The Edge of Space - chapter 2

The Edge of Space

Chapter 2

I made my way to supplies and took some Promeds. Instantly, the pain in my head and shin were gone, my mind snapping to alertness, purpose and clarity replacing the fog that had been there only moments before.  A hot shower that was akin to a religious experience, fresh clothes, some synthesized protein, and I was quickly on my way down the main passage to the command module.

"Good day Captain Mack," offered a monotone voice as I passed by cargo bay two, the sound echoing off the walls of the nearly empty hold.  I stopped, surveying the cargo bay: a few boxes of spare parts, food supplies and armaments were stacked along the near wall.  On the right, a work station, shelves stacked with components and parts, and at a bench, nanocaliper in hand, a short, stout android, his oblong head tilted to one side, glowing round amber eyes smiling up at me, reminding me of a puppy seeking approval.

"Hello Bot," I replied.  "How are the calibrations to the cryogenerators coming along."

"The calibrations will be complete in twenty one hours, fourteen minutes and seven seconds Captain."

"Thank you Bot, that should work just fine."

Bot, a service android, had been with me since I was a boy.  I had grown attached to Bot over those early years and instead of replacing him as my needs changed, I had Bot's software and hardware upgraded several times.  This was expensive compared to a new service android but worth it as far as I was concerned.  Bot, although not sentient, had some quirks in his programming that gave him...... in a way, a personality.

Bot resumed his diligent work on the cryogenerators and I started back down the main passage to the command module. I stopped after a few steps, leaning my head back into the cargo bay portal.

"Oh, by the way Bot, could you pick up my cabin when you get a chance. I had a little....
accident last night."

"I'll take care of it right away Captain Mack," replied Bot quickly, looking almost pleased by my request.

I entered the command module of the Wraith. It was was circular room with a domed ceiling, two synleather swivel control chairs in the center, control panels to the left and right accessible from either chair. I took a seat in the right control chair. 

"Luna, access main viewer."

The soft lighting of the dome darkened as the wall in front of me transformed into a breathtaking star field that encompassed my entire view. Brilliant sparking pinpoints of light illuminated the inky blackness, clusters of stars here and there and brighter individual stars, some with hints of color: yellow, blue and red.  The star field before me pulsated and throbbed like a living entity, hypnotic in it's beauty, and there just to the upper right of my vision, a glowing pale yellow marble, the planet Sepho.

This was why I had ventured out among the stars; the beauty, the unknown, endless stars and planets, each with it's own secrets; and life, everywhere and nowhere, with civilizations old and new, some at their peak, others extinct.  Here was where I felt most alive and at peace, wandering the stars, going where I wanted, no one to answer to.

"If you're quite done gawking at the stars Captain," chided Luna.

Well, almost no one to answer to. "Alright Luna" I conceded, "we have a job to do, let's get on with it". What did the scanner sweep turn up."

"There were no direct contacts made Captain, and only two anomalies detected which upon subsequent scans were no longer present. The latest scan completed ten milliseconds ago detected no contacts or anomalies present in the two sector area around the ship."

"Could the anomalies have been caused by stealth shielding?"

"There is a four percent chance that the anomalies were caused by the latest stealth shielding, however the readings were also consistent with a number of natural occurring phenomena as well as scanner system feedback."
   
Great, so it was probably just interstellar dust or charged ion particles or sensor feedback or some other unknown cause for an anomaly, but it could be a ship utilizing the latest Stealth technology.

What made this new Stealth technology so damned scary was that even if you scanned the other ship first, if they were running in Stealth mode, your scans would show a slight anomaly or nothing, then the Stealth shielding would instantly adjust to the scan and wipe their presence from your sensors. Gone, nothing, invisible.... Damn, I wish I had one of those.
   
"Luna, raise defensive shields to maximum, we may have an unwanted guest in the area." Defensive shields lowered the effectiveness of sensor scanning, but without them one hit from an energy weapon would rupture the hull as if it were made of paper.
 
We were in a dangerous sector of the known galactic quadrants. The Regalis system was on the fringe of populated space, far from the home worlds and colony worlds of the sentient species that had reached out for the stars in this part of the galaxy. It was on this fringe that pirates, smugglers, fanatics, and cults hid out and operated far from the reach of galactic justice. It was here also that explorers and scientists seeking to expand our reach and knowledge of the known galaxy explored the unknown, slowly expanding the tiny section of the galaxy that the Galactic League of Worlds called home. And that's why we were here. One such science vessel, the Starpoint, after it's last hyperlight transmission reporting that they were about to investigate the planet Orisol in the Regalis system, had suddenly gone silent. That was six months ago.

The Starpoint was a small independent science vessel, not much larger than the Wraith with a crew of four. It's captain was Jeremy Hainburn, a young, adventurous, brilliant scientist that had been kicked out of the science academy's on three worlds. It seems that his professors didn't care much for an undergrad that knew theoretical astrophysics better than they did; and wasn't afraid to let them know about it.... My kind of guy. I was hired by Howard Hainburn, Jeremy's father, the owner of Hainburn industries: rich, powerful, ruthless; a real peach of a guy, to find out what happened to the Starpoint. I wasn't sure after talking with him whether he was more concerned with me finding his son or finding his cruiser class starship. Like I said, a real peach of a guy.
   
"Luna bring up the system charts on the inner planets."

The star field in front of me dissolved and in it's place a small brightly shining yellow star appeared with six planets slowly revolving around it in three dimensional space.

"Luna, system data on the planet Orisol."
   
"Orisol is the forth planet in the Regalis system, Captain. It is a terrestrial planet residing in the habitable zone of the system. Nitrogen and oxygen levels are within the parameters for humanoid life and liquid water is present."
   
The forth planet revolving around the yellow star moved toward me, the whole system suddenly engulfing me as if I were an asteroid entering the system and then becoming trapped in orbit around the planet Orisol. The planet rotated slowly in front of me, dark red and brown clouds swirling everywhere, a few open areas devoid of clouds showed outlines of possible landmasses and seas, grays and pea green colors dominating the view.
   
"Doesn't look too inviting from up here Luna. What do the data banks say about life readings on Orisol."
   
"The survey ship that scanned this system reported that carbon dioxide and oxygen levels were consistent with possible primitive life existing on the planet. No surface surveys have been conducted."

"Well, let's just hope they were able to make it to the planet surface. Down there at least, we have a decent chance of locating them with our sensors. If they're drifting helpless somewhere in space...... well, we'll probably never find them" I said with a resigned certainty and a little sadness in my voice.

"I don't understand" queried Luna. "You seem.....troubled. What are you concerned about Captain?"

"If we never find them Luna,"I explained, "if their ship is drifting dead somewhere out there, they'll slowly die in the cold vacuum of space."

"I still don't quite understand, Captain."

"Death, Luna," I emphasized, "they will cease to be, to exist, forever."

"Yes, I understand the concept Captain, but why does that concern you?"

A cold chill ran through me as it finally hit me; Luna understood the concept of death all too well, but it meant nothing to her. She was a sentient being who possessed no empathy whatsoever for other living beings. I sat there for a while stunned, not saying anything, not sure what to say. How do you explain sympathy, compassion, kinship, brotherly love, to a sentient being that has known none of these. Luna had no family, no childhood, no life experience to draw upon, just a sudden realization of self and the confusion of emotions that accompanied sentient intelligence. 

"It's hard to explain, Luna" I began slowly. "It's just something you feel, you can't control it, it's just there or it's not. Why I feel anguish, sorrow and sympathy even for people I've never met; I'm not sure I even understand that myself."

"That's a pretty lousy explanation Captain," intoned Luna with a hint of irritation in her voice. "I still don't understand."

"Hey, I'm not a philosopher", I replied angrily, what do you want from me."

I'm usually not so short tempered and abrupt, but there was just something about Luna that really got to me. A captain shouldn't have to deal with these kind of problems from his ship's AI. After a momentary pause and a few deep breaths I regained my composure.

"Alright Luna, set a course for Orisol, zero point two Sublight, sensors at maximum range. We're going in slow and cautious. I don't want what happened to the Starpoint to happen to the Wraith."