Atlantis Rising (14 page)

“Oh,” Brad said.

“As soon as I repair the hull
breech and stress fractures, the
Atlantis
will be put in standby mode.
I’ll be removing the outdated reactors and replacing them with the more up to
date models I have. That will take me twelve hours to complete after repairing
the hull. It will give the engineering crews time to finish the internal
repairs in the breached section. Then with the help of the engineering crew, we
will start to update the other outdated systems,” Ghost said. “Those upgrades
will not prevent
Atlantis
from launching, though, as we can do them in
stages.”

“Outdated systems? I would have
guessed you were dormant as long as
Atlantis
,” Mike said.

“Yes and no, according to what
information I have been able to access and what little bit of research I have
been able to do. The Eutharan Empire pulled back from Earth Base Alpha, Atlanta
Base as you know it. I was still functional and being used for another five
hundred years after that point. Then instead of letting me fall into enemy
hands they decided to pull back and abandon me in hopes that they could come
back one day,” Ghost said.

“Uh, that doesn’t make sense. If
you were operational for another five hundred years how did Captain Itcar’s
command codes work?” Jon asked.

“They didn’t,” Ghost said.
“Admiral Itcar was declared missing in action over four hundred and seventy
years ago. Commander Felot was the last commander of this station.”

A panicked look crossed Jon’s
face as he looked at Marc. Mike and Brad jumped up from their consoles a look
of surprise on their faces.

“Because Admiral Itcar was
declared missing in action and not dead. Her code still held some sway, and
therefore, left in place in case of her return. However, they wouldn’t turn the
station over to her. They would allow her to dock and get repairs,” Ghost said.
“Certain circumstances would allow her to regain control of the station though.
The
Atlantis
’ AI and your use of the Admiral’s codes met those
circumstances. I made the final choice to allow the transfer of command to you
based on certain findings, like no contact with the Eutharan Empire and you
having the trust of the
Atlantis
’ AI. She would not allow you to control
her if she thought of you as a conquering force.

“The destruction on your home
world also saddens me and I wish to be useful once again. I feel I can help you
and your people. I will do everything I can to do so. The Invaru still control
this area of the galaxy and they need to be pushed back to their own system. So
by helping you I’m helping not only the Eutharan Empire but the other races
that are at war with them. I know they’re still out there and they will
probably come here once they realize the station is operating again. The
Eutharan sometimes come here and sit analyzing me for days. I don’t think they
have the command codes for the station any more. You and your people are the
guardians of this station now. You alone hold the ‘Keys’ to Ghost Station.”

Everyone visibly relaxed as Brad
and Mike retook their seats.

{
Commander.
} Bill’s voice
said.

{
Go ahead.
} Jon said.

{
Tactical is tracking four
unidentified vessels by the eighth planet. One of them looks like the battleships
we saw on Earth. Atlantis is having a hard time locking on to them. She’s
requesting assistance from Ghost.
}

{
Where do they appear to be
going?
}

{
It appears they are coming
this way. But, it looks like they are fighting.
}

{
Hold on.
}

“Ghost,” Jon said.

“Yes, Atlantis has informed me. I
have been so involved in what was happening here I wasn’t scanning the
surrounding system. My apologies Commander,” Ghost said.

“No problem, can you bring the
ships up on the table please?” Jon asked. “Shut down all external lighting and
go to minimal power I want the station to look like it hasn’t been touched.”

“Yes, Sir,” Ghost said.

The lights dimmed and turned red
as the image shifted on the table and displayed the four ships. The larger ship
was shooting at the three small vessels as they ran.

“What the hell is that,” Marc
said.

He reached out, tapped the larger
ship, and zoomed in on it.

“That is an Invaru battleship,
and it is headed this way. What I want to know is what those other ships are,”
Jon said.

“Those ships look similar to
Eutharan Military Grade Shuttles. If the Battleship wanted them destroyed, they
would have been. I think the Invaru are trying to capture the shuttles,” Ghost
said.

“Why haven’t they folded?” Marc
asked.

“It takes time to reach a fold
point,” Brad said. “You would think that after three days of going through it,
you would know.” Brad grinned at Marc, who just waved as though he was shooing
an insect away.

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t pay
attention to the fine details. You tell me three days we will be there its
three days. I don’t ask ‘why three days?’ or how we get from point ‘a’ to point
‘b,” Mark said.

“Typical grunt,” Jon said, a grin
splitting his face.

“There is nothing ‘typical’ about
me,” Marc said.

“Commander,” Ghost said.

“Yes, Ghost?” Jon said.

“I have a fold event on scanners.
It’s a Eutharan Heavy Cruiser and it is engaging the Battleship. The shuttles
have altered course for the new ship,” Ghost said.

Everyone in the control center
watched as the shuttles landed on the cruiser. It swapped fire with the
battleship. The cruiser was getting the worst end of the deal. The battleship
pressed the advantage, even to launching fighters.

“If we don’t do something now the
cruiser will be destroyed or captured,” Jon said.

“Yes, Sir. I estimate it can hold
out for a few more minutes before its shields fail,” Ghost said.

The cruiser had turned and
continued along the same path as the shuttles. Jon had Ghost zoom in on the
ship as it ran. The hologram showed multiple deck breeches, fires burned behind
the emergency safety fields. One engine had a large gash in it and the ship was
leaving behind a cloud of some type that slowly dissipated into nothingness.

The ship was in bad shape, and
looked ready to give up at any minute.

on watched the exchange of fire between the two ships, as the
battleship slowly closed on the cruiser. He had to do something but he had no
idea what he could do, without revealing that Ghost Station was active again.
He switched the hologram to display the positions of the vessel and marked the
outer markers as a ring around the station.

“Ghost,” Jon said.

“Yes, Commander,” Ghost said.

“How close is the lead ship to
the outer markers? I mean, I know how close, but how close in relation to
weapons range? Will the Polaron Cannons reach it?” Jon asked.

“Jon, what are you thinking of
doing?” Brad asked.

“I have a plan, but I need to
make sure both ships are in range of the cannons,” Jon said.

“The lead ship is in range of the
cannons, the Invaru battleship will be in range in less than five minutes,”
Ghost said.

“Okay, what I want you to do, is
this …” Jon said. Jon relayed his plans to everyone in the room and the Bridge
of Atlantis.

“Marc,” Jon said, “we’re going to
have company. I want your entire security force on the station, armed and
armored. Pull anyone else you think you will need to help fill in. Ghost? Can
you show him where station security is located? I want access to the station
limited. Keep it simple: Main Control, Medical, Security and then the
Engineering sections. The last being limited access, only for authorized
personnel.”

“We can move to Main Control,
now. We should reach it before the battleship gets in range,” Ghost said.

“Bill, are you still listening?” Jon
asked.

“Yes, Sir. I have already started
having people move to the station,” Bill said.

“All right,” Jon said. “Ghost can
you upload the information people will need to get around on the station,
including what is and isn’t restricted?”

“Doing so now,” Ghost said.

“All security personnel are
en-route to the station. Some are helping with the offloading of personnel and
equipment from
Atlantis
,” Marc said. “I’m going leave Goodly and Ramirez
here on guard and take the rest with me to Security. I would like to get a
little familiar with it before our company arrives.”

“Go, we’re on our way to Main
Control, the rest of the Bridge crew will meet us there as soon as they
disembark,” Jon said.

Marc nodded, then turned and
started down the corridor towards the station with all but two of the security
personnel in the room.

“Brad, Mike, I need you two to
get your engineering teams to Main Engineering. I want full diagnostics on
every system on the station as fast as humanly possible,” Jon said.

They both nodded and started for
the station just as some of their crews showed up from
Atlantis
. They
quickly explained the situation, and hurried off into the station with their
people in tow.

“When we bring that ship here and
put it in a berth,” Jon said, “I want it in a berth where they can’t see
Atlantis
. I don’t want them to see the damage or how bad a shape she is in.
The whole idea here is to appear to have more people than we actually do. We
will make it appear that they’re restricted in station movement, not that we
have done it on purpose. I want people using short cuts through restricted
areas if possible. That will help with the illusion too.”

“Yes, Sir,” Ghost said.

Terri, Bill, Carla, and the rest
of the bridge crew walked out of the access port attached to the Bridge.

“What is going on Jon,” Terri
asked.

“Looks like we’re going to have
company,” Jon said. “We’re building an illusion to appear like we have been
here for a while. At least until we get to know them.”

“What Oojoung being taken to?”
Oojoung said. He had just entered the room followed by two guards.

“We’re taking you to a new cell
on the station until the Captain can speak to you,” one of the men said.

“Oojoung do nothing wrong.
Oojoung try help to save ship. Why Oojoung being held prisoner?” Oojoung said.

“You’re being detained until such
a time as I can make a choice about what to do with you. You sabotaged my ship
and endangered the lives of my crew,” Jon said. “That is all I care to say at
this moment, I have other problems I have to address right now. I’ll speak to
you as soon as I can.”

“But, Oojoung not do nothing
wrong. Oojoung help Hoomans,” Oojoung moaned.

“That issue is up for debate. I
don’t have time to discuss this right now. Your behavior has been very good and
if you continue to cooperate, it will help you a lot in my decision as to what
to do with you. So go with these men and wait for me to come see you,” Jon
said.

“Yes, Sir. Oojoung will do as
Captain person says. Oojoung is sorry if Oojoung caused many problems,” Oojoung
said.

The two security personnel smiled
as they led a quiet Oojoung towards the station.

“He’s a Buranis,” Ghost said.

“Yeah, I know. Atlantis filled me
in while I was watching him during our trip. The one thing that bugs me is he
is a bit childish. I don’t know if he really knew what he was doing or not,”
Jon said.

“He’s anything but childish. He
is from a special branch of the Burani military. Some of the devices the
security personnel were carrying marked him as such. I would have to say he
knew what he was doing. The real question is did he have a choice in what he
was doing?” Ghost said.

They were walking toward Station
Command as they spoke.

“What do you mean by ‘if he had a
choice’?” Terri asked.

“The Buranis are suppressed by
the Invaru. Most of them do not like working with, or for, the Invaru. But,
they have little choice. The Invaru forced them to sign a treaty that turned
them into slaves. That’s my most recent data and I don’t imagine much has
changed. Oojoung probably was being controlled by an Invaru who was giving him
orders,” Ghost said.

“So then why would he suddenly
decide to go against those orders?” Bill asked.

“Poor thing,” Terri said.

Jon looked over at Terri and
rolled his eyes.

“What?” Terri asked.

“When you say ‘Poor thing’ it
usually means we end up with a dog or a cat or something like that living with
us,” Jon said.

“Well he is kind of cute in a
teddy bear sort of way,” Terri said grinning.

“Here we go,” Jon said. “Don’t
get too attached to him, he did try to kill us. I don’t know what I’m going to
do with him, yet.”

Bill snickered as Terri leaned
her head on Jon’s shoulder and fluttered her eyes.

“Won’t work, this is a very
different situation,” Jon said.

“Well, I think there’s more to
this than we think. I just don’t want you going off halfcocked and making a
mistake,” Terri said.

“I won’t that’s why I haven’t
spoken to him yet,” Jon said.

“Anyway, like Commander Hawkins
asked, ‘why would he suddenly decide to go against those orders?’” Carla said.

“I have no idea. The Commander
will have to ask him,” Ghost said.

Jon stood in the center of the
large room looking at a hologram that displayed the two ships. The table was a
copy of the planning table on the
Atlantis
only twice the size. The rest
of the bridge crew had taken their respective positions in the control room.
Terri, Carla, and Bill had taken up secondary and empty primary stations.

“Invaru battleship will be in
range in ten seconds,” Ghost said. It was like a voice without a body. It was a
bit unnerving in that you couldn’t see a body but you knew something was there.

“Okay, here we go people,” Jon
said. “It’s all you, Ghost.”

“Bringing shields online and
powering up weapon platforms. Opening Communication channels, all bands,” Ghost
said.

Brief static filled Command, and
then cleared up. The Eutharan vessel faltered as it tried to turn away from the
station. The Invaru ship altered its course to intercept it.

“Invaru battleship, you are
ordered to change course and leave or you will be fired upon. Eutharan vessel,
continue on your present course and make repairs. Once you complete repairs,
you too will follow my orders to leave this restricted space. Do not, I repeat,
do not attempt to come any closer or you will be fired upon,” Ghost said.

“This is Captain Gilas of the
Eutharan Cruiser
Titan
, who are we speaking to?” Gilas asked.

“This is Ghost Station’s command
and control AI,” Ghost said.

“An AI,” a gruff voice said.
“This is Captain Prasuh of the Invaru Battleship
Marudas
. We will leave
once we have finished our mission here.”

“This is your last warning
Captain Prasuh, if you continue on your present course I will fire upon you,”
Ghost said a bit of menace in her tone.

“Prasuh, are you insane? That
station will tear you apart unless you have the command codes.
We
don’t
even have those codes anymore! They were lost hundreds of years ago,” Gilas
said.

“You will not escape, I have my
orders to capture those shuttles, and I intend to do just that,” Prasuh said.

Ghost glanced at Jon who just
nodded.

“Invaru Battleship, you have been
warned,” Ghost said.

Two of the platforms guns lanced
out and hit the battleship. The ship’s shields flared brightly as another beam
struck the shields.

“Captain, our shields are down to
twenty percent,” someone said.

A growl filled the Station’s
Command, “Ghost Station, this is the
Marudas
we’re disengaging and
leaving the system. Gilas, I will catch you later,” Prasuh said.

“
Marudas
you have two
minutes to leave restricted space. If you return I will destroy your vessel,”
Ghost said. “
Titan
you have the time it takes to complete your repairs
so you can continue your journey and leave or I will fire on you. Neither of
you are authorized to be here.”

“We will comply with your orders,
Ghost Station,” Gilas said.

“Please, feel free to contact me
if you need some assistance and I will see what I can do for you. However, I
can’t allow you to approach without authorization,” Ghost said. “Ghost Station,
out.”

Ghost cut the communications
before Gilas could reply.

“Commander, the
Marudas
is
powering up its hyperspace drive and preparing to leave the system,” Tactical
said.

“Good, stand by to render
assistance when the
Marudas
has left the system,” Jon said. “Terri, get
to Launch Bay Alpha. Prep a tug to tow the
Titan
into a repair platform.
Take one of the pilots we have in training with you, so they can get some
flight time.”

Terri stood up and started for
the transport tube as she said, “Yes, Sir.”

“Do you think it’s wise to let
them know we’re here?” Bill asked.

“Why not, there’s not a lot they
can do about it. We still need allies. We’re very undermanned at the moment. I
can’t see the harm in it. If we help them maybe they will help us,” Jon said.

“You do know they will want their
station back,” Carla said.

“I have thought about that. While
they might want it back, we hold the keys. I just have to convince them I’ll
destroy the station before I give it up,” Jon said. “I see the key to survival
as us working together. We have something they need or want. They have
something we want.”

“What do they have that we need?”
Carla asked.

“Manpower and ships,” Jon said.

“Sir, the
Marudas
just
jumped,” Tactical said.

“Scan the entire system, make
sure there are no other vessels,” Jon said.

“Commencing scans, Sir,” Tactical
said.

“Com, get me a secure link to the
Titan
,” Jon said.

A few seconds later a channel was
open. The com officer reported Captain Gilas was on the other end.

“Captain Gilas,” Jon said. “This
is Commander Jonathan Hunter. Do you need assistance?”

“Who do you represent? We don’t
have your ship on scan,” Gilas said.

“I represent …” Jon thought for a
second before he replied. “The Alliance Defense Fleet, ADF for short.”

“Never heard of it, what
alliance?” Gilas said.

“I’ll have time to explain that a
bit more in detail, when we meet,” Jon said. “I’m dispatching a heavy tug to
your location, and authorizing your entrance to Ghost Station. We will assist
you in your repairs if you like, or you can do them yourselves. The choice is
yours. The station’s resources are at your disposal … to an extent, that is.
Please restrict all your personnel to your ship for the time being. You and
your executive officer are more than welcome to come aboard, with a small
security detachment of course.”