Chapter Four

In the darkness of space, a cluster of vessels journey through the expanse. The lead ship, The Espy, was larger the three smaller ships that trailed along behind it. Those clusters were actually attachments which logged into specialize sections to become a part of the whole during rad- space travel. As they were nearing a star system, the captain had ordered the drop to sub-light speeds. The three maintenance sections were then undocked and dragged along by the wake of the larger vessel, held only loosely by weak fields.
The main bridge of the Espy was bustling with activity. Drae Victor, the last civilian captain in the Galactic Order, presided over the apparent chaos. His intense brown eyes didn't miss anything as his officers, decked out in the black and orange of the GO, worked to ensure that the complex maneuver from Rad to sub-light was completed correctly. Several civilians were among them. These did not wear the uniforms or the GO logo - a star, circled by an electron - but wore various conservative items of popular dress. When all internal systems were nominal, Drae would give the order to activate the maintenance pods which would then break away from the drag of the ships wake, having propulsion systems of their own. The ships Artificial Intelligence would then direct them to cover every external surface of the ships hull to identify and repair any damage to the outer shell. Should the AI not be able to perform the task, the pods were equipped an area for a human pilot and several passengers.
All of the excitement displayed by the officers under his command was not simply due to the drop to sub-light speeds. Though their destination had been one of the planets in this system, as they'd neared the sensors had picked up something the Go had not expected, nor had discovered in any of their previous missions: Signs of Intelligent Life.
"Decker, do you have a report for yet?" Drae's voice boomed across the bridge. Normally a very patient man, the idea that they might have discovered a lost sentient civilization ignited a curiosity in his blood.
This was to be the last of the planned GO missions for the next two decades as they dealt with problems on several transplanted systems. There were many who believed that the organization had expanded too far, too fast and that they would pay for it with the loss of the rebelling worlds. These demanded their independence and a voice in the current government. As grandchildren and great-grand children of original transplants, they insisted that their debts had been paid to the GO and that they should be free men. Free to govern themselves. The GO would not give up its resources so easily. Drae knew that this meant that war was brewing. The day his ship was recalled to be fitted with weapons would be the day he retired. The tradition started by his father would be at an end.
His hope though, of finding a dead civilization, would ignore the fires of the very powerful scientific sector of the GO governing arm. There would be research missions and calls for deeper studies to find other life, possibly no longer extinct intelligent life. Someone would have to captain those ships. Drae saw a means to continue to do the thing that he loved, to travel the lanes of space and to see new worlds. And to possibly learn of a heretofore unfound new society of people who had once lived.
"Decker . . . " He reminded the man of his question when he still hadn't replied.
"I don't have anything yet, Sir." Mark Decker was distracted, and there was mild irritation in his voice. A tall slim young man with spiky red hair, he could do nearly anything with a computer system. That this one wasn't bowing to his whims seemed to be troubling him. "There appears to be some sort of natural interference from the third, fourth and fifth planets out from the star. We are unable to penetrate it or to pinpoint the source."
Drae frowned. That sounded like defensive shielding. Why hadn't they detected that before? He rose from his chair and walked over to the console. Tall by most standards, he stood several inches above most of his bridge officers. Dark skinned, well muscled and ruggedly handsome, he cut an imposing figure for those who wanted to cross him, but was a hard working and gentle man with his friends. Unlike many GO commanders, he had earned the respect of the men and women who served him.
"Why didn't we notice it before?" he asked, taking in the multicolored display of the three planets in question. He pressed at a few buttons, but the information provided did not answer his questions.
"I don't know," Decker replied. "It isn't like anything I have ever seen. There is nothing in our database either. It looks almost like someone is deliberately jamming us, but it is so absolutely random that it has to be a naturally occurring phenomenon."
Drae's frown deepened. Though Decker bore an eternally youthful appearance, Drae knew that the man possessed a wealth of knowledge. If he said that this phenomenon was new, then he could trust that if he searched every database in the GO for the next year he would find nothing like it.
He turned to the other three techs occupying other consoles. "Sanger, Stevens, Carter. Anything to add?" When the three simply shook their heads, he gave the order to increase to maximum sub-light. There would be added stress on the engines, but the would reach the nearer of the planets in just under 24 hours. With this in motion, he decided to retire to his quarters for some much needed relaxation. This new mystery would be relegated to the back of his mind until he was ready to for it.
As he stopped out of the lift on the command quarters level, he nearly ran into Dr. Katrina Cagan. Senior Medical Officer, and mystery all on her own, Drae side-stepped her with a quiet apology. Over the course of their three month journey, he'd found it safer to avoid her altogether when possible.
He had been very attracted to her when the mission had begun and had politely made his interest known. She had reacted as if he had proposed that she commit treason. Stung by her attitude, he'd retreated to a merely professional relationship. He had thought that was what she wanted, but over time the disapproving looks cast his way had become more noticeable. He'd called her aside and privately asked her what the problem was. That had only made her more angry. So he had given up, chalking the entire situation up to the fact that after thousands of years, and strides in technology and medicine, the basic fact remained. Men would never understand women.
Normally, Katrina worked along with his attempts to avoid her, by avoiding him in return. So he was more than a little surprised when she deliberately blocked his path.
Drae looked at her, not sure if he should be concerned in the command sense, or if he should be preparing his body armor in case she was about to pounce. "My office?" he asked, though his quarters were nearer. They had to pass an airlock to get to his quarters, and judging by her expression he wasn't entirely sure that she didn't have designs on throwing him out of one.
"How about my quarters?" she asked, confounding him even more. Her quarters were in the blue sector of the command level - several corridors over from his. He didn't go to the section of the ship often and was having trouble remembering if there was an airlock on the way there. "They're closer," she asked, on his hesitation.
He smiled. "That's fine." He was the captain after all. She wouldn't kill him. This whole air lock nonsense was the result of 20 hours on the bridge with no sleep and no stim injections. Why toss him out to the ravages of space when she could just slowly torture him in some way unique to women? As he followed her, he had some very uncaptainly thoughts about just what that torture might entail.