From the moment their USEP (Universal Speed Escape Pod) leaves planet Thrae for Earth, Janus knows that the relentless Mitel Empire will one day come searching for them to secure the secrets of immortality and Human Hybrid technology.
Emperor Zan Liss must choose between carrying out the orders of the brutally repressive Mitel leadership or follow his parent’s footsteps by aiding the growing Mitel resistance. Major Michael Talbot and the United States military continue to search for whom or what survived the USEP crash landing in upstate New York. When the Mitels attack Earth, sixteen year old Chad must use all of his extraordinary powers to attempt to save the planet.
With technology on par with The Martian, the buildup of The Last Jedi, and action and suspense, The Last Immortal is a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
Enjoy Sample Chapters Here
CHAPTER ONE – THE MITELS ATTACK
Commander Janus Stone sat in the control room of planet Thrae’s Global Defense Center, his mind racing as he tried to decide what to do next to save his planet from destruction. He watched anxiously, as rows of hologram technicians furiously tracked the movement of the approaching Mitel Fleet. A second, even larger contingent of technicians began scrambling Thrae’s ground and air defense forces.
Janus stood an impressive six feet eight inches tall, with broad shoulders and hazel eyes, his short salt and pepper hair a stark contrast to his thick black eyebrows and eyelashes. He was courageous, intelligent and logically minded and he was an Immortal. After Thrae’s decision to eradicate the immortality blueprint, Janus painstakingly changed his identity several times over the past one thousand years. One thing that hadn’t changed: his lifelong devotion to the planet he loved.
The hologram Third Officer approached the elevated command platform where Janus was seated to report how the Mitel Fleet had planned its invasion to coincide with the recent solar magnetic storm.
“The disturbance created by the sun’s pole reversal was unprecedented,” he began. “The Mitels realized that the storm would reduce the geomagnetic field just enough to disrupt our deep space surveillance systems.”
“So that’s how they evaded detection until now,” replied Janus, shaking his head in disgust. “They are extremely opportunistic. How long were they able to conceal their energy signatures?”
“Almost three weeks. The storm itself was the largest and most disruptive ever recorded. Our scientists have estimated that such an event takes place once every 473 thousand years.”
Janus sat silently for a moment as he processed this latest information.
“The Mitel Leadership obviously took a huge risk,” he said. “The storm could have shifted several degrees in their direction and caused extensive damage to their propulsion and communications systems. The Mitels are known for assessing and taking huge risks and as a result, their Fleet is right on top of us.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Thank you and keep me posted,” responded Janus as he studied the light blue translucent features of the hologram Officer’s face.
“I will Sir,” replied the Third Officer before quickly heading back to the computer area.
Janus shifted his attention toward the three-dimensional images and data fields throughout the command center. He desperately wanted to come up with one last idea that somehow, some way, might save his planet from attack by the Mitel Empire. Janus had replayed the possibility of this moment several times in his mind over the last fifteen years since the first Mitel invasion. Back then, Thraens barely repelled the invading Empire. The loss of life and destruction of infrastructure during that assault was staggering. The realization that a second, larger invasion was now unfolding filled Janus with emotion.
His mind wandered as he thought about the remarkable history of scientific breakthroughs on Thrae referred to as the era of Scientific Revelations. He also reflected on the World Council’s decision to reach out to other inhabited planets within Thrae’s celestial neighborhood. The Thraen Interplanetary Project was meant to improve the quality of life of other advancing civilizations by sharing its technological knowledge. However, Thrae purposely did not reveal three of its greatest and most profound discoveries: the secret of immortality (or ‘IM’), living holograms and human hybrid technology. The Mitel Leadership — a group of cunning but aging men — used the outreach program to steal weapons and propulsion technology from Thrae. By the time the World Council realized the true nature of the Mitel Leadership, it was too late. The Leadership had discovered that immortality existed on Thrae and they wanted it — badly — and began an aggressive intimidation campaign to force Thrae to release its secrets. They ordered Mitel commando cells to seize Thraen civilian transport vessels along Thrae’s interplanetary travel routes. In return for their safe release, the Leadership demanded the immediate release of the IM blueprint.
The World Council refused to give in to the Mitel demands and attempted to retake control of its vessels. But like a reoccurring nightmare, the outcome was always the same: complete destruction of the transport vessel and total loss of life. Desperate to get the IM blueprint, the Mitel Leadership intensified their efforts. Embedded commando cells were instructed to carry out attacks on the planet to disrupt and kill as many Thraens as possible.
After a series of unusually horrific attacks, the World Council finally informed the Mitel Leadership that IM no longer existed on Thrae as it corrupted the planet. The Mitel Leadership flatly rejected the explanation and stepped up the frequency and intensity of their terror attacks. In response, the World Council commenced a worldwide military campaign to eradicate the Mitel terrorism network. While the mission was successful, the World Council stopped short of attacking Mitel directly. Instead, they chose to isolate it from the rest of Thrae’s interplanetary network. But it was too late. Thrae watched from a distance as the Mitel military became second to none. The groundwork had been laid for the first invasion of Thrae.
In time, Janus realized that the decision not to confront the Mitel Leadership and its military had been a grave error. Despite Thrae’s inaction, a small yet tenacious Mitel resistance movement slowly developed. Unfortunately, Thraen intelligence concluded that the Mitel resistance could not bring down the brutally repressive Mitel Leadership on its own.
To clear his head, Janus stood up from his black swivel console. He stepped forward and placed both hands on the top bar of the clear composite railing that ran along the edge of his command platform. He stared down at the rows of computers that functioned as the brain of Thrae’s coordinated defense system.
We simply don’t have enough time to establish our global defensive positioning in outer space. Not that it really matters. Without Battle Spheres to assume the bulk of our counter-attack, our planet faces the strong likelihood of being quickly overrun by the Mitel attack force.
“Excuse me Commander,” interrupted the Third Officer. “Our outer defenses report that the Mitel Fleet is almost within attack range. The communications specialists indicate that they are not responding to any of our warning transmissions.”
“That’s not a surprise, but thank you,” answered Janus. “Until further notice, we will operate under full battle mode protocol with no exceptions.”
“Yes Sir!”
Just then, Janus heard the all too familiar whirling noise to his left.
“It doesn’t look good my friend,” said Markus Kilmar, Second in Command, in his unmistakable rough voice. “From what I can see, this Fleet is much larger than the last one. I really don’t like the looks of this.”
Markus approached Janus slowly, his bronze wedge-shaped containment shell hovering a few inches above the ground. The shell encased him from the waist down, providing artificial kidneys, liver, stomach and intestines. Without it, Markus would be dead. At 1,250 years old, he was now the oldest living Thraen, and despite everything he had been through, his looks were still striking. He had smooth tanned skin, pale blue eyes and thick, long, flowing gray hair reaching below his shoulders; and a neatly cropped matching beard and mustache that covered his large square chin. Like Janus, Markus was an immortal. He had also been born with the ability to transform into a rare and formidable hybrid Battle Sphere.
During the first Mitel invasion, Markus fought side by side with another Battle Sphere known as Zebulon Park. The two played a considerable role in defeating the attacking Fleet. Like Zebulon, Markus continued to engage the Mitel forces long after his plasma-energy reserves had become dangerously depleted. Near the end of the conflict, Markus suffered a series of punishing laser bursts which tore through the lower portion of his weakened outer defense shields. A quick rescue in outer space saved his life, but his extensive injuries left him crippled. Soon thereafter, Zebulon’s Battle Sphere collided with a Mitel strike fighter. The impact knocked him unconscious — causing him to spin out of control.
Zebulon began to slowly morph back into human form. Luckily, his remaining outer defense shield lasted just long enough to protect him as he crash landed in a remote mountainous area. Several locals heard the impact and rushed to the crash site. When they arrived, Zebulon had not yet completed his transformation back to flesh and blood. Arcs of plasma-based current raced up and down the silver metallic shard mesh outer skin covering his entire body, indicating the initial phase of a Battle Sphere’s hybrid transformation.
Zebulon was carefully transported to a local village where he remained in a coma for five days. When he awoke, his transformation back to human form had completed. Unfortunately — and as hard as he tried — he was never able to morph into a Battle Sphere again. Unable to transform, Zebulon lost any chance of being repaired. The hybrid part of his life was now over. He vanished without a trace soon thereafter, only to become a folklore legend. Markus, on the other hand, struggled through several surgeries and a long recovery. He remained in the public spotlight and continued to help his people as best he could.
Janus and Markus watched the images and data fields for several minutes. As reports poured in, it was clear that Thrae was in grave danger. The Mitel space cruisers made quick work of the Thraen outer defense system, a matrix of spherical defense globes located beyond the planet’s atmosphere. They alone were simply no match for such a large scale surprise attack.
Janus reached over to his console and activated the worldwide military communication system.
“This is GDC Commander Stone. We are under attack from the Mitel Fleet. I know I can count on each and every one of you to defend our planet with determination and courage. Thank you and good luck —“
“Excuse me, Sir,” the Third Officer interrupted anxiously. “The Mitels have penetrated our outer defenses and their multipurpose fighters are beginning to engage our ground defense systems. Orders, Commander?”
Suddenly, a series of large explosions from outside the Command structure shook the building. Dust drifted down from the ceiling, slowly filling the air. Janus and Markus had no idea that the unfolding events would take control of the invasion’s outcome out of their hands.
Approximately one thousand miles away, at Thrae’s largest global defense base, a space defense cruiser commenced its vertical takeoff, fully loaded with high-energy plasma defense weapons. As it lifted slowly from the launch area under the power of its electromagnetically charged superconductor disc antigravity propulsion system, a stray yet powerful Mitel cluster pod warhead struck the vessel. The Command Center and all its personnel were immediately vaporized. The catastrophic explosion, and associated system failure caused all shipboard weapons to activate.
Personnel on the ground watched in horror as the massive craft rolled out of control toward one of the base’s weapons storage areas. The crash and resulting explosions instantly destroyed everything within a one-hundred-mile radius. The subsequent detonation of the base’s underground weapons stockpile began a second and larger explosion that destroyed everything within five hundred miles.
Thrae’s defense bases and fusion based energy generation stations, located in an alternating grid pattern every three hundred miles, were strategically placed away from several known super volcanoes across Thrae’s interconnected land mass. The initial explosions set off a chain reaction along the grid which quickly formed an immeasurable, rolling energy wave that had the potential to destroy all life on the planet.
In attempting to repel the Mitel Fleet attack, the crippled space defense cruiser sparked the beginning of the destruction of Thrae.
CHAPTER TWO – THE END OF THE THRAE
Reports of the rolling energy wave raced around the planet. Markus and Janus quickly recognized what was happening and realized there was nothing they or anyone else could do to stop it. Janus estimated that the destructive wave would arrive in forty-five minutes to an hour. Fearing the end of the planet, his thoughts quickly turned to Chad, his one year old son. As a recent widower, Janus was solely responsible for his infant’s health and safety. Given the unfolding events, it was clear he had to go get his son.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Markus. “You have got to go get that boy of yours. Well go do it!”
“But —“
“But nothing. Take a base hover craft and go get him. I’ll watch over things from here.”
“OK. If we somehow make it through this alive, I’ll find a way to make it up to you,” promised Janus.
“I know, my friend, I know,” nodded Markus.
Janus turned over command of the GDC to Markus before leaving the Defense Center’s main control room. He hurried down a series of corridors, through the twin security entry doors to a nearby base hover craft. Janus powered up the craft, secured his safety harness, and quickly set out toward the local infant care facility.
Rising quickly, he scanned the sky above him. The air traffic grid was congested. The grid consisted of a series of invisible antigravity skyways located five hundred to one thousand feet above the ground. Small and medium sized transport craft entered and exited the grid at predetermined transition points and flew in queue to their preprogrammed destinations. It was statistically the safest way to travel on Thrae, although not the fastest.
Some ten miles off in the distance, Janus’s eye caught the gleaming reflection from the region’s most famous landmark — the Assal sky structure. At two thousand feet high and located in the exact center of the large population cluster of Tryden, it was the tallest vertical sky structure on the planet.
Thraen population clusters contained 40 to 80 gleaming glass covered sky structures. Circular at their base, the structures curved up into the sky to form a group of tightly bundled cylinders of different heights. The structures were positioned in a descending pattern from the cluster’s center, with air traffic grids weaving their way between them. From a distance, the grids appeared as glistening rivers suspended high in the air.
In the four minutes it took Janus to reach the infant care facility, he watched people make their way toward the intricate network of underground defense shelters for protection. He shook his head in disgust. There was nothing that anyone could do to prevent this tragedy. Janus tried to block out as much of what was happening as possible. To do otherwise would likely make him unable to function.
Janus landed in an open area adjacent to the infant care structure. He jumped out of the hover craft, entered the facility, and ran up the two flights of stairs. As he burst in, only Chad and one young frightened infant care specialist remained. He had seen the young woman there many times before but suddenly realized that he didn’t even know her name.
She gently handed Chad to Janus who hugged him tightly. Looking into the woman’s teary eyes, Janus sensed that she knew a horrific event was unfolding.
“Do you have a place to go?” he asked.
She nodded yes, wiping away her tears.
“Then go now, and hurry,” said Janus, squeezing her hand before she ran off. He picked up his son’s belongings and carried Chad back down the stairs, trying to figure out what to do next. When he arrived outside, the hover craft was gone. It had been stolen.
How could I have been so careless? Janus thought.
There was no one in sight and it had become oddly quiet. Janus glanced up to see that the grid was still congested. He knew that time was running out. Suddenly, he heard a familiar whirling sound getting closer. A base transport hover craft appeared over the trees to his right. Janus grabbed his identification device from his jacket pocket and pointed it toward the craft. Having registered his signal, it quickly banked toward Janus coming to a stop in the open area next to him.
“Are you ok?” asked the lone pilot.
Before Janus could reply, the pilot noticed the Commander markings on Janus’s uniform.
“Sorry Sir, I —”
“Don’t worry. I’m lucky you came along. Are you heading back to the Command Center?”
“I am now, Sir,” replied the pilot quickly.
“Great. Thank you,” responded Janus as he struggled to climb into the hover craft, his son in one arm and his belongings in the other.
“Let me help you, Sir,” offered the pilot, holding out his arms.
Janus handed Chad up to the pilot, climbed in and off they went. Janus scanned the scenery below as groups of people made their way toward the defense shelter entrances that dotted the landscape. Up above, the grid was at a complete standstill.
“They’re hopelessly trapped,” he muttered quietly. “They will be the first to see the explosion wave as it approaches, and there will be nothing they can do.”
Janus turned away in frustration toward Chad who was sitting patiently in his lap. Looking into his son’s eyes, Janus’s mind began to race.
What can I do to save you my little one? he wondered. Then it occurred to him.
I’ll put Chad in a USEP (Universal Speed Escape Pod) and send him to another inhabited planet! It’s his only chance.
In his current position as GDC Commander, Janus’s team had developed accelerated space travel technology under the guise of a safety and survival program. Janus painstakingly presented the outward appearance that the USEP program was simply developing a small high-speed escape craft following the World Council’s decision to pursue a general policy of isolation for the foreseeable future.
The small experimental pod could travel extremely long distances through deep space, within a few days. The craft was surrounded by a series of interconnected plasma shields to protect it. The small pod was propelled faster than the speed of light by a large cylindrical graphene ring which spun furiously around the outside of the pod like a high-speed jump rope. As the ring spun at full speed, the USEP could bend both space and time by contracting space in front of the craft and expanding space behind it. Just before the pod accelerated at normal speed, four large ring components extended from underneath the pod via powerful positioning bars. The four curving cylindrical sections turned, rotated and locked together to form the ring itself. At the same time, the ring drive shaft extended from each side of the pod’s midpoint before being clamped down on by two of the assembling ring sections. Once activated, the spinning ring would immediately cause the pod to accelerate faster than the speed of light.
The pod’s plasma shields were designed to insulate the craft, occupants, and its contents by absorbing, attenuating, and filtering the tremendous g-forces generated by the high-speed travel. The plasma shields also temporarily stored kinetic energy which was used to power the craft’s slip ring drive, plasma shields and lower-than-light speed engines. Janus had worked tirelessly on all aspects of the pod’s design, development, fabrication, programming and testing. By now, he knew the craft better than he knew himself.
In time, the pod achieved speeds more than ten times the speed of light. But that was not the best part. During prototype testing, Janus and his small team stumbled upon the most crucial discovery of all: once the USEP reached approximately twelve times the speed of light, its gravitational field caused the craft to resonate at the exact same frequency as deep space. This allowed the pod to slip through space for light years at a time in mere seconds, analogous to electric current running through a wire. The slip would then trigger the spinning cylindrical ring to slow down and the craft to decelerate to less than the speed of light. Once the ring came back up to speed, the process would repeat. Extensive testing had confirmed that the instantaneous travel or slip speed (as it was referred to by the development team) would end when enough energy resistance caused the pod’s resonating frequency to change as compared to its natural surroundings.
Despite the successful tests, lack of funding prevented the team from building and testing a craft large enough to carry a flight crew. As a result, the experimental pods were only large enough to carry the monitoring and test equipment and not much else.
The second challenge for the USEP development program was to create an artificial gravity system. Janus’s design team eventually integrated a complex series of magnetic charges imbedded in several locations within the inner layers of the pod’s plasma shields, that produced a self-adjusting magnetic field almost identically matched to the gravity on Thrae of 31.931 feet per second squared. The magnetic field provided an added benefit: it shielded the craft from the damaging effects of cosmic radiation as it hurtled through deep space.
Chad would fit! Janus thought. It was a desperate plan, but Janus could not come up with a better idea. The question remained: where to send him? There wasn’t much time for him to work out the details.
The transport craft slowed down. Directly below was the GDC Command Center. Janus signaled the hover craft airman to drop him off in front of the main building. He jumped out before the pilot handed Chad and his belongings down to him.
“Good luck, Sir!” yelled the pilot.
“Thank you. You too,” replied Janus as he turned and hurried toward the main entrance.
Stopping in front of the building, Janus entered the applicable voice recognition security codes before stepping ahead for an eye recognition scan. When it beeped, he quickly made his way through two sets of doors which slid closed behind him.
The Command Center was chaotic and loud as base personnel scrambled in every direction. Janus could not make out the instructions over the base intercom system. He hurried down a hallway that led to three HorVert (Horizontal Vertical) elevators. Upon entering the middle one, he quickly instructed it to head directly to the USEP facility. The elevator hummed downwards and then diagonally across the command facility. When he arrived, Janus hurriedly stepped out clutching Chad and his belongings. Looking around, he noticed that the area was deserted. Not a big surprise, Janus thought.
The USEP area had seen little activity in recent months due to the lack of funding. The area itself was housed in the last old Thraen defense fortress, the most heavily fortified building on the planet. With the advent of the outer space defense system, the old defense fortresses had been dismantled over time and recycled.
Janus rushed down a hallway to a large open room containing four rows of computer stations. Five USEP pod storage bays were located beyond the computers along a long, curved wall. He placed Chad on the floor beside him as he sat down to use a computer in the third row. As Janus began typing, he heard muffled explosions. He entered a code on a keypad next to the computer to call Markus in the command center.
“Markus, what’s happening?”
“The Mitels decimated our outer space defense and their fighters are now attacking our surface forces.”
Powered by sophisticated plasma engines, thrust vectoring and gyroscopic directional systems, the agile and durable Mitel Fighters could operate effectively in both outer space and atmospheric conditions. They represented the apex of Mitel’s own engineering achievements.
“That’s not good,” replied Janus.
“No, it’s not. We’re trying to mount a counter-attack.”
Another, much larger explosion shook the entire building. Small particles of dust and debris sifted down from the ceiling.
“Where might you be?” asked Markus.
“In the USEP facility.”
“The USEP?” asked Markus, somewhat confused.
“I‘m here with Chad.”
There was a brief silence.
“OK, my friend. I understand now. Do what you need to do and give the boy a kiss for me.”
A soft beep signaled that Markus had ceased communications.
Glancing around the USEP facility, Janus paused to gather his thoughts. He then began to type furiously, accessing the system computers. They confirmed that the pod in bay number three was partially energized and otherwise ready to go. Janus instructed the computer to begin the pod’s launch sequence. It would take the computer a few minutes to cycle through the safety checks before the sequence was fully activated. In the meantime, he picked up Chad and made his way further down the hall toward the nutrition area.
When Janus arrived, he grabbed a large empty storage bin on wheels from the corner. He lowered Chad into the container who shrieked with joy to have found a new play area. Janus wheeled Chad over to the long row of food storage compartments. He fumbled through his coat pocket for his silver metallic security medallion before holding the coin shaped object in front of the identification eye. One by one, Janus ordered various non-perishable foods and beverages, placing the packages in the bin next to Chad. As he did, his son touched and inspected each one. When he was done, Janus handed Chad his security medallion to keep him occupied.
Guessing that the initiation sequence was now complete, Janus pushed the container back down the hall to the large open area. The doors to bay number three had opened to reveal the sleek silver and white wedge-shaped pod with its raised GDC USEP emblem displayed in several locations across each side of the craft. The pod’s curved nose expanded on either side toward the rear of the craft before transitioning into trapezoidal shaped wings. In the back, the pod contained a triangular vertical stabilizer on each corner and a propulsion slot that extended rearward — its opening located just beyond the rear surface of the wing tips. Stored tightly underneath the pod and wings beginning at its midpoint, sat four large quarter circle ring sections, curving rearwards, two on each side. The ring sections were arranged in an alternating pattern since they extended beyond the centerline of the pod, due to their size. Each ring section contained large GDC USEP emblems. Janus stared briefly at the pod with a sense of both pride and accomplishment.
Janus pushed the container through the bay opening and typed the six-digit code into the pod’s keypad located next to the outer airlock door. With a whoosh, the door opened. He then inserted the same code into the second keypad positioned just inside the small airlock chamber. As the interior door swooshed open, the pod’s inner lights powered up. Janus surveyed the interior of the pod, noting that it was relatively empty.
After unloading most of the contents of the cart into the pod storage bins located on either side of the craft, Janus left Chad in the container to return to the computer to program the pod for launch mode. After entering a series of instructions, he paused to take a deep breath.
Which far off planet should I send him to? Janus contemplated. It doesn’t make sense to send the small pod closer to the center of the universe given the more extreme conditions there, and I can’t risk sending Chad outside of our galaxy spiral. The distances are much too great even for the USEP.
Then it suddenly dawned on him. There’s a planet a little over six hundred light years further out along our galaxy spiral which is almost identical to Thrae. It’s still a long way, but certainly within reach of the small pod, and well beyond the reach of the Mitels.
Janus began to pull together the final details in his mind, when he began to panic.
The plan won’t work! Janus thought. I can’t send an infant into outer space all by himself! The USEP is not advanced enough to carry out such a mission on its own. How could I have been so stupid?
As Janus stared glumly at the pod, another large explosion shook the building. He jumped from his seat to check on Chad. Janus then heard the familiar beep of the facility communications system.
“Stone,” Janus said in an agitated tone.
“It’s Markus. Things do not look good. Our ground defense forces are overrun. And the explosion wave is approaching fast. I have ordered all nonessential personnel to the defense shelters.”
“How long until the wave arrives?” asked Janus grimly.
“Twenty minutes.”
Janus glanced back toward the storage container.
“How are things going over there?” asked Markus.
“Not well.”
“And why not?” Markus asked sensing Janus’s frustration.
“Because I don’t think I can do it.”
“You can’t start the USEP’s launch sequence?”
“No. I did that.”
“You can’t activate the large launch pod?”
“No, Markus, that’s not it!” said Janus tersely “I can’t do it. I can’t just send my son away, across the universe, in a small pod by himself.”
“I’m on my way.”
With that, the communication system beeped again and Markus was gone.
Time was growing short and with no better plan in mind, Janus hurried back toward bay number three. He lifted Chad from the cart and placed him carefully in the pod before transferring the remaining food and beverages into the pod’s side bins.
“What am I going to do?” Janus asked himself as he looked toward the pod’s console computer.
While scanning the console readouts, he heard the familiar whirl coming down the hallway.
“What seems to be the problem here my friend?” bellowed Markus with his trademark smile.
Janus stared at Markus, but didn’t know what to say.
“Listen,” said Markus quickly, “your boy can’t stay here, that’s for sure.”
“But I can’t just send him up there,” Janus began. “He can’t feed himself, or operate the pod, find a suitable planet or even land the pod for that matter! It was a stupid and foolish idea.”
“You are right on all counts — all except the last one.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was thinking . . .” replied Markus slowly.
“About what?”
“How you could accompany Chad on his voyage.”
“What?”
“You could keep him company, feed him and find a suitable planet along the way,” Markus explained calmly.
“Well, even if I said yes, Markus, I won’t fit.”
“A hologram would fit comfortably.”
Janus thought for a moment before answering.
“But how?”
“In bay number five,” Markus said, pointing toward the wall. “There are about a dozen monitoring orbs in there. I can shoot your hologram image into one of them and then you will fit easily.”
“Markus, I . . .” said Janus as tears began to fill his eyes.
“What, my friend?” frowned Markus.
“I have to stay here. I have to do what I can to help our people through this disaster,” explained Janus weakly.
“Help them through this!” bellowed Markus. “You know as well as I do that no one is going to make it through this disaster alive!”
“We don’t know that for sure Markus,” protested Janus. “I need to stay here and help. I owe it to them. This invasion — this disaster — it’s my fault. I need to stay here and help.”
“You know that what you are saying is not true. You have dedicated your entire life to the people of this planet and have always put yourself second to the needs of everyone else. You have guided our people through good times and bad. You have also accepted, and never complained about, the unjust and wrong accounting of your accomplishments by the historical bureaucrats. And you have endured more than your share of tragedies while being reduced to quietly and humbly living a secret life among your people. Despite all of this, you have never lost your faith in this planet and its people.”
Markus paused for a few seconds, letting his words sink in.
“Sejus, you need to go with your son.”
Markus was the only remaining Thraen who knew Janus by that name and it sounded foreign to him. During the later stages of Scientific Revelations, when immortality began to unravel, Janus was known as Chancellor Sejus Theron, head of the World Council. That tumultuous and painful period in Thrae’s history so long ago still haunts him. Janus stared at the pod. “Markus, I can’t go.”
“You have never changed my friend. You are as stubborn as the day I first met you.”
Janus smiled weakly at Markus.
“Then I will go with the boy, Sejus,” said Markus softly.
“Well, I —“
“Listen,” interrupted Markus, tapping his knuckles against his shiny metallic wedge. “It’s no secret that I despise this tin can that’s keeping me alive. I also know my days in this device are numbered. I might as well have some fun floating around for a little while until I get the boy settled somewhere safe.”
“Thank you, Markus. I couldn’t think of a better person and friend to do this.”
With that, Janus quickly made his way back to the third row of computers. With a series of key strokes, the doors to bay five glided open. Inside were a dozen gleaming silver monitoring orbs about a foot and a half each in diameter with three black or blue stripes — one along the top and on each side which met in the back to form an oversized arrow. Directly in the front was a shiny oblong screen.
The small orbs used a time-tested Thraen technology to achieve their antigravity propulsion: a spinning superconductor ceramic disc in its center, surrounded by a hermetically sealed film of frictionless helium-4 superfluid sonically stimulated with electromagnetic energy to produce gravitational propulsion. The angular momentum of the spinning disc controlled the direction and speed of the orb. Over time, Thraen scientists applied gravitational propulsion technology to a wide range of Thraen flight applications. Later, scientists developed electromagnetically charged plasma fluid chambers surrounding a solid superconductor sphere to achieve the same result.
“Go check on your boy,” instructed Markus as the two of them stared at the orbs.
As Janus headed back toward the USEP pod, Markus whirled over to another computer in the middle of the second row and quickly began to type.
“I think I would look good in blue,” Markus said to himself.
In a matter of seconds, a silver and blue monitoring orb activated and slowly rose above the floor. Markus directed the computer to transport the orb to a specific open area in the room. As it reached the designated spot, the orb stopped and hovered silently. Markus then programmed the orb to accept the Thraen hologram technology.
“OK, I think we are ready to go,” he clapped.
Markus glided over to another computer at the end of the row. He entered a few commands causing an overhead panel to slide open. A large black L-shaped tubular machine with a complex array of cables and control boxes descended from the ceiling. On either end was a large convex shaped perforated cap. The device had always reminded Markus of a very large microscope. The machine had only one purpose: to transform whatever it scanned into an identical and similarly functioning three-dimensional hologram.
“Time to put me in,” said Markus loudly.
With that announcement, Markus whirled over and positioned himself directly under the shorter vertical cylinder. As he did, Janus hurried back over to the second-row computer and positioned the monitoring orb directly in front of the longer horizontal cylinder.
“Are you ready?” asked Janus cautiously.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Markus smiled broadly.
“Once I do this, there is no turning back. You will be a hologram —“
“For the rest of my existence, I know.”
Janus paused and stared silently at Markus.
“It’s OK, Sejus. This is what I want to do.”
Janus glanced back down at the panel and hit the button. There was a loud humming. Markus smiled and gave a brief wave, then disappeared. The machine quickly powered down and went quiet. Only a hint of gray smoke remained where Markus had once stood.
Janus shifted his attention to the orb. For a moment, it hovered quietly.
“Well, that wasn’t so bad!” boomed Markus’s voice from the sphere. “An incredibly sharp pain for a few seconds — like an electric shock — and here I am!”
With that, his orb raced around the room. Janus watched with amusement as the monitoring orb circled and bobbed up and down before it returned, hovering in front of Janus.
“It seems quite operational enough,” announced Markus. “OK, one last thing.”
A bright beam of light projected down to the floor from a small lens located just below the horizontal blue stripe on Markus’s orb. From the ground rose a life size three-dimensional hologram of Markus. The opaque hologram glowed brightly, surrounded by a light blue hue. Janus stared at the hologram, amazed at how detailed and accurate the image was. The only difference was that Markus appeared fully human.
“Hey look!” Markus exclaimed. “What do you know, I have legs again! The machine recreated the lower portion of my hologram based on my DNA profile!”
Markus walked around in a tight circle before stopping for a moment to stare at his reflection in front of a bright reflective support column. “I think I’m even a bit taller!”
He walked over to the first row of computers and sat down. As he did, the back of his legs and lower portions of his torso began to sparkle brightly. “Let us see how well this works.”
As he typed, wherever his fingers touched emitted the same sparkling light.
“See how the focused energy allows me to perform everyday tasks?” marveled Markus. “It feels a bit different though, a little tingly. I always thought the development of hologram technology was the best thing we ever created —”
Markus was interrupted by a series of large explosions that shook the building again. The power flickered momentarily but stayed on. A very fine dust filtered down from the ceiling and slowly filled the room.
“OK, Markus, I think it’s now or never,” said Janus anxiously.
The two of them walked back over to the USEP pod. As Janus looked inside he saw that Chad was scared and confused. Janus reached down, picked up his son and gave him a long hug.
“I love you my boy,” said Janus as tears filled his eyes once again. Chad smiled back at his father.
Janus placed Chad back into the pod while Markus’s orb floated through the door, followed closely by his hologram form. Markus sat down next to Chad and looked at him with a broad smile. He reached over and picked up the boy, emitting the same bright sparkling light.
“You are not scared of old uncle Markus now are you my little one?” he asked quietly.
Chad let out a big giggle as he touched Markus’s nose making it sparkle. Chad laughed even louder.
“Looks like he has forgotten me already,” said Janus.
“Maybe it’s a good time to launch us then,” replied Markus.
“I think you’re right. Please strap him carefully into one of the cargo restraints.”
“OK, my friend, I’ll do it now.”
Janus made his way back to the computer and pushed the button that closed the interlocking interior and exterior pod doors. The computer monitor indicated that the pod was ready to launch.
Janus switched on the communication channel.
“Can you hear me Markus?”
“I hear you loud and clear.”
“Is Chad secure and ready?”
“Yes.”
“And how about you Markus — are you all set?”
“Affirmative,” replied Markus calmly.
“OK. After I launch you into orbit, I’ll activate your departure sequence from here. The USEP will automatically propel you a safe distance from the planet before commencing faster than light speed. Once you reach slip speed, you should monitor and adjust your course if —“
“Janus,” interrupted Markus.
“What?”
“I know.”
Janus paused for a moment to stare at the pod. Another series of loud explosions caused the lights to flicker before the power went off. After a few seconds, the backup power engaged and everything came back on line with a loud whirl. Janus could see that the dust cloud was growing heavier.
They are getting very close, he thought.
Janus entered the pre-launch instructions into the computer. The number three bay doors slid closed while the pod was transported down a tunnel to a waiting multipurpose, reusable launch pod to piggyback the small spacecraft into outer space. It was oblong and contained triangular wings in the front and rear with matching trapezoidal shaped winglets. After it arrived, the USEP was robotically attached at the midpoint of the launch pod.
Waiting for confirmation that the pre-launch sequence was complete, Janus feverishly programmed the USEP’s high speed exit trajectory toward the galaxy’s outer spiral arm. He then instructed the computer to search for the precise coordinates of planet 5.1.18.20.9. Janus stared impatiently at the monitor for confirmation that the exit trajectory and general flight information had been uploaded into the USEP’s computer. When confirmation arrived, he activated the small pod’s low speed invisibility system — consisting of a series of plasma energy panels that formed a highly sensitive second skin around the entire pod. The panels absorbed all forms of scanning and radar energy which it expelled on the opposite side of the pod. This gave the illusion of an uninterrupted scan making the pod impossible to detect.
While the computer retrieved the destination planet’s coordinates, Janus found himself staring at the launch initiation switch. Good-bye Chad, he thought, as so many memories flooded his mind. He closed his eyes briefly before activating the switch, commencing the launch.
Seconds later, the USEP streaked toward the sky on the back of the launch pod. Janus moved over to the tracking computer to monitor its progress. Racing through the upper atmosphere, the pod slowed down dramatically before automatically releasing the small spacecraft. Janus then activated its internal propulsion system, pushing the pod further into outer space. Once confirmation arrived that the pod had reached a safe orbit, Janus prepared to commence what was referred to in the USEP facility as the sling shot.
“Markus, can you hear me?” asked Janus over the encrypted communications system.
“Yes, I can,” replied Markus.
“Good! I am going to start energizing the pod’s slip ring for your departure. The last thing I need to do is upload the planets exact coordinates into the pod’s navigation system—”
“Oh no!” interrupted Markus.
“What?”
“My monitoring orb has detected Mitel vessels all around us. There are so many!”
Janus did not panic. He glanced at the status of the data retrieval before shifting his focus to the pod’s slip ring energizing process which reached 50, 55 then 60 percent.
“Still energizing,” said Janus.
Hearing his father’s voice, Chad began to cry. It was a long, sad cry that told Janus his son realized that his father was missing.
“Is everything still OK Markus?”
“Yes, we are fine,” said Markus.
I hope you can forgive me some day my son, thought Janus as he struggled to concentrate on the launch.
“What’s taking the computer so long to retrieve those coordinates?” Janus muttered in frustration.
As Chad’s crying continued in the background, Janus refocused on the energizing status which had reached 85, 90 then 95 percent. Come on, come on! he thought.
At that exact moment, a red light flashed above Janus. It was followed by a series of long beeps. Over the intercom came the warning: “DANGER! EXPLOSIVE WAVE APPROACHING IN FIVE MINUTES! REPEAT, EXPLOSIVE WAVE APPROACHING IN FIVE MINUTES! SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!” The long beeps continued and the message was repeated.
It’s almost here, thought Janus.
“Markus,” Janus stated firmly.
“Yes, my friend.”
“The pod is fully energized. It’s time to initiate departure. Are you ready up there?”
“We’re ready.”
Struggling to remain calm, Janus thought, I need the planet’s exact coordinates now!
Chad’s cries suddenly turned from sad to angry as he struggled to free himself from his protective harness.
“Calm down little one,” said Markus.
But Chad simply became more agitated as he struggled to free himself. Markus watched with amazement as Chad’s eyes turned bright white before a metallic silver shard mesh spread from his eyes that covered his head, then the rest of his body. Stunned at what he was seeing, Markus realized that Chad was beginning a hybrid transformation. Given its distinctive characteristics, Markus realized that the boy was not only a hybrid, but a rare Battle Sphere!
Chad studied Markus briefly before shifting his gaze to the many lights and three-dimensional displays located on the USEPs programming console. Suddenly, Chad emitted white beams of energy from his eyes that struck the center of the console. Sparks flew in all directions before portions of the console went dark. Markus quickly reached for Chad and unbuckled him from his harness, convinced he would destroy the pod at any moment! But, as he raised him up from his harness, Chad’s attention was diverted back to the white sparkles where Markus was holding him.
“Calm down little one. It’s going to be OK. I promise,” said Markus softly.
Chad stared at the many sparkles being emitted by Markus’s hologram. As he touched and played with Markus’s sparkling white ears, Chad transformed back to normal.
In the USEP facility, Janus tried to focus over the noise of the alarm. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an indicator flashing malfunction in the lower left corner. Puzzled as to the problem, Janus frantically searched through the screen diagnostics, quickly determining that the invisibility shields had failed and the departure triggering mechanism had malfunctioned.
“Markus!” shouted Janus.
“I’m here,” confirmed Markus. “We have a problem. I’m not sure why, but Chad worked himself into such a state that he began a hybrid transformation. Not only that, but it appears that your son is a Battle Sphere.”
“Markus, that’s impossible,” scoffed Janus.
“It’s true,” began Markus. “Scans by my monitoring orb confirmed my suspicion. Unfortunately, before I could calm him down, he sent out a short plasma laser energy burst from his eyes which damaged the programming console.”
“Markus, he’s just a baby!”
“I’m shocked too, my friend. If I had not seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either.”
Positioned just above Thrae’s outer atmosphere, a Mitel battle cruiser patrolled the area for any remaining pockets of resistance from the Thraen space defense forces. In the cruiser’s Integrated Command Center referred to as the ICC, the scanning specialist noticed the USEP’s modest signature profile. His computer quickly identified the object as being a small Thraen pod. The huge battle cruiser was the newest weapon in the Mitel Fleet, commanded by a young but savvy officer named Zan Liss.
Zan, muscular and almost seven feet tall, was an awe-inspiring individual even as Mitel soldiers go. He was completely bald but had thick black eyebrows and a full mustache and goatee. Despite his imposing appearance, the young Commander’s best attributes were his intelligence, leadership and practical understanding of a wide range of Mitel military technologies and tactics.
When Zan was six, Mitel soldiers stormed his family’s home. He watched in horror as his parents were killed by lethal blasts from hand-held electro lasers. He is haunted to this day by the blank stare in his father’s eyes as he lay dead on the floor. Zan was immediately taken into custody by the soldiers and brought to their base. Senior Officers sat him down and explained that his parents were cold blooded murderers who had ruthlessly butchered countless soldiers and security personnel over the years to evade capture. Zan sobbed uncontrollably. He did not want to believe what the Officers were telling him, but he was scared, confused and alone.
Zan was raised on the base by a series of military foster parents and in time, the vivid memories of his parents’ violent death faded. He spent his free time working on Mitel Fighters at the base. His insatiable curiosity led him to become an expert mechanic, computer troubleshooter, and eventually a pilot. He also displayed a keen interest in military strategy, technology, programs and innovation. Base personnel would often shake their heads and laugh, saying that Zan could run the entire base all by himself.
In his spare time, Zan enjoyed a popular form of one to one combat called Closed Cage Club Fighting (CCCF) which was fought in a metal mesh enclosure called the cage. The only instrument allowed inside the steel enclosure was a five-foot long one inch diameter solid metal pole called the club — padded on either end to help avoid severe injury. CCCF allowed Zan to use his strength, speed and agility to its fullest potential. The competitions also provided an outlet for his subconscious rage surrounding the violent death of his parents. He was always matched against older and more experienced competitors, which often included cadets from the elite Mitel Military Academy. Zan never lost and took great pride in beating up the arrogant cadets. One day, he was told that a graduating cadet by the name of Lon Rexx wanted to fight him. Lon was also undefeated and in the process, had killed five opponents in the cage and badly maimed several others.
Zan had heard about Lon, and how his family had also been brutally murdered by the Mitel embedded Special Forces when he was just a child. Back then, at the last minute, Lon went to visit a friend which spared his life. In time, Lon was adopted by a member of the Mitel Leadership but his anger and rage proved to be too much to handle. Lon was eventually sent away to a military academy for young boys to figure things out, a plan that did not go well.
As the match approached, Zan trained relentlessly during the day and stayed up at night trying to figure out how one human could inflict such damage against another using only the club. On the morning of the match, he was nervous. As he climbed into the ring and saw Lon for the first time, he was taken aback by Lon’s size and stoic demeanor.
Once the buzzer sounded signaling the start of the fight, Zan used his speed and agility to deflect and avoid several blows. After the first scheduled break, before the match was set to resume, Lon leaped forward and staggered Zan with a direct hit to the side of his head, rupturing an eardrum. As blood poured down the side of his face, Zan’s pent up rage was unleashed like never before. Using his incredible strength, Zan attacked Lon relentlessly until he beat him unconscious. As trainers and staff rushed into the cage, Zan reached down and grabbed Lon’s club, smashing it against a large pipe located along the side of the cage. Iron pellets flew in all directions from each end. Everyone in the cage immediately knew how and why Lon had killed his opponents: by cheating. Even though Lon was permanently barred from participating in further CCCF competitions, he went on to graduate with honors from the Mitel Military Academy.
As his reputation grew, Zan’s natural leadership was quickly recognized by Senior Officers. At the age of 17, he became one of the youngest commissioned Officers in the Mitel military. Only four years later, he was a Mitel cruiser commander.
“Commander, my computer scanners have detected the sudden appearance of a very a small Thraen pod up ahead,” announced the scanning specialist.
“What do you make of it?” asked Zan.
“I’m not sure. It seemed to have come out of nowhere.”
“Perform a detailed scan,” instructed Zan, his voice deep and confident. “I want to know exactly what it is.”
“Yes Commander.”
In the USEP facility, a red indicator light blinked on and off next to Janus confirming that the pod was being scanned.
“Markus — sensors are showing that you’ve been detected.”
Janus tried to reset and reactivate the pod’s invisibility system and departure triggering mechanism without success. Just then, planet 5.1.18.20.9’s coordinate data appeared on Janus’s computer screen.
“Markus, I can’t activate the departure sequence or re-establish the invisibility screens.”
At that instant, the series of warning beeps were replaced with a long signal burst. Janus knew what this meant. The energy wave was about to hit the base.
“Markus,” asked Janus, “Are you able to assess the extent of the damage?”
“I’m sorry Sejus, I don’t know the USEP like you do,” confessed Markus. “We appear to be adrift at the moment.”
“What am I going to do?” muttered Janus
He knew he was out of time and his plan had failed. His son would either be killed or captured by the Mitel Fleet.
I’ve got to get up there! Frustrated and worried, he found himself staring at the doors to bay number five.
“Markus, I have an idea.” Instinctively, Janus switched computers and furiously went to work. He reactivated the hologram scanner and energized a second monitoring orb in bay number five. A silver and black sphere floated out from the bay. Janus positioned it next to the horizontal arm of the scanner, then jumped to the next row of computers and set the takeoff sequence for a second multipurpose launch pod. Knowing he would only have one chance, he set the destination coordinates to match the current trajectory of the USEP pod and programmed the launch pod timer for sixty seconds. As the doors to bay number three slid back open, Janus switched on the hologram scanner. With a deep breath, he sprinted under the vertical chamber. Within a few seconds, there was only a puff of smoke where Janus once stood.
Janus felt momentarily dizzy. Regaining his bearings, he could see the open bay directly in front of him. He knew he had to reach the launch pod before it took off. His black and silver monitoring orb streaked down the tunnel to the waiting launch pod. As he entered the launch area, he darted up toward the door at the top of the launch pod. The bright white electromagnetic glow at the base of the pod signaled that launch was imminent.
As his orb approached the launch pod door, a beam of light appeared from the left side of his sphere. An instant later, Janus’s hologram materialized. He felt a strange, tingling sensation throughout his entire self. Janus refocused, reached over, and entered the program code into the pod’s exterior keypad causing the outer airlock door to slide open. He moved inside and repeated the process, triggering the pod’s inner door to open. Entering the pod, his monitoring orb notified him of a disturbance approaching only seconds away. Janus entered the emergency override code on the inside keypad, which quickly closed both pod doors.
Janus glanced around the pod while his orb floated silently next to him. Suddenly, the pod raced skyward. Janus looked out the windows directly opposite the pod door and saw the ground below falling away from him. He watched in awe as the energy wave consumed the base and everything else in its path.
In the distance, Janus saw the Assal sky structure and the rest of the large population cluster of Tryden. The air traffic grid was still heavily congested. He watched helplessly as the explosion wave raced toward the cluster before quickly engulfing it. As the wave continued, only the upper sections of the Assal sky structure remained visible, before slowly disappearing into the rising haze.
The launch pod streaked skyward as it passed through the upper levels of the rolling cloud of dust and debris that trailed the destruction. As the pod cleared the last remnants of the airborne debris, Janus looked out toward the horizon. He was shocked at the magnitude of the devastation. Countless fires raged out of control off in the distance.
This truly is the end of Thrae, he thought. Repulsed by the enormity of the catastrophe, Janus turned away.
From his computer console, the scanning specialist studied the results of his detailed scan.
“Commander Liss,” announced the specialist, “the scan confirms that there is a single Thraen life form on board the pod.”
“What is its trajectory?” asked Zan calmly.
The scanning specialist frowned as he turned toward his Commander. “It’s just sitting there.”
“Navigator, set a course for that vessel immediately. I want to find out how this Thraen suddenly appeared out of nowhere during our invasion, and I want to know what that craft is hiding.”
“Doing it now, Commander,” replied Ard Lindar, a 20-year old Navigator and third Officer in Command.
Even though Ard‘s early childhood was similar to Zan’s — his father was also killed when he was very young — Ard’s path to becoming a Mitel Officer was quite different. His mother remarried a Mitel Leadership member and Ard was sent away to attend the prestigious Mitel Military Academy, where he graduated near the top of his class. He had a love for history and was a deep thinker. Like Zan, he was tall, but much leaner, with short brown hair and charcoal black eyes that helped him hide his emotions.
Watching his stepfather closely, Ard developed a deep distrust of the Mitel Leadership, but he kept those feelings well hidden. Ard did however, look up to and respect Zan, given their common experiences early in life. He also marveled at how Zan so rapidly ascended the intensely competitive Mitel military ranks.
For his part, Zan considered Ard nothing more than a self-centered spoiled brat who, in his opinion, had been handed his career on a silver platter. As far as Zan Liss was concerned, Ard was of little use to him.
As Janus’s launch pod reached the upper atmosphere, he was filled with emotion ranging from anger to sorrow. Then it suddenly dawned on him: even in his new state, he retained his ability to feel and express emotion. This revelation took him by surprise, but he also knew that he had to focus all his attention on the task at hand. Janus glanced back out the pod windows to see the launch pod entering outer space.
As the craft’s propulsion system slowed down, Janus looked for the USEP. He heard sounds of the launch pod’s thrusters firing intermittently. As the launch craft rotated, Janus continued to search for any sign of the small spacecraft. Once the launch pod completed its rotation, the shiny pod appeared directly in front of him.
The scanning specialist instructed his computer to update its initial scan. To his surprise, it confirmed the presence of a second pod.
“Commander,” exclaimed the specialist, “A second, larger unmanned craft has appeared right next to the Thraen vessel.”
“This is getting interesting,” replied Zan, slowly stroking his lower jaw. “What else does your detailed scan show?”
“The smaller craft appears to contain an assortment of test equipment and other supplies. I am also receiving unusual energy signatures consistent with that of small monitoring probes.”
“What can you tell me about the Thraen on board the craft?”
“The detailed scan indicates that it’s a young male, probably a child, or an infant.”
“A child or an infant?” responded Zan incredulously. “All alone in space? What nonsense is this? Does your scan reveal anything else, specialist?”
“The chemical composition of the Thraen . . .”
“What about it?” Zan asked impatiently.
“The scan warns that he possesses abnormally high levels of titanium, aluminum, beryllium, cobalt, manganese and cadmium,” explained the confused specialist.
“Very interesting,” boomed Zan.
“Commander?” Ard frowned.
“We have stumbled upon a living Thraen hybrid!” replied Zan. “We must intercept that craft immediately. I must get my hands on him!”
“Increasing intercept speed now,” confirmed Ard quickly.
“Good, we cannot lose that vessel,” Zan insisted.
Using his monitoring orb’s communication system, Janus tried to contact Markus.
“Markus, can you hear me?”
There was no response. Janus tried re-transmitting over other frequencies.
“Markus,” urged Janus.
“Hello, my friend, I can hear you,” replied Markus.
Janus was relieved to hear Markus’s voice. “We need to get the pod operational so that we can complete the departure. If not, we will be captured by the Mitel Fleet. We can’t let them have my son, nor can we hand over a Thraen immortal and a Battle Sphere — especially one that doesn’t even know how to defend itself.”
“You’re right, but how are we going to avoid such a result?”
Janus did not answer.
In the battle cruiser’s ICC, the communications specialist intercepted the unencrypted transmission.
“Commander Liss!” announced the specialist excitedly. “I have intercepted and translated a transmission between the two crafts!”
“And?” replied Zan jumping up from his command console.
“The transmission confirms that the young Thraen is not only a hybrid, but a Battle Sphere and an immortal!” exclaimed the specialist.
“An infant Battle Sphere and an immortal?” exclaimed Zan, surprised and excited. “This is too good to be true! We must capture that craft at all costs!”
Zan paused briefly before continuing.
“Our Leadership’s primary desire and objective has always been to secure the secrets of immortality at any cost. But just think — if we can seize the Battle Sphere before it can learn to transform and oppose us — the possibilities are endless! We could test and observe the Thraen as he grows. We might even unlock the secrets of the transformation process for ourselves!”
From inside his launch pod, Janus entered the keypad code causing the inner door to slide open. He entered the chamber, followed closely by his orb. After the chamber was depressurized, he quickly repeated the procedure for the outer launch pod door. As it glided open, Janus could see countless stars.
His hologram returned to his monitoring orb as it darted into outer space, brightly reflecting the light of the sun. As his orb approached the USEP, Janus glanced down at Thrae. The chain reaction blast had rolled across the entire visible surface of the planet. Pockets of yellow and orange haze dotted the globe. Janus looked away as he struggled to contain his emotions.
Reaching the pod’s outer door, Janus once again projected his hologram. He entered the keypad’s security code and the door glided open. Following his orb inside the small entrance chamber, Janus repeated the code on the inner keypad and the outer door slid closed behind him.
“Markus, I’m in your entrance chamber,” announced Janus. “Push the black button to the left of the pod door and then enter the keypad security code. It will pressurize the chamber and open the inner door.”
“Doing it now.“
When the pod door opened, the sight of Janus’s pod and hologram left Markus speechless.
“Is that all you have to say for yourself Markus?” Janus asked with a grin.
“My friend, I —“
“I know. Now we’re more than friends. We’re twins.”
Markus laughed loudly as Janus looked over at his son, who reached for his father with a big smile. Janus grabbed Chad and hugged him tightly. Turning his attention back toward Markus, he began, “I ‘m here to try to repair the console. The Mitel Fleet will be upon us very soon so we need to get to work fast. You can help me by keeping Chad occupied.”
“That I can do,” replied Markus quickly.
Janus looked around the USEP for the pod’s tool case, which was secured about half way up the rear wall. As he reached over and removed it from its storage clips, it felt heavy. That is a good sign, he thought, opening the case. Upon quick visual inspection, it appeared to contain everything Janus anticipated he might need to perform temporary repairs.
“Excellent!” he said aloud, turning his attention to the programming console. After a brief visual inspection, it was clear that the center of the console was too badly damaged to be repaired quickly. ‘We need to go to plan B.”
“What plan is that?”
“Rewire and reconfigure the departure mechanism from underneath the console.”
“Oh, that plan!” exclaimed Markus.
In the cramped quarters of the small spacecraft, Janus crawled underneath the console. As a hologram, he could now move in or through any space. He quickly removed the composite mesh access panels and began to identify and sort out the various cables and connections.
Systematically identifying and disconnecting a series of optical fiber bundles that led from the console to the departure activation mechanism, he grabbed a small cutting tool from the tool case and cut the damaged portion away from the console connections. Then using a fusion splicing tool, he reconnected and reconfigured the departure system connections. Janus identified four remaining optical fibers that triggered both the regular and high-speed flight system. Using extra mechanical splicing connectors from the tool case, he re-routed each of them to a series of unused modules located to the left of the programming console.
Pausing to take a visual inventory of the fiber bundles connecting several modules further under the console, he saw no other damage. Although there were countless lines and conduits going in all directions, Janus was confident that he had taken into account all critically necessary connections.
“Hopefully that’ll do it,” said Janus, sitting up from underneath the panels. “It doesn’t look as though any of the cables and hardware further beneath the console were damaged. But there’s only one way to know for sure.”
Janus pushed a square blue button on the console activating one of the newly rerouted control modules. A loud humming sound could immediately be heard as the pod deployed the slip ring cylinder components and driveshaft from either side. Janus knew that the plasma shields would form around the entire craft immediately after the ring locked together.
“That sound is music to my ears,” smiled Janus.
As the Mitel battle cruiser closed in on the pod, Zan gave the order to make visual contact. The USEP and the launch pod quickly appeared on the ICC’s main viewing screen. Zan studied the screen image of the two crafts sitting side by side. A cylindrical ring could be seen around the small spacecraft.
“What is that?” Zan demanded.
“Commander,” said the scanning specialist, “scanners are detecting a huge energy buildup in the smaller pod. It may be preparing to launch.”
“Initiate the gravity control beam,” instructed Zan. “We must seize that craft!”
Turning to the communications specialist, he ordered, “I want you to instruct any fighters in the immediate vicinity to assist in the capture!”
“Yes, Commander,” replied the specialist.
Markus’s orb suddenly detected the Mitel battle cruiser closing in on them.
“My friend, it appears that we have a large visitor,” announced Markus in a serious tone of voice.
Janus paused for a moment and concentrated. His monitoring orb also picked up the signal. “A Mitel battle cruiser is right on top of us.”
Janus glanced at the energizer gauge for the status of the departure initialization. The gauge indicated 65, 70 then 75 percent complete.
“Markus, we aren’t ready for speed departure, but we need to get out of here now.”
Janus reached over and pushed the second of the four buttons he had reconfigured. On command, the USEP shuddered then lurched forward under the power of its twin high output plasma thrust engines. At the same moment, the Mitel battle cruiser released two powerful, plasma-based corkscrew gravity control beams toward the small pod.
“Janus, my orb is picking up —”
“Gravity control beams,” interrupted Janus “I detected them too.”
As the small pod picked up speed, the gravity control beams narrowly missed their target.
“Commander, the gravity control beams failed to engage the Thraen pod,” announced the battle cruiser’s weapons specialist.
“What?” Zan snapped. “How is that possible?”
“The small pod is now moving away from the planet and picking up speed, Sir,” confirmed the scanning specialist.
“Send more gravity control beams!” Zan demanded pounding his console chair with his fist. “We must not lose that craft!”
“Yes, Commander!”
“Lindar!” bellowed Commander Liss.
“Sir!” replied Ard.
“Accelerate this vessel to full closing speed!“
“Already done, Sir.”
The battle cruiser’s weapons specialist initiated a series of corkscrew gravity control beams aimed at the pod’s projected trajectory. As Janus’s orb registered their approach, he pushed the third button initiating maximum normal speed. The USEP lurched and accelerated faster as Janus and Markus braced for the impact of the gravity control beams. But nothing happened. One by one, the beams missed the small spacecraft. The weapons and scanning specialists nervously confirmed that the gravity control beams were still not engaging.
“ARGGHH! Useless technology!” yelled Zan in frustration. “It has never been accurate enough or powerful enough!”
“Commander,” said the communications specialist. “I have confirmed that three high speed interceptors are responding to our request for assistance.”
“EXCELLENT! Instruct them to intercept the small craft! Disable but do not destroy. We need to capture the Thraen alive!”
Upon receiving their orders, the three Mitel Fighters changed direction and began to close in quickly on the pod.
As the USEP accelerated, Janus felt the pod begin to vibrate. He knew that meant they were approaching maximum normal speed. There was a faint hissing noise coming from the back of the pod as the vibrations increased. He checked the energizer gauge which now read 90 percent. Just then, both monitoring orbs identified the approaching Mitel Fighters. Markus and Janus nervously glanced at one another.
“Markus, double check to make sure Chad is strapped in!” instructed Janus.
“Doing it now!” responded Markus, quickly inspecting Chad’s harness.
“Come on,” Janus encouraged the small pod. “You can do it.”
As he glanced at the console, it suddenly occurred to him that he forgot to program the planet’s exact coordinates into the pod’s navigation system.
“Oh no!” Janus moaned in frustration.
“What’s wrong now?” asked Markus with obvious concern.
“I never transferred the planet’s coordinates into the pod’s computer!”
“Can you do it now?”
“No!”
As the three Mitel Fighters closed in on the USEP, the squadron leader announced, “We have visual.”
“Disable it!” yelled Zan. “Now!”
The three Mitel Fighters fired a series of low energy laser bursts at the small pod, barely missing their mark. The fighter computers recalculated their target coordinates and prepared to fire a second round.
Janus saw the energizer gauge flashing the message that it had reached 100 percent. He lunged for the forth button and activated the departure sequence. The cylindrical ring rapidly sped up until it was spinning at lightning speed.
The pilot in the lead fighter registered the sudden increase in energy and instinctively fired a lethal burst of high energy laser directly toward the center of the pod. From his console computer, the scanning specialist immediately detected both energy sources.
“Commander Liss, the Thraen craft is taking evasive action and our fighters are now shooting to destroy it!”
“NO!” shouted Zan.
“The small craft is emitting a tremendous surge of energy!”
Before Zan could respond, the pod’s departure sequence commenced just as the lethal laser burst was nearing a direct impact. The small spacecraft instantly accelerated faster than the speed of light and was gone from view.
The outer space directly behind the USEP distorted like an invisible tsunami. The lethal laser burst exploded harmlessly against its approaching wake. In the cockpit of the Mitel Fighters, all three pilots simultaneously received indication of an approaching disturbance. They began evasive maneuvers, but it was too late. All three craft were hit simultaneously by the approaching distortion and instantly obliterated. By then, the pod had accelerated to a point where it was already leaving the Thraen universe.
Zan bellowed in anger, realizing that the small pod had escaped into deep space.
As the USEP accelerated beyond the speed of light, Janus’s unsecured orb slammed against the rear wall. His hologram involuntarily terminated and returned to the orb, which rolled to a stop next to the side wall. All was quiet for a few minutes other than a faint hissing sound which was soon replaced by a tranquil humming.
Gathering his thoughts, Janus instructed his orb to hover from its position on the USEP floor. He peered out through his monitor to see Markus’s secured hologram sitting right next to Chad. Markus looked over at Janus and let out a big laugh.
“What’s so funny, Markus?”
“It’s your screen.” laughed Markus even harder.
“What about it?”
“It’s got a big crack in it!”
Janus quickly hovered toward a section of reflective inner wall to inspect his damage. “Maybe this trip will knock some sense into me,” he mused as he re-projected his hologram image.
Janus stared intently at his hologram reflection for the first time. His hologram deformed for a second or two before returning back to normal. It almost looked as if his body was being sliced along a diagonal.
“Now what?” he groaned.
“Well, hello there,” laughed Markus from across the pod. “No need to go to pieces on me.”
Janus rolled his eyes. “I hope the disruption in my appearance does not scare Chad.”
“Oh, my guess is that he’ll find it quite entertaining! I know I do,” Markus chuckled.
As Markus spoke, Chad squealed with joy as he stared at his father.
“See? What did I tell you?” smiled Markus.
In the battle cruiser’s ICC, the scanning specialist struggled to maintain contact with the fleeing craft.
“Sir,” the specialist spoke weakly, “the pod is accelerating at an incredible rate. I have never seen anything like it.”
Zan strained to keep his composure as he turned and walked slowly back to his command console before slumping into his chair. As he sat, dejected, the small USEP craft accelerated into deep space, leaving behind a burning planet.