A Sword Into Darkness (34 page)

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DTG RECEIPT:  23 0818Z JAN 2046

DTG TRANSMITTAL:  11 1434Z NOV 2045

TIME-DISTANCE LAG:  072:17:44:28.7 D:H:M:S

FROM:  Nathan Kelley, CDR, USAN

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USAN.MIL;

[email protected]$USAN.MIL]

TO:  Lydia Russ, CEO, Windward Technologies Inc.

[[email protected]$NWYK.NY.GOV;

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SUBJ:  Broken Promises

MSG:  Lydia,

I’m more than a little concerned by the fact that you’ve yet to receive contact telemetry from PROMISE II.  I can only hope that sometime during the next two plus months it takes this message to reach you, you’ll get it and send it winging our way, but I’m not holding out a whole lot of hope.  By our figures, even accounting for the growing time lag between our positions, we should have gotten the probe data over three weeks ago.

I appreciate your assurances and I know all about the myriad normal things that could have gone wrong with the probe, but, frankly, that’s a NASA holdover and not something we anticipated at Windward—especially when the first probe was such a success.  What I have to worry about out here, what we have to plan for, is the worst case scenario—that the Deltans were on the lookout this time and destroyed PROMISE II before it got into transmission range.  And while the destruction of the first probe could have been deemed an accidental or curious act, destroying the second probe before it could make a close approach seems unambiguously hostile.

As mission commander, I have to allow for the fact that I could be wrong, that despite the evidence, the Deltans are indeed friendly.  So, while I’m certain that I know how this is going to go, I can’t just go in guns blazing.  We have to try to make first contact work.  We have to convince the Deltans that we are thinking, rational beings—that we are deserving of joining whatever galactic civilization they come from.  But I already have it in my mind that things are going to go south.

We’re prepped for either eventuality, though.  One good thing:  Chris Knight has really stepped up to the plate.  Originally, he was going to be our liaison with the diplomatic element, but now, with the “reorganization,” not only has he proved himself as our XO, cracking the whip as necessary, he’s also been a very able teacher.  It may go against standard thinking, but with his background in languages, diplomacy, and cultural history, I’m going to have him take the lead in contacting the aliens, vice doing it myself as captain.

Of course, if Chris can’t make the Deltans understand, if they attack or make their intentions to do so clear beyond a shadow of a doubt, well, we’ll be ready for that too.  Drills and simulations have allowed us to develop some fairly strong tactical options, but I was really counting on that additional probe data.  I don’t like going in without seeing how they act a second time.

Of course, this may point to exactly how they’re intending to act.

It all leads back to the original, central question.  Why, Lydia?  Why are they coming here like this?  It doesn’t make any sense at all unless they want something physical from us, something they can only get from a populated planet.  If it was just information they wanted, they could just call and ask us for it, with a lot less danger and energy expenditure.  If it was resources, they could presumably mine them from a much closer system or belt.  And we doubt it’s food.  Doc Smith figures that it’s highly unlikely they could ever efficiently metabolize our proteins, given the lack of a common ancestor and environment, so “space carnivores” are probably right out.

That means they want something from US, mankind, for good or ill.  If it’s for good, they sure have a funny way of allaying our fears.  And if it’s not, if they’re coming all the way here to kill us up close and personal (or enslave us, or convert us, or absorb us, etc.) it still seems like a horrible waste of resources.

What could possibly be of that much value to an alien race?  What do we have that they cannot get from anywhere closer than twenty damned light-years?  What makes us special?  What about our transmissions and broadcasts attracted them to us in the first place?

And why come here so slowly?  Kris poised that question the other day, and it doesn’t seem like a logical query at first, but she does have a point.  Think about it.

They’re only accelerating at a hundredth of a gravity, well below what we primitives can do with technology we developed from watching them.  It has to be because of all those different ships they’re bringing and that overly massive drive “star” of theirs.  Why bother bringing so much mass with them that it takes eighty freaking years to make the journey?  Does the size of their convoy have anything to do with why they’re coming here?  Why are all the vessels of their convoy so different from one another?

I just can’t wrap my monkey brain around our lizard overlords’ intentions and it’s pissing me off.

I’m sorry, Lydia.  I didn’t mean to lay so many angst-driven questions on you.  It’s just that we’re nearing turnaround, and we’re so far from home, that the loss of PROMISE II makes me worried all over again.  Forget it.  We’ll figure it all out when we get there.

Switching tracks, I saw that they laid down our next three destroyer hulls.  Outstanding!  But what about the allied technology transfers?  We’re going to need a lot more than three other destroyers to stop these guys should it come to a battle.  When are the other NATO countries going to be starting their own hulls?  What about the other defense systems?

That’s my bandwidth limit for today.  Hope this finds you and yours well.  Take care, Boss.

V/R,

NATHANIEL KELLEY

CDR              USAN

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DTG RECEIPT:  20 2307Z FEB 2046

DTG TRANSMITTAL:  03 0746Z DEC 2045

TIME-DISTANCE LAG:  079:15:21:18.6 D:H:M:S

FROM:  Kristene Muñoz, LT, USAN

[[email protected]$USAN.MIL;

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TO:  Leo Buchanan, Associate Researcher, Sandia National Laboratory

[[email protected]$ALBQ.NM.GOV]

SUBJ:  Suck eggs, Gravity-Boy!

MSG:  Oh, hey there, Leo.

Yeah, I just wanted to drop you a line, let you know where my stupid little experiment’s taken me.  Well, we just did a turnaround on our least-time transit, constant acceleration brachistocrone trajectory.  Seems we got all the way up to 70.6% the speed of light on our little journey, and we gotta slow down to say hi to the space aliens that surely don’t exist.

Yep, I’m about a quarter of a light-year away from you, so you won’t get this message for quite some time, but I hope that when you get it, I’ll still be able to hear you cussing a blue-streak all the way out here.  Ooooooo, feel the burn, lab-mate!  Work yourself up into a good, righteously indignant lather.

Hey, how’s your gravity wave propulsion experiment going, by the way?  That badly?  Really?  Awwww.  And you looked so very promising and full of yourself back in our university days.

Have fun scratching on chalkboards, Leo, I gots me a date with destiny!

Toodles,

Kris Muñoz