Chapter 28: Convolution — Part 3

Kris studied the sensor readings closely, surprised to find that they had been followed by an unidentified ship. They had stopped halfway through their journey to calibrate the Excelsior‘s newly installed drive core, and test its performance during the last half of the flight. Having long completed repairs, the Excelsior was nearly ready to depart. At the moment, however, the Excelsior lay stagnant in space, one hundred and fifty crew strong. Twenty passengers grew impatient with the wait, though they understood that, this being the Excelsior‘s maiden voyage, the mid-trip fine-tuning was necesary. The main crew were on the bridge, had been for several hours. Devon sat at defense, Kris at navigation, and Jerem at command functions. The bridge was tight and cozy, designed to hold at most five people. The seats, though small and constricting, were cushioned and comfortable. Kris studied the data screen more closely, having to discern a ghostly image from surrounding radiation. The image formed a shape that might well have been familiar to the eyes of a member of the Kindred.

“We’re being tracked by an unidentified vessel. It’s trying to cloak its passage through twisted space. Pretty good at it too. I might not have noticed them if I wasn’t paying attention. They could be pirates, given their sneaky approach.” Kris said.

“Whatever they are, they don’t sound friendly. Drop out of the twist and raise defenses.” Jerem said.

Devon looked over at Jerem. “We’re ready for them.”

“Estimated time of normal space entry, ten seconds.” Kris said.

Jerem tried to keep his nerves in check. “Let’s hope they have friendly intentions. Maybe they’re pirates willing to make a safe trade.”

North listened to his Navigator, who had announced that the Excelsior had stopped its flight for some unknown reason, and that it seemed to be waiting for them. That had been nearly an hour ago. North had been hard pressed to keep up with the Excelsior at full speed, and the ship stopping so opportunely felt either like a blessing, or a trap. An hour later, the ship still sitting in space, North found himself wondering, yet again, what kind of fortune awaited him. An hour seemed a long time to be sitting still just to wait for him. More likely it was a maintenance issue, or a rendezvous.

“They’re still not moving, Captain North. As we’ve approached, they’ve raised their defenses. It doesn’t look like any Ambassadorial ship I’ve ever seen. They are quite obviously ready for us. They’re ready for a fight, and they don’t look like easy prey. I’m guessing, from the signature of their ship, that their armor is twice as thick as our own, and running over that is a deflector field set at one of the highest amperages I have ever seen.”

“They shouldn’t be able to track us.” North’s hands shook noticeably, as part of him could sense the Coalition stock on the other ship.

“We should reevaluate our attack procedures.” The strategic combatant suggested. He was the only alien member aboard the ship, a Pental. “Too late to change course, but we could try a bluff and not attack. We could get them to lower their pulse deflectors, then lock on weapons and hit them with their guard down.”

North looked over his shoulder at the creature that handled and combat strategy. It was sentient but not human, and could never understand human intentions, or emotions.

“The cowards way if ever there was one. Bring weapons on line, lock and fire the second the ship comes stable. Focus on the bridge. Let’s see what they can take, and how well they serve their indignation.”

The Pental only understood logical concepts; to defeat an enemy logically would be to use any advantage. North and his sense of honor, as twisted as the space around him, had managed to create a logical conclusion. The Pental, not understanding North’s rationale, admired him for the logic of his attack. It would be impossible for the enemy to properly target their ship or counter their weaponry in those scant few moments after North’s ship disabled its tachyonic drives. North leaned forward, anticipating his fortune. Whichever way his cards fell, he would face the result bravely.