Chroniech! (42 page)

On the way back to the cottage, Ken asked Trel'mara, who had decided to ride with them, what he thought was an innocent question. "How many Kyrra will be returning to the Alliance with us or are you taking one of your own ships?"

Trel'mara gave Stricklen a funny look for a moment then started laughing. After a moment he replied, "I believe you have misinterpreted what our council leader said earlier. When he stated that preparations were being made for our departure he did not mean that a select few would be going. He meant that the worldship would travel to the Alliance. All Kyrra will be going."

Doug, who had been watching the scenery as it passed below the transport snapped his head around and said, "Huh? What do you mean you're all going?"

Ken was thunderstruck. The entire Kyrra population was moving? This monstrous spaceship, the size of a small moon, would be making the months long journey to Alliance space? Just how would the Grand Council react when their sensors picked up a moon traveling at faster than light speeds heading into Alliance space? Panic? Just what capabilities did this mobile world of the Kyrra possess? Ken decided he needed answers.

"I would like to meet with your council of advisors," Ken replied. "There are things we must discuss before the Kyrra move this worldship into Alliance space."

"One moment Ken, I will find out if the council can meet with you," Trel'mara replied. He then turned to the transport's communications center. After a few moments he turned back to his guest and said, "The council can see you now if that is your wish."

Stricklen glanced at the other passengers and seeing the look of approval in their eyes replied, "That would be fine."

Trel'mara turned to the transport's automated guidance system and changed their destination. After a moment he said, "We will arrive at the council chamber in about ten minutes."

Stricklen's earpiece buzzed for his attention. He raised his arm and activated his wrist-com. "Stricklen, go ahead."

"This is the Komodo Dragon," the voice said. "Sensors have detected a massive change in the configuration of the force fields surrounding the Kyrra worldship. I thought this information important enough to contact you."

Ken glanced at Doug and said both to Doug and the ship's computer, "The worldship is preparing to leave. Looks like we're getting underway sooner than expected."

Minutes later, the group stood in front of the Kyrra advisory council. "The council has gathered at your request," Norpock said. "How may we help you?"

"You have decided to move the worldship into Alliance space," Stricklen began. "Before we arrive, there are many things which must be discussed with the Alliance. I am not empowered to make the high level decisions that must be made. You cannot simply waltz into Alliance space and announce you want to take up residency!"

"Do not be alarmed Ken Stricklen," the council leader replied. "The worldship will stop outside your space so the appropriate negotiations can take place. We have reviewed your history and your customs concerning events such as this and we will follow all appropriate protocols so that the Kyrra and the Alliance can achieve a relationship which is beneficial to all parties involved."

"I'm glad to hear you have thought all this out," Doug said. "Where do you plan on making your approach to Alliance space and when will we get there?"

Norpock muttered something in his native tongue and the lights dimmed. A star map appeared in the center of the table. After studying it for a few moments Ken recognized it as a map of the area near Almaranus. A bright blue line appeared in the map terminating just outside of Alliance space near Almaranus.

"We have chosen Almaranus as our first point of contact," Norpock continued. "This planet was chosen because it serves as your sector command for this area and it is relatively close to the Alliance border. We shall stop at a distance of one hundred light years where we will initiate contact. We estimate arrival in twenty eight of your days."

"Twenty eight days!" Doug fairly yelled out. "How the hell fast does this thing go anyway?"

"Wait," Doug said before the Kyrra could reply. "Are we underway already?"

"The worldship stardrive was activated a few minutes before your arrival. This ship can travel at a maximum speed of 46,128c, however, because of energy consumption and other concerns we will limit our speed to 32,300c."

"What about the Chroniech?" Tasha asked.

"We can detect the Chroniech ships long before they can detect us. Minor course corrections will be made to avoid contact with them. Even if we are intercepted, their ships are incapable of penetrating our defenses. The Chroniech do not pose a threat to us."

"If I remember right," Ken said. "The worldship masses about as much as a small moon. Is it wise to bring it close to a planet? I would think its gravitational field would cause perturbations in the orbits of any other nearby object."

"The worldship's gravitational footprint is neutralized through the use of cancellation fields. It is part of our cloaking technology which prevents anyone from detecting our presence. The worldship can safely orbit a planet without causing any disturbances whatsoever."

"I am assuming that the worldship is controlled from a central location," Stricklen said. When the Kyrra nodded his head in agreement he continued. "Would it be possible for me to see this control room?"

"Of course," the council leader replied. "All areas of the worldship are accessible to anyone. When would you like to see the central operations room?"

"Right now I would like to get back to my cottage and go to sleep," Ken replied. "It has been a long day for all of us. How about if I make arrangements to see it tomorrow?"

"We shall await your call."

Stricklen lead his group back to the transport. On the way back Doug and Ken discussed how best to handle the introduction of the Kyrra into the Alliance. The girls had moved to the back of the transport and were deeply engaged in a discussion of their own. When they arrived at their cottage Tasha announced that they had decided that Cheryl would be moving into the unoccupied room in the cottage she shared with Doug and Ken.

There was a round of hugs and kisses and the girls were off to gather up Cheryl's belongings. The two men settled down in the common room. "Something about the Kyrra does not quite ring true," Doug told Ken as he was pouring them a small glass of rum.

After taking a sip, Stricklen replied, "What are you talking about Doug? I think these people have been more than honest about their intentions with us."

"It's kind of hard to describe but I'll give it a try. The Kyrra are an advanced race, so advanced that parts of their technology appear as magic to us. For the past forty thousand years they have isolated themselves inside their worldship. They have had no contact with any other race and seem to not care what happens outside their worldship.”

"We arrive on the scene and now suddenly they decide to move themselves, lock stock and barrel, three thousand light years through a known hostile area in order to establish relations with a group of races who are, by comparison, primitive and aggressive. Sounds fishy to me."

"Now that you mention it, it does sound sort of odd. I wonder if they have another reason for going to the Alliance. A reason they are not sharing with us."

Polishing off his rum, Doug replied, "I don't know, but I'm going to try and find out before we get to Alliance space." Getting up and stretching he continued, "I've about had it for the evening Ken. I'm calling it a day and turning in. Good night."

"I think I'll wait up until the girls get back," Ken replied. "Good night Doug."

Stricklen sat alone with his rum milling over what he and Doug had just discussed. The more he thought about it, the more questions he had. A light knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. When he opened it he found Tasha and Cheryl standing outside their arms too full of stuff to have opened the door.

Ken took some of the load then led the way down to what was now Cheryl's room. On the way Ken explained, "Doug has already gone to bed, but I'm sure he would not mind a visitor. His is the first stairwell on the right."

Afterwards, Ken and Tasha settled into the couch together. "I'm glad we're finally going home," she said.

"Me too. I like the Kyrra, but I think I prefer the company of Humans better."

After a few more minutes of silence, Tasha quietly asked, "Do you think their doing okay back home?"

Holding her closer, Ken replied, "I don't know. But now that the Kyrra have decided to join forces with us we cannot lose. I don't know what kind of weapons they possess, but I am certain the Chroniech will be quickly defeated."

The couple sporadically chatted for a few more minutes and then retired to Ken's room.

24 - Getting hitched

The next day, after they had eaten breakfast, Ken and Doug asked to be taken to the worldship's main control room. A few minutes after making the call a transport egg arrived. A Kyrra stepped out and introduced himself as Prin.

The central operations room was a vast compartment filled with rows and rows of consoles. "Each major facility within the worldship has a small automated monitoring station associated with it," their guide said. "If several facilities are located near each other they will share a single station."

Pointing to a large holographic model of the worldship the Prin continued, "The worldship is divided into wedge-shaped sections with each section possessing both a primary and a backup monitoring station. These sector monitoring stations transmit summarized data to this operations room where the overall health and functionality of the worldship is monitored."

Ken was impressed at the size of the central operations room. By his estimate there must have been at least 200 consoles. What amazed him even more, was how quiet the room was. "Where do you control the worldship's stardrive?"

"This way please," Prin replied and started forward. "worldship navigation is controlled from a separate area."

They followed an upper walkway until they came to a set of large doors. The first thing Ken noticed as they entered the navigations center was the holographic star map which hung in the center of the room. The room was circular with two concentric rings of consoles running around it.

The center of the room held a five meter diameter star map. His years of experience guided his eyes as he scanned the various displays. He recognized those responsible for monitoring the vast amounts of power being demanded by the worldship's stardrive and the all important helm. Something, however, was missing.

"There is no captain's chair!" he remarked.

"Correct. Unlike your society, we do not have a structured hierarchy of ranked individuals. All are equal."

"But who calls the shots when things don't go as planned?" Doug asked.

"There are several people who share responsibility for decisions affecting this aspect of the worldship. For example, if an unexpected course correction is needed the helm will make the appropriate change."

"And what happens if you are attacked by a strong hostile fleet of ships?" Ken asked.

Prin gave him an odd look then replied, "The worldship has both offensive and defensive weapons. If the need arises they will be used. One individual is in charge of the defense systems."

"But how are things coordinated with nobody in charge?" Doug asked.

"We talk among ourselves," the guide responded matter of factly. "If the situation requires us to defend ourselves then the person at the weapons console is guiding the others. It depends upon the situation."

"May I ask what type of weapon systems the worldship is armed with?" Doug asked.

"In addition to the shield, the worldship has a large compliment of both defensive and offensive weapons. When our ancestors constructed the worldship they designed it to be able to protect us from any conceivable situation. Our cloaking technology, however, is our primary means of defense."

"Better to not get into a fight than to fight," Stricklen remarked.

Trying to press his point, Doug said, "But you do have weapon systems. They're not thousand year old relics are they?"

"Of course not," Prin replied. "We have made some significant upgrades since this ship was first built. The worldship is continuously updated as our technology improves."

"This ship must be capable of awesome levels of destruction," Stricklen remarked.

"Captain, your race and ours are very different. You tend to continually think about who is more powerful or who could be a threat to you. We think in terms of how we can benefit our society. The weapons of the worldship have never been fired except during testing. They were installed only because we felt they may be required to protect us. Ever since their installation, the weapons have been maintained by machines and we have mostly forgotten they even exist."

"Sorry," Ken replied. "I keep forgetting the Kyrra are a different breed altogether."

"Is it possible to see the stardrive?" Doug asked.

"Unlike your ships, the stardrive of the worldship is built into the hull of the entire ship. Did you examine the construction of the time stasis chamber while it was in your possession?"

"I have listened to and read the reports from the teams of scientists performing the analysis."

"If you recall, the outer shell of the chamber consisted of a very large number of emitters, sensors, and field modulators. These devices work in concert to create the stasis field. The stardrive of the worldship works much the same way. The hull of the worldship consists of billions of interconnected devices which work together under a distributed control system to produce the stardrive field. Power is supplied via several thousand matter/anti-matter reactors that were salvaged from the old stasis chambers they originally powered."

"Incredible! Kyrra technology is so incredibly far advanced when compared to ours that we must seem like children in comparison," said Doug.

"Not at all," Prin replied in a surprised voice. "Our race has advanced to our current level of technology due to many factors. The fact that your culture has advanced to its current stage of evolution shows that you have overcome your specie's tendency toward self destruction. We do not consider ourselves any better nor any worse than you. We are simply two widely different cultures which have followed different paths of evolution nothing more."