looked more flabbergasted than ever before. Webber was even rubbing the bridge of his nose. “So it’s like some kind of black hole drive with a bit of an explosive finish?”
“It’s a similar technology. My people did uncover that on the other side of black holes there is a near-endless source of aetherial energy.”
Caleb just rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You seriously buying what he’s selling.”
Captain Miller looked from one man to the next and soon straightened up. “All of you should know by now, that none of what he’s said is new to us. This self-destruction mechanism was observed during the Fall of Tokyo. Entire portions of the city just dumped into nothingness. It’s quite a scary prospect to face. It’s just unnerving to know how -”
“Outmatched we are, Captain,” Munroe said, folding their hands together.
“Yes, Sergeant. Besides, I trust Vadir’s words. Maybe he can also help us make sense of Site 51 too. He may even know who built it.”
“That’s if we even make it out of this alive, Captain,” Jackson laughed.
“I’m still just an engineer. I don’t know everything. Just stories I’ve been told as I grew up. You really didn’t know who built this Site 51?”
The Captain shook his head. “We only got this far, like you, by reverse-engineering the technology we could make sense of. The site itself was there when we found it, buried deep under the Nevada desert, abandoned, forgotten. A relic and a tomb. Someone… Something was watching us grow. But then they disappeared and left little trace of who they were and where they went.”
It all points to them, they who went extinct, that’s what I was told growing up. The Nirikiri perished thousands of years ago. How far did they run to escape us? And what sinister machinations did they intend for these Terrans? He shuddered to think about it. Seeing his odd disposition, the Captain reeled them in. “Normally, I’d suggest we rest up and go in with more preparation. But we no longer have the luxury of time on our side. The longer we wait, the more of a threat any surviving Mortan becomes. Vadir, can you identify an access point from this projection?”
Vadir enlarged the hologram and rotated it a few times also. He soon pointed to one part of the ship, close to its centre. “Here, though one of you may need to give me a little boost to reach the hatch itself.”
“If that’s what it takes,” Captain Miller said smiling. “Everyone, look alive. We’re entering Site Alpha. We can’t rely on the idea that everything is dead inside. For all we know, there could be humans, Kaskari and Mortans. Deal with them as you see fit. Time is limited, we get what we need and evacuate as soon as the self-destruct is in place. This may well be a one-way trip but we’ve trained our whole lives for this opportunity. Let’s not disappoint our new friend here. He’s also the main priority. No one leaves him alone. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” chorused the Welcome Wagon. Much to their surprise, even Vadir joined in their chant. As they all left the tent, Vadir paused once more to take in the ruined ship one more time. It was hard to believe that mere hours ago he had escaped from it. Now I’m heading back in. I don’t know what will remain of my friends. But if I can’t save them. Then I must avenge them.