Into The Void (5 page)

              The DSSM also has the ability to change the heat reading signature of the suit so that it matures the environment perfectly. It can scale the temperature automatically within a nanosecond so that heat tracking vision can't be used to find the suit. It also has the ability to change the temperature of part of the suit so that the user can remain invisible when going from a hot to cold environment, or cold to hot environment. It can remain this way for upwards of hours before needing to reset, which is more than long enough to trick anyone who might be using heat vision.

              The DSSM suit's helmet also has a heads up display that displays current oxygen level, overall ammo level for each weapon and currently used weaponry, how much of the star fiber is remaining and in what areas of the suit to help determine when and what parts need replacement or discarded, threat indicator including the location of threats and of course a multilevel map of the area. It also has the capability to notify the user of all medical injuries, the current conditions of the environment, and has the ability to film the user's actions for later viewing. It will also pick up potential threats by heat, sound, and neural activity. It is capable of this to up to one mile in most conditions, even through walls. It also has the ability to to send and receive communication traffic on various frequencies from many difference sources at once.

              The DSSM suit also has a nutrient system and drug system providing nutrients to the user during extended stays in the suit and, if needed, necessary drugs including pain reducing ones. The DSSM also has the ability to remove a user's waste as the user continues using the suit by quickly breaking the waste down and converting it into energy to keep the suit functional.

              The DSSM suit can come apart at the arms, legs, waist, and helmet can come off like traditional armor, or the core of the suit can be held to the chest or strapped to the back then it can “grow” outward and around the user.

              The DSSM suit is the most elite armor design in the galaxy with most of its features classified. The DSSM has a cost of over 1 quintillion dollars a suit and only a couple dozen people know of the suit's true capabilities, fewer yet have even worn it. And Captain John Steele has five of them in his ship.

              “Jamie, ETA?”

              “We will be arriving in 5 minutes at current speed.”

              “Slow it down. Go in all internal and external lights off with systems on dark. Have we found out anything else about the thing?”

              “Yes John I have. It is unknown if there are any life forms on it, though I have scanned for all types known or thought possible to exist across all galaxies. It is empty. It's impossible to know what life forms it could have based on the scans of the ship. There are many hallways that are very wide and not very tall to hallways that are very tall and not vary wide. Two different kind of creatures would have to exist on this ship for a design like that. There are more passages that are of interest that would indicate multiple species based on the layout. I am uploading those approximate locations to you now.

              “There is also a breach on the portside that you could use to enter but I must urge the utmost caution. My sensors are picking up environmental threats but no hostile targets. There is also no air that you can breath inside the object. There seems to be multiple atmospheres inside the object. One part of the ship has a high pressure atmosphere containing methane, another has a low pressure atmosphere containing carbon dioxide, another high pressure sulfur, another unknown pressure Mendelevium. The ship is made of an unknown material.”

              “What is Mendelevium?” John asked.

              “It is a synthetic element that was made on Earth in 1955. It is also radioactive.”

              “What do you mean 'made on Earth in 1955'”?

              “It was created in a lab.”

              “Yeah, thanks Jamie, I got that,” Captain Steele said frustrated at her lack of understanding what he meant.

              “You are welcome.”

              Captain Steele sighed.

              “It's a man made element that was made over 2,000 years ago on Earth and I'm going to assume that it hasn't been widely used and hasn't been constructed since then because of it's scarcity now. Right?”

              “You are correct John. The element was made on Earth in 1955 and was made several times afterwards to do tests on. It has never been mass produced and it has never left planet Earth. No other race that we know of has ever made it.”

              Captain Steele sighed. It was only now Jamie understood. For the best an AI could be she still could use some improvement.
              “So how then, can it be out here unless some other race made it? How big is the area that hold this atmosphere?”

              “Impossible to guess accurately but it is very large. I have little other information on it.”

              “Will it kill me if I go near it?”

              “I do not know of it's effects on humans. It was never produced in large enough quantities for testing on large living objects. I can't even tell what the pressure is in that area. All I know is that it is radioactive. We are approaching the object now. Going dark.”

              Captain Steele stepped into the portside air lock as the ship came close to the large object.

              “All systems are good and I am ready to depart. Stand by and keep systems on low but keep the engines warm and ready to jump to FTL speeds. We may need a fast extract. I will try to bring some samples along with me,” Captain Steele said after checking his DSSM suit.

              The outside portside air lock door opened as Captain Steele stared at the object. He was looking at an extremely large object with a central core and 5 arms stretching out backwards at a 20 degree angle away from other. The material seemed to shimmer and emit light in very fine grooves in it. The ship came to at 30 meters from the hole. Captain Steele looked into the object and saw nothing moving inside.

              “I'm jumping now.”

              Captain Steele jumped from the edge of his ship and drifted 30 meters in zero-g before reaching the ship. Captain Steele drifted closer and closer to the object before feeling like this might be a bad idea. Captain Steele rotated the DSSM suit 15 degrees to enter the hole in the object.

              “Jamie, I'm in. Stay on stand by. Keep scanning for threats and keep me updated but keep all processes on the ship on dark other than you. I may need a hot extraction and I may have artifacts that need to be contained.”

              As soon as Captain Steele entered the hole in the object he felt an artificial gravity kick in and pull him to the floor. Captain Steele turned on his light that sat on his shoulder and looked through the hallway. Captain Steele's DSSM told him that he was in a earth like atmosphere.

              “Jamie, what is the environment am I in?”

              “You are currently in an environment like earth with primarily nitrogen and oxygen in the air.”

              “Why didn't you tell me about that environment?”

              “It was not there when I scanned for it.”

              “So it changed when I entered?”

              “It appears to be so. The other areas are still the same though. I advise caution.”

              “Received. Give me an update if anything changes.”

              Captain Steele decided to head left and walk down the hall. He continued to scan for any threats with his rifle ready to go. He walked for several minutes before he noticed the shimmering light that was on the outside of the ship shimmer inside the ship. He knelt down and took a closer look at the floor. It seemed to be glowing inside the material and the glow then moved down the hall. He decided to continue to move down the hall in the direction the light was going.

              Captain Steele walked for about 100 meters before he felt like he was being watched. He turned around fast and failed to see anything. He thought he was just hallucinating again and continued to move on. He continued down the hall until the path broke off in two directions. He decided to continue following the light and headed straight ahead. He continued for several more meters before hitting another hallway. This hallway was very wide, almost two dozen feet wide and only about 3 feet high.

              “John, that hallway is one of the unique features I was talking about. Other hallways are very tall and not very wide. That has a high pressure sulfur atmosphere. The atmosphere starts as soon as you enter the hall. I suggest caution.”

              “Gotcha. I think I'll take it.”

              Captain Steele got on his hands and knees and crawled into it. The hallway was just tall enough for him to crouch walk his way through it with his head tilted slightly. As he entered it his suit informed him of the change in atmosphere.

              “Jamie, did the atmosphere change?”

              “Negative John. It is still high pressure sulfur.”

              Captain Steele continued to move along this hallway until it came to a three way cross path. He took a left back toward the directions the light was heading before he left the main hallway. He made his way for several feet before he noticed small objects that were floating in front of him. They where “H” shaped with several curves in them. As he pushed it aside he looked to his left. He noticed several designs carved into the wall. The designs appeared to be of some kind of creature. They appeared to have thick fur on them and looked like a gorilla only two feet tall and eight feet wide. They had two large legs at the corners of a thick torso and three arms at the front of the torso. The head of the creature was on the top elbow of the middle arm that stuck out from the torso. It had ears under it's head and eyes that where protected by part of the skull from anything above it's head. The creature's feet were thick hooves and at the end of its arms were thick hooves with six fingers and two thumbs on each side.

              “Jamie, are you seeing this? What is this thing?”

              “It appears to be a carving of some species. It is of no known species. Perhaps at one point it existed but as for now they are just diagrams. What would you like to name them?”

              “This is great. Now I have to name stuff that's etched onto a wall.”

              “Do you want that as the name?”

              “Are you stupid or are you just programmed to act stupid?”

              “John, I am trying to put humor into a scientific discovery. I thought you would like that.”

              “I normally would but in case you didn't notice I'm kinda on a ship that is out in the middle of no where that has no reason for being there. One thing at a time okay?”

              “I understand.”

              Captain Steele continued to move forward pushing these “H” shaped objects aside. He noticed several objects that appeared to be food and grabbed it. He came to the conclusion that this was a dinning hall for the apes. After bagging several samples to analyze later he continued on until he felt he was being watched again. He looked around and found nothing new.

              “Jamie, check this object for life forms again.”

              “Yes, John. Nothing to report other than the space monkeys you just found.”

              “Yeah, well, keep scanning.”

              “Is something wrong John?”

              “No. I just want to make sure I don't die in here.”

              “I am detecting stress in your voice. Are you sure everything is okay?”

              “Just keep scanning!”

              Captain Steele kept moving forward until he found a giant hole in the object. The hole was so big he couldn't see the bottom to the top, or how far it was until he reached the other side. His suit told him it was in zero-g and he decided to go into zero-g to pass the hole and explore more of the ship. As he approached the hole part of the deck above him fell down and the decompression ripped him right out of the area he was in and outside the ship.

             
Captain Steele's DSSM went straight into zero-g mode correcting its orientation so as to keep him upright after being blown a safe distance away from the object. The lack of any light in space made it almost impossible to see the object. Captain Steele used his light on his shoulder and his gun to try and find some kind of landmark in the distance so that he would have an idea of where to go.

              “Jamie. My suit says I'm outside the object. Is this true?”

              “My scans say you are.”

              “There is no ambient light out here this far in space. I can't find where I left or where to head. Where did I exit from and where is another hole so I can enter the object?”

              “Head directly ahead. You should find another open hole to enter the ship.”

              “Thanks Jamie.”

              Captain Steele headed straight ahead for several minutes before feeling he was being watch again. He looked all around him and didn't see anything. His instincts were always correct before but he hadn't been himself recently so he wasn't sure what was going on. He kept on moving ahead anyway.