SODIUM:4 Gravity (5 page)

I wondered if another 20 minutes of spacewalk through the plasma would again increase that span. Shepard ran repeated tests on the sensor reading from the plasma cloud and could not come up with a solid explanation of its makeup or possible origins. It was unlike anything she had ever seen.

As we continued on our trek, several days had passed since the plasma spacewalk. Shepard spent her time analyzing the alien language translations, trying repeatedly to fill in holes and better define meanings. As my mind wandered on about my new found health I suddenly became aware of a tiny spider that had somehow managed to stow away aboard our craft.

I wiped my eyes several times before coming to the realization that my eyesight had somehow gotten much better. I should not have been able to see the spider at all as it was tiny in size and blended in with the black surroundings of the active skin.

I activated the play-list in my audio implant and was startled at how high the volume was. Then out of curiosity I turned on the holo-screen camera to have a look at my face. I took immediate note of the appearance of a small scar almost missing from my chin where I had crashed my bicycle into my father's car as a child.

Shrinking too were the freckles that normally adorned my nose. Whatever it was that had happened to us during the spacewalk was having an immediate impact on our bodies. I quickly brought the strange health anomalies to Shepard's attention.

When she looked up at me from her screen her eyes went wide. As we discussed what was happening she again ran a full health report. Our DNA continued to slowly lengthen.

I then asked if our computer profiles held the standard IQ test that we had taken when first joining the corps. She said it did. I took the 15 minutes to once again run through it and was again startled by its conclusion.

I had been repeatedly tested and had consistently scored in the 131 to 134 range. I was above average when it came to intelligence, but it was nothing to boast of. The new score totaled at 144. I was one point shy of being considered a genius.

Shepard took the same test and came in at 151, again, 12 points higher than her previous best. The faster-than-light spacewalk had added nearly a dozen IQ points to our intelligence scores and potentially dozens of years to our lives. Shepard then ran vision tests and compared them with the health database.

In the short time since the spacewalk I had gone from a corrected 20/20 to a clean 20/12. What others could clearly see at twelve feet I could now see at 20. Shepard explained that it was an excellent ratio for the human eye. Birds of prey were the only animals we knew of that had significantly better. An eagle would typically have 20/4 or 20/5.

We next did a hearing test that yielded similar results. It seemed all of our senses were heightened and abilities increased. After exhaustive testing of our new found health we got back to the business at hand... preparing for the alien fleet. Shepard continued with her language translations while I returned to my simulated battles. Within hours my kill ratio had increased by 30%.

Nine days later our speed had slowed to 0.99 SOL and our QE comm link once again became active. The teams back home had come up with the same discovery as Shepard regarding the alien's language. Shepard quickly forwarded her achievements to be combined with that of Command's.

Shepard next transmitted our health stats and the sensor data from our spacewalk. The medical corps officers were in a state of disbelief. She then chimed in with a warning. Before they could begin trials on attempting to make something of this, they had to reproduce the conditions we had gone through, and before testing on humans they needed to see if we survived it first. We didn't know if we were truly blessed or would we be dead in a month.

In our final day of travel we came to within 200 million kilometers of the alien fleet. After matching their speed I punched in the numbers and waypoints that would take us to within 2,000 kilometers of the largest mega-ship.

We would burst to increase our speed and then move past in stealth mode. The maneuver would take 16 hours and it would yield our best data on the fleet to date. We were down to ten months before zero hour. Everything was on the line.

At 100,000 kilometers we began to get our best visuals. The carriers began to take on their long rectangular shape and the 40 km mega-ship was now showing color. A thin green glow bordered the rim of its disk shape.

At 20,000 kilometers rows of fighters were clearly discernible. The green glow of the rim of the mega-ship continued to brighten. The remaining saucer shaped ships were a dull dark gray.

When we reached 4,000 kilometers the individual fighters could be counted. The computer quickly posted 8643 which we doubled to account for those on the opposite sides. Upon further inspection we could make out the slightest details of damage to one of the carriers. Some of the Drillers from an earlier mission had evidently found their mark.

Command then came in with new orders. Perform another micro-burst and keep our ship at the 2,000 kilometer range. We were to be the eyes and ears for Earth for the next ten months. Our trip out to Epsilon Eridani had taken only a month’s time. With the extended mission I suddenly felt a bit claustrophobic in our tiny ship.

We had food, we even had enough Sodium to easily sustain us at the current speed, but I wondered what we would do to occupy our minds. A ten month stakeout was not my idea of an adventure. But orders were orders and we were at war. Whatever sacrifice we had to make was trivial compared to the sacrifices that were coming.

My handler back at the base then came over the QE comm. He would be doing what he could to provide me with entertainment, instruction or with whatever digital offerings I sought. Movies, music and calls home would all be made available over the quantum link.

With calls home, any discussions related to our position or our mission were off limits and punishable by life imprisonment. We had no way of knowing if the aliens had cracked our own communications, but we knew for certain that if they had... they already understood English and would be on top of our plans.

For nine weeks we cruised along sending back data on our foes. Every 27 Earth minutes a set of fighters would depart from one of the carriers for a patrol around the fleet. Their patterns were repeated and predictable.

In the days of waiting and watching Shepard had continued to monitor our health status. The numbers had peaked and were now holding steady. I wondered if this was this our new norm. My IQ now tested at 146 and my vision at 20/8. The vision was the best a human could possibly have. A BGS readout also showed bone density growth of 26%. Even the food and filter packs were depleting at a slower rate than specified.

The freckles on my nose and the childhood chin scar were almost completely gone and my skin had a healthy glow that I had not seen since I was in my early teens. My hearing continued to improve as did my reactions to the flight simulations. My simulation kill ratio was now a solid 8-1 with my reaction times increasing two-fold.

I guessed that we were somewhere near the best a human could possibly be with all of our senses. With the improved health came improved confidence. With improved confidence came an increased willingness to fight. But sitting so close to the enemy without being able to pull the trigger was frustrating.

On day 248 to zero a new order came in on the QE comm. Command was sending a team of four Ghost ships out in an attempt to do battle with the fleet before they reached Earth. They were to approach at just above SOL and punch through the first four carriers while firing their coil guns.

The technique had worked to destroy a previous carrier and Command wanted to know if the aliens would be able to counter it. If the tactic worked and if it was then repeatable it could be a short battle with the result of the alien fleet being defeated before reaching Earth.

Command had locked in our speed and trajectory and the Ghost ships were fed the information before leaving Earth. Shepard and I watched patiently as the countdown timers on our holo-screens approached zero.

I had asked repeatedly to become a part of the assault only to be told that we were the eyes and ears because of my QE implant. Only two other such devices had been created and they could not take the chance of losing one of what was considered one of our most valuable advantages... instantaneous communications.

When the countdown timer reached 32 seconds two of the large carriers made an unexpected move. They lifted and moved off to the side of the fleet. The space surrounding the carriers was quickly flooded with fighters taking up long formations.

Our Ghost team was traveling above SOL giving us no way to contact them. As the timer reached zero two of the carriers first imploded in the front and seemingly rolled up until the rear of the ships exploded backwards in brilliant flashes. More than 2,000 fighters were instantly vaporized.

As the remaining ships began to scatter and fighters flooded the space around them a new timer popped up on our screens. We had six minutes before the next pass. Every fighter was launched and spread out in an ever widening perimeter.

The large saucer shaped ships and the remaining carriers then began moving in random directions while staying within the expanding fighter perimeter. Again there was silence as the timer ticked down to zero.

This time another carrier imploded in front and again rolled up until exploding out the rear. The other Ghosts had evidently missed in their attempts. The attack counter once again reset to six minutes. As we watched patiently the fighter perimeter grew until we were on the edge of their fighting force.

When the timer reached zero another carrier followed the same pattern as the earlier ones as it was torn apart from an unseen force. This time, one of the smaller saucer shaped ships, one that we termed a destroyer, suddenly imploded on one edge tearing a gigantic hole in its hull and pulling away almost a quarter of the ship.

The damaged Destroyer quickly left the fleet as it began to drop well below the speed of the others. The remaining 15,000 odd fighters were seemingly in a frenzy moving randomly in every direction. The attack timer once again reset to six minutes.

I could hear the chatter starting to pick up at Command as the excitement of destroying the fleet a ship at a time grew. I turned to Shepard and she too was sporting a wide grin. Could this be it? Would Earth and its billions of inhabitants be saved? Would man now be ready to move out and explore the universe? My adrenaline was peaking just as the next counter reached zero.

Nothing happened. No explosions. No indications of an attack other than the mega-ship firing off its gravity weapon in two seemingly random bursts. The timer once again reset to six minutes and continued its countdown.

At the next zero the mega-ship again fired its gravity weapon twice and again there was no further indication of destruction. Twice more we watched as the timer hit zero and reset and twice more there was no indication of attack.

Ghost 446 then came on the comm after dropping below SOL. The alien mega-ship had nearly pinpointed their incoming trajectory and had fired upon them as they approached their targets. Its gravity weapon was far more powerful than what we had encountered previously, giving it the ability to reach out 20,000 kilometers or more.

Command quickly reasoned that the outlying fighter swarm had been used to detect the faster-than-light ships before they struck allowing the mega-ship to best our attack strategy. Ghost 446 was now limping home on one ring and damaged sensors.

Shepard then gave me more bad news. We were essentially trapped in our current position only 2,000 kilometers from the mega-ship. With the range of its gravity weapon being deadly at 20,000 kilometers or more we could not chance even a micro-burst without risking death.

We had managed to destroy four carriers and damage a destroyer. Fighter numbers had been reduced by more than 2,000. We had lost three crews and their vessels but everyone considered the skirmish a huge victory for man. The crews would be mourned just as the soldiers who had died in battle before them. Freedom came with a price.

For the next week we moved silently along with the fleet gathering intel. The alien ships and their utility robots were busily at work repairing their damaged ships. In the short time since the battle the destroyer had managed to effect repairs enough that it once again moved at speed with the fleet.

I sat practicing my simulation scenarios when alerts began to pop up on my holo-screen. The fleet had altered course slightly and the mega-ship was now moving slowly in our direction. We were still well within the range of its gravity weapon and as such we had no choice but to sit quietly as the mega-ship came closer.

At 200 kilometers the mega-ship filled our holo-screens. The exterior was smooth and very much unlike the other ships in the fleet. The carriers were long dark and rectangular and were covered down each side with external hangar bays. The smaller saucer ships were also of a dark gray exterior and were covered with box like structures and piping.

The smooth exterior of the mega-ship was gold in color and the green glow of the rim made it look out of place among the other alien craft. As we drew closer we could see that the green glow was coming from inside the ship. The rim of the mega-ship was transparent.

At five kilometers our sensors were able to see movement inside the transparent windows. Small dark spots were occasionally moving across the interior. Shepard remarked that they had the appearance of transports or trains of some sort. The Tacticians and Battle Planners at home were no doubt working feverishly to categorize and possibly exploit every new bit of information we gathered.

The great ship continued to approach and the distance closed to 100 meters, then 50 meters, then ten. I braced for an impact that did not come. Our systems momentarily shut down our sensors and covered them completely with the active skin. We then passed through the hard transparent outer shell of the alien craft.

When the sensors came back online we were inside the alien mega-ship floating in water our sensors determined was a saline solution, we were floating in brightly lit green seawater. The active skin worked well within the water absorbing it as we came in contact and expelling it on the other side. We moved through the solution as if never being there.

Our holo-screens then began to fill with moving targets which all registered as unknown. The waters of the outer shell were close to a kilometer in depth heading towards the interior of the ship. An alert went off warning of a collision. The camera view showed a long train of box-like structures being pulled by a type of submarine locomotive.

I again instinctively braced for an impact. A bead of sweat formed on my forehead and rolled down into my left eye as my stress levels rose. An impact never came. The train was absorbed and expelled by the active skin just like any other form of matter. As the 150 or so cars passed through us we could see into the interiors of each car.

Some were packed with small boxes and some large. Some were transporting mechanical devices. When the next 30 cars of the train passed through we could see the same squid-like creatures we had seen on Alvin riding on-board.

When the final car passed the train continued on its way as if nothing had happened. Our scientists were still baffled by the active skin and by how it actually worked. It was almost as though we were moved into another dimension while still having visual access to our own.

Even with my increased IQ it was tough to comprehend what was happening. It was just something that we had to accept. Shepard had reasoned previously that we should look at it no differently than gravity itself. It was beyond our comprehension, but it was there and we should make every effort to make use of it. So, we did.

As we continued to move through the ships on-board ocean we soon began to close on the first of the interior walls. Squids were moving about on small powered craft. Some pulled small trailers while others only carried more squids.

Shepard aimed a mic at one of the transport craft and had the computer translate their conversation as the camera panned along with them. The conversation was broken because of our limited understanding of their language, but it was clear that they were discussing some maintenance activity going on within the ship.

Shepard then switched to another transport that was heading towards us. The squids were discussing a meal. The transport moved close to the interior wall where a door opened and the transport proceeded inside. Numerous other sub trains and small transports passed around and through us as we continued our drift towards the interior wall.

I again had the urge to brace myself as we began to move through the wall. The exterior sensors once again shutdown as each of them passed through the thick material of the wall itself. Once inside it was a bit disappointing as the interior rooms were nothing but storage.

As we passed through the final wall we again emerged into another interior ocean. Again the far wall of the ocean was nearly a kilometer away. There were no large sub trains within this ocean, it was instead crowded with the small transports. There were also many individual squids swimming about.