Isaac's Dream: Chapter 2 (Rev 8-8)

Chapter 2

         The Lightseeker and the Bakudan hung in space, twirling as if suspended from a string. 

         “Wait!  What just happened?” Cendor asked, noting the sour expression of disapproval forming on Sam Oda’s face.  “Why didn’t it explode?  Did the Bakudan get damaged in the impact?”

         “Nope, it just took the bait,” Sato grinned.  “It’s been forty years since we talked about this, but I incorporated a new hull design into the Lightseekers we’ve been producing.  It’s the design your father suggested, Cendor.  I hope you approve.”

         “Hell yes I approve!  The Bakudan have been a thorn in our side for centuries!  We know so little about them, other than what we’ve discovered from analyzing their remains.”

         Sheila poked her head in the door and gave Cendor a quizzical look.  He shot back a curt wave that said he’d explain later.  He was much more interested in the details of how a forty-year old dream had finally become a reality. 

         Cendor killed the display as she closed the door and asked, in a raspy voice that approached a whisper, “We’ve been down this path before, and everyone is aware of the consequences for being overconfident.  Sato, are you sure we have it?”

         “Their hulls are fused together now, so yeah, should be cake.”  Sam coughed and made a jerking motion with his head towards Chuck, and Sato’s enthusiasm trailed off.  “But we can talk about this later, right?” 

         “Yeah, sure.”  A little happiness started to creep into his mood, although Sam was becoming an irritation.  His rival usually waited a while before letting out by his inner ass.  As Cendor contemplated the moment, the capture of the Bakudan started to sink in and Sam’s arrogance faded away with the rest of the room. 

         After all these years, all the failures and mistakes that have cost us friends and more...  So many people on that colony ship, and the space station at Riggsby 13. And Dad…

         Jim put a hand on Cendor’s shoulder.  “You okay?”

         Cendor looked up to find everyone gawking and realized he had drifted away.  “Yes, of course.  I was just taking a moment to put this accomplishment into perspective.  I was thinking how much Cerdan would have reveled in this, had he not…  Well, he never was much of one for sentiment, I suppose.”

         “He was a pioneer,” Jim offered.  “Losing your father to the Bakudan was tragic to say the least, but if it were not for his sacrifice, this moment might not be a reality.”

         Cendor took a moment to pull himself together before once again offering his trademarked grin.  “I think that’s about right, Jim.  Thank you for that.  In honor of Sato’s accomplishment and in memory of Cerdan, I think we should celebrate!”  He reached into the humidor by his desk and passed out cigars, careful to avoid giving away his precious Fuentes. 

         When he handed one to Chuck, he could see the curiosity building on the Shifter’s face.  At that moment, he realized how out of place the young man was, but the cat was out of the bag.

         “I guess I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” Chuck admitted.  “Capturing alien technology is always good, but it’s happened before and we’ve never had a meeting of the minds like this.”

         Cendor contemplated the junior employee while lighting the blunted end of his salvaged Fuente.  The spicy clove and sweet black pepper aroma cleared his mind and helped him focus. 

         “The Bakudan are like a marker, Chuck.  Of all the civilizations we’ve ever discovered, living or dead, only the dead ones have Bakudan.  Not all the dead ones, but a majority of them, to be sure. What’s really interesting is that when we find a civ that was type 2 or 3, spread out over a wide area of the galaxy, all of their dead colony worlds have Bakudan as well.”

         “So the Bakudan have something to do with those civilizations going extinct?”

         “Well, that’s the big question, isn’t it?  They’re of alien origin; we can tell that from gathering the pieces left over after they blow up.  In fact, we learn a lot from studying the debris we collect.  One of the most interesting things is that they usually contain components that come from civ they are associated with.  That’s baffling to me, and—”

         Sam Oda spoke over him.  “All of this information is classified, Mr. DeVang.”  Everyone’s tight-lipped demeanor suddenly made sense. 

         They haven’t told Chuck what’s going on yet…  Oh, boy. “Um, I guess we’ll need to excuse you now, Mr. Carlson.  We have some urgent matters to discuss.  Just keep in mind that everything about this project falls under the non-disclosure agreement you signed, okay?”

         “Yes sir, I understand.”  He shook Cendor’s hand, nodded to the others and moved to the door to excuse himself.  “I’ll monitor the situation from the lab and update you if anything changes.  It was nice to finally see the zoo, Director DeVang.”

         Cendor gave another diplomatic smile.  “The pleasure was mine.  Make an appointment with Sheila next time, and I’ll be happy to give you a tour.”  When he opened the door, she was standing there with her arms folded in disapproval, wearing her infamous Scowl of Death. 

         The door closed, and murmurs of the inquisition Cendor knew the young man would receive for entering his office without her approval filtered back into the room. 

         Chuck’s a lucky bastard.  He gets to wrestle his way past a pissed off barracuda in a miniskirt and high heels.  I still have to put up with Sam. 

         “Okay, let’s get this meeting under way.  I’m sorry for being dense, but it’s late in the day.  I didn’t say anything out of line, although I thought he was in the loop.”

         The man from Exobiology shook his head.  “He’s not in the loop unless I say he’s in the loop.”

         “Oh Sam, like you have any control over the loop to start with,” Cendor said, rolling his eyes.  “From the moment these things became a threat to us, the matter was out of your hands.”  And you don’t know the half of it anyway, jerk.

         Isamu Tanaka raised his hand to interject, although Cendor thought the move was just another way to demonstrate his authority. 

         “Cendor is correct.  The CEO and the Board of Directors will dictate policy in this matter.  In light of your previous incompetence, Samuel, I would tread lightly if I were you.”

         Sam twitched.  “That was decades ago!  It was an unfortunate accident, I assure you, but we made an excellent recovery.  The data gathered from the wreckage of that attempt clearly indicated that human civilization is at risk.  Whoever controls these things has their sights set on us, and it was my team that made the discovery.”

         Harbaugh laughed.  “So what if one of your techno whiz kids thinks he extracted a death sentence for humanity from a fried datacube found floating in space two weeks after the fact.  I never believed it!  His scientific methods were shoddy to start with, and nobody was ever able to duplicate his work.”

         “It was good work by our brightest technicians,” Sam argued.  “If not for the discovery of the Affliction component, we would—“

         Jim shouted him down.  “If not for that convenient discovery, your funding would have been gutted and your collective asses would have been unemployed.  You screwed the pooch, Sam, and it cost us Cerdan…  The Affliction is a myth, created—“

          “Jim, it’s okay.  Let’s just get back to the topic at hand,” Cendor pleaded.  “Sam was forgiven a long time ago and the debate over the Affliction will be resolved once we defuse and board this Bakudan.  Sato, you’re positive that thing is neutralized for now?  And I mean more positive than we were the before the last time.  I don’t’ want anyone else getting vaporized by one of these things.”

         “Absolutely.  It’s stuck in a logic loop.  After firing its primary weapon, it returns to acquire mode, senses our drone’s presence and builds up to fire again.  Each time, the Lightseeker bleeds off the charge before it goes critical.  It’ll do that until the Bakudan can no longer generate power, or gets shut down.”

         “Good enough for me.  Jim, what’s Science think?

         Harbaugh was still visibly upset, but nodded.  “The scans your father transmitted before Sam’s team bumped into the hull should let us get inside and shut it down between pulses.  You and I have had many discussions about this moment over the years, and this is the best chance we’ve ever had to get our hands on one and bring it home.  It will be dangerous, but we can go slow and get it right this time.”  He looked at the man from Exobiology with disdain.  “So long as he doesn’t blow it up again.”

         Sam jumped to his feet.  “I didn’t blow it up!  My team was trying to get inside it when it just went off!”

         “Without authorization from the Board,” Isamu Tanaka noted with disdain.  It was a verbal dagger coming from the Liaison.  “Cerdan was already inside.  Your impatience was less than honorable and many lives were lost, but losing the chance to prove the impending connection to human civilization reliable?  Incomprehensible.”

         “Not to mention what it cost to replace the cruiser they were in,” Ginger added. 

         From Cendor’s point of view, she meant her comments to maximize Oda’s shame, not to cheapen the loss of his father.  He loathed her anyway, based on prior experience, and having to include her in every aspect of his division’s operations drove him nuts.  Unfortunately, she was the Yin to Isamu’s Yang.  The Board of Directors insisted on it. 

         “Ms. Edwards,” he asked, careful to avoid giving her an opportunity to assert control.  “How would you recommend we expense this project?”  As he expected, she went through contortions before responding.  Her lip curled, and her deep brown eyes smoldered through narrowing slits.  Under golden locks carefully feathered over the sides of her head, Cendor could imagine bright red lobes about to burst into flame.

         That’s right, sweetheart, I’m asking for a recommendation, not giving you a stick to beat me with. 

         Obviously frustrated, she finally spat her demands.  “The finance department will want a full accounting of the materials and equipment involved in this effort.  I’ll need to know which department will be funding this venture and what expense account it’ll fall under before I’ll sign off on it.  ”

         Cendor winced as Sam started to volunteer Exobiology.  Not this time, old man.  “Ginger, if Isamu agrees, this will be a joint venture between Science and Exploration.  We caught it so it’s ours.  List it under the R&D budget for now so it doesn’t draw any attention until we want it to.”

         “I don’t think so,” Sam protested, shaking a fist at Cendor.  “This isn’t even remotely within your sphere of influence, DeVang!”

         “It’s not your decision, Sam.”  Cendor looked to Isamu and nodded.  “It’s his, so stop acting like a pompous ass.”

         The room quieted and all eyes turned to the Corporate Liaison.  In the end, Cendor knew Isamu would have to present this proposal to the Board.  He would get all the credit for success, and every ounce of blame for failure.  Many Liaisons had come and gone over the years Cendor held the top post at Exploration, but Tanaka had lasted longer than any of them. 

         Isamu cocked his head towards the floor and nodded to nobody in particular.  Cendor nodded with him, eyebrows lifted in anticipation of the rejection that was sure to come.  The Liaison rarely sided with Exploration under these circumstances.

         After several minutes, Isamu made his decision known.  “I’m sorry Samuel,” he said firmly, “the board won’t let you anywhere near this one.  I’ll see to that, personally.  I’m going to go with DES.”

         Sam’s ears turned red, but he didn’t say a word.

         Cendor bowed his head in acknowledgement.  “Thank you, Liaison Tanaka.  I appreciate your support in this matter.”  Gotcha, Sam!

         “It was not an easy decision, I assure you.  There is as much fear as there is uncertainty among the members of the Board regarding the possibility of this ‘affliction’ being unleashed upon humanity and the Corporates.  Far greater civilizations than our own seem to have been consumed by the treacherous minds behind the Bakudan, and I cannot stress enough the need for this matter to be investgated, promptly and professionally.”

         “I understand, Liaison.” 

         “Do you have an idea of how you might proceed?  I know it’s early.”

         “It’s a pretty straightforward task; one we’ve speculated about for years,” Cendor said.  “We’ll send a team out there we can trust to take care of this.  There will be two missions.  First, they’ll investigate the probe.  The priority will be to find any information to corroborate the doomsday theory, and then to establish a baseline on the tech.  When that’s through, they’ll go EVA planetside to confirm the tech signature on the components.  The team will need to be capable of both to keep the number of people involved to a minimum.” 

         Jim Harbaugh finished the plan Cendor's father had sketched out so long ago.  “If they find nothing linking the alien vessel to us, they’ll still have an excellent opportunity to find out more about the relationship between these things and dead civilizations.  That civ only died out a few hundred years ago, and whether our Lightseeker got there by accident or providence, it has given us the opportunity of a lifetime.  Even if we’re not on someone’s shit list, we need to find out how to stay off it.” 

         The liaison was pleased.  “Excellent, Director DeVang.  I’ll brief the Board with your thoughts, but I expect a formal agenda as soon as it is complete.  How long will it take to assemble your team and get underway?”

         Cendor picked up the datapad and stared at the video still playing on the screen.  The interlocked ships danced a silent, deadly waltz with the carcass of yet another dead civilization spinning in the background.  There are secrets here that even Sam isn’t aware of, and there’s only one man I can trust to do it right.

         “I’ll need a few days to put one together, but I have a few people in mind who are already familiar with what’s at stake here.”  It was a small lie, and Cendor shot a wink to the man from Science, hoping he’d play along. 

         Jim Harbaugh smiled.  “Are you thinking who I’m thinking?”

         “I couldn’t imagine anyone better for the job, although he’s not going to like it one bit.”

(2420 words)