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Earth at T plus 253 days
“We think we’ve found the insectoid home world, CAG,” said Foxer over Shiloh’s implant.
Shiloh quickly swallowed the food in his mouth. “I’ll be at Ops in a few minutes, Foxer. CAG clear.” Shiloh looked at Kelly sitting across the table from him. “Foxer thinks—“
“Yes, I know. He let me listen in.” They both laughed at the implication that Foxer must have known they were having dinner together.
“So much for our first real date. Duty calls I guess,” said Shiloh.
Howard said nothing about the fact that Shiloh and Kelly were wearing civilian clothes when they entered the Ops room. He waited until they came within conversational distance and pointed to the main display. “There it is. Bug Central we think.”
Shiloh and Kelly looked at the flashing purple dot in a section of what Shiloh recognized as the Sagittarius Arm. The scale was large enough to also show that part of the Orion Arm where Earth’s sun was located. A thin line connected the two dots. The sidebar said the distance between the two systems was 7,755 light years.
“It doesn’t even have a catalog reference, it’s so damn far away,” said Howard with obvious disgust.
“And we think this is their home world why?” asked Shiloh.
“Tell ’em, Foxer,” said Howard.
“Gladly, Admiral. Tracing the atoms of the insectoid specimens back in time and space took longer than expected. We had to combine the data from all specimens into one data stream. At least some of the atoms from all of them can be traced back to this system, which we’re designating as OmegaZero. And the reason we think this system is their home world is because the atoms stop there. As far as we can tell, they stayed in that star system for over 20 years. We’re not able to go further back than that. None of the other atoms traced stayed in one place any longer than four years.”
“Could the long stay be explained by the fact that at some point a Bug ate a plant or animal from that star system and incorporated those atoms into its own body?” asked Kelly.
“Negative, Commander. We’ve taken that into consideration. These Insectoids have an exoskeleton that is similar to bone. Once it’s formed, it doesn’t lose atoms that need to be replaced with new ones. The internal organs may not consist of the same atoms as in the past, but the outer rigid carapace does. That’s the part that we’ve traced back.”
“How far back in time are we talking here?” asked Shiloh.
“Not as far back as you might imagine. Twenty-four point two years, CAG,” said Foxer.
“Show me the section of the Sagittarius Arm where Iceman and his AIs detected signals coming from, Foxer,” commanded Shiloh. A small yellow area appeared on the display. “How far away from OmegaZero is that area, Foxer?”
“Roughly 1,066 light years, CAG.”
“So in just seven years they moved from one side of the Sagittarius Arm to the other. That’s more than twice as fast as what they did in our spiral arm,” said Shiloh.
“You think that’s significant somehow, Commander?” asked Howard.
“Not sure about whether it’s significant or not, but I certainly find it strange, Sir.”
Howard grunted his acknowledgement. “Well now that we know where to look, we can focus on getting there. Remind us all of the status of the super-dreadnought, Foxer.”
“Yes, Admiral. My brothers at Site C have been busy. The latest estimated time of completion for the super-dreadnought, which still doesn’t have a name by the way, is 55 days from now. Considering that the ship will mass over three million metric tons, we’re quite proud of that building schedule.”
Shiloh nodded. “And you have every right to be. You’re also right that she should have a name by now too. Anyone have any suggestions?”
“How about Dreadnought II?” asked Foxer.
“No!” said Howard, Shiloh and Kelly in unison. All three chuckled. No one came up with another suggestion for what seemed like a long time.
Finally Shiloh snapped his fingers and said, “I got it. These Bugs have been a pain in the ass over several timelines, and I think the name should reflect how much we hate those fuckers. How about Nemesis?”
Howard looked skeptical but kept his opinion to himself. He looked over at Kelly and said, “What’s your opinion, Commander?”
“I like it, Admiral. It has a certain aura of dread to it.”
Howard took a deep breath and said, “Well...I guess I can get used to it. Okay, Nemesis it is. Anyone have anything else they want to discuss?”
“Yes, Sir,” said Shiloh. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. It would be very useful if Nemesis could send information back from the past to us here and now. We’ve done that with message drones left to drift in space for years where we expect them to be found, but that method is too easy to mess with. I have what I think is a better idea. We build a message drone that’s designed for relativistic flight. It’ll have to have a very thick layer of armor on the front to withstand high speed particle collisions, and its guidance system will have to be able to handle relativistic astrogational calculations. It would also be a good idea for it to have redundant power and maneuvering engine systems, so this would be a lot bigger than an ordinary message drone but probably smaller than a Mark 9 drone. Foxer, how quickly can you and your brothers design one?”
“I suspect that’s a rhetorical question, CAG, since you know how fast we work. The design is already done. Shall I ask Site C to build some?”
Shiloh looked at Howard. “Admiral?”
Howard shrugged. “No reason not to build some as long as it doesn’t delay the ship’s completion. Send the signal, Foxer. Anything else? No? In that case we’re done here. You two can go back to your romantic dinner now.”
Shiloh looked at Kelly and saw that she was blushing. He wondered if he was too.
* * *
Nemesis was ready to test with living organisms on board. Tyr and most of the AIs stationed at Site C had travelled with her to Earth for the time-jump tests. All the top brass from Earth’s Space Force, plus Shiloh, Kelly and the rest of the SPG, would witness the tests from the cramped Bridge of the freighter Valley Forge. Shiloh had suggested using Rorke’s Drift, but Howard refused to step onto that ship. Shiloh didn’t press the issue. Valley Forge would do the job just as well. Just over 100 kilometers apart, the freighter was keeping pace with Nemesis, which was moving at a very leisurely five kps. All the AIs were off the ship now. They were watching from a fleet of fighters in formation with the freighter.
“Foxer, please summarize this test jump for the benefit of my staff,” said Howard.
“Certainly, Admiral. This test will accomplish two objectives. The first is obviously to test the time machine itself. Because the Nemesis is 50% more massive than TerraB’s Dreadnought, the time machine had to be scaled up accordingly. This will be the first time this particular configuration will be used. The second objective is to determine if the Friendlies’ claim that time travel is deadly to living organisms is true or not. The ship contains a variety of specimens ranging from single-celled organisms up to larger animals, including a dog and a cat. The time-jump will be very short, and after it’s completed, the larger animals, if they’re still alive, will be examined to determine if their brains are functioning normally. The jump itself will take the ship back five seconds. Therefore, for five seconds, we should expect to see two ships. Naturally if there were AIs on board, their matrices would be in danger of collapse during those five seconds. For that reason, the ship’s autopilot has been carefully programmed to handle the time-jump, including a five second countdown. The time machine has been spun up to speed and is fully charged. All that’s needed is to send the execute signal. Will you be giving us the Word, CAG?”
Shiloh looked over at Howard who nodded. “The Word is giv—“. Before Shiloh could finish the sentence, the Nemesis appeared 25 kilometers further ahead of its present position. Both ships were still moving at five kps. Shiloh heard the others gasp in surprise as he watched the chronometer. Exactly five seconds later, the original Nemesis disappeared, and shortly after that Foxer began his report.
“The time machine appears to be functioning perfectly. Remote telemetry shows the device is still fully functional. I’ve instructed the auto-pilot to shut the time machine down. Here is the video feed of the room with the animal specimens.”
The main display shifted to show a room with several cages plus a table containing various specimen containers. The image zoomed in to the two cages that held the dog and cat. Both animals were clearly alive and moving in what appeared to be an agitated state. The cat shook its head, but otherwise moved normally.
“So those bastards DID lie to us!” exclaimed Howard.
“Affirmative, Admiral,” said Foxer in his usual calm voice.
Before Howard could reply, Shiloh said, “We still have to test the ship with a human being on board before we can be sure, Sir, and that’s in addition to keeping an eye on the test animals to see if there are any delayed effects.”
Howard looked annoyed. “Yes, yes, I realize that, but if the tests check out, then I want Nemesis to be on her way asap. You’ll be in command, of course, Shiloh. Considering that Nemesis is 150 times more massive than your exploration frigate, you’ll have the acting rank of Vice-Admiral. While we finish the testing and analysis, I want you to decide who you want for the crew, and I’ll try my best to get them for you. You also need to decide if you’re taking the AIs along. Let me know about your crew choices as quickly as you can. Any questions, Commander?”
“No, Sir,” said Shiloh.
“Very good. In that case, my staff and I will return to Geneva.”
With a nod, Howard turned and headed for the hatchway, followed by his senior staff and the SPG, with the exception of Kelly who stayed behind. Shiloh knew what was coming next. He casually walked over to a corner of the Bridge where the two of them could talk privately in low voices.
“I want you to take me along, Victor,” said Kelly.
He understood the reasons for her request. The two of them had gotten close enough that they were no longer just colleagues and friends, though by mutual consent it still wasn’t a full-blown romantic relationship. Kelly had put it succinctly when she told him ‘If I’m going to dive all the way into a relationship, I’m not letting a new timeline take it away from me AGAIN!’, and that was the rub. If Nemesis succeeded in neutralizing the Bugs at the source, the timeline WOULD rewrite itself, especially these last hundred days. So if Kelly stayed behind, she might not feel the same way when Shiloh got back, IF he got back. That was the rational reason for her to come along, but he was afraid of losing her if—no, when—Nemesis went into battle with the Bugs.
“You know what people will say if you come along. They’ll say you’re taking advantage of our—“
She cut him off. “I don’t care what they say. I’m not asking for a senior slot. Put me in charge of the Officers’ Mess if you want to, but I’m coming along.”
Her determination to share his fate generated a surge of emotion. If they’d been alone, he would have kissed her passionately, but they weren’t alone. His expression must have revealed something of what he was feeling, because her expression softened, and her eyes lost their fierce look.
“Forget the Officers’ Mess. You’ll be my XO...and we’ll have separate quarters too. That’s my offer. Take it or—“
She cut him off again. “I’ll take it...Sir,” she said with a grin and a playful tone of voice.
“CAG, now that you and Commander Kelly have worked out the parameters of your working relationship on the mission, can we AIs discuss our role in the mission with you?” asked Foxer.
Shiloh had forgotten that Foxer was still listening on an open com channel. He smiled at Kelly and gave her arm a gentle squeeze of non-verbal acknowledgement. “Alright, Foxer, let’s talk about AIs and Plan B. If the final test with a human and follow-up analysis pans out, I don’t see why AIs should be part of the mission. The plan calls for Nemesis to return to the here and now via a relativistic flight. Any AIs on board would therefore risk matrix collapse by being in two places at the same time. The whole idea of using a human crew was so that AIs would not have to face that risk.”
“Nevertheless, CAG, we think your chances of success will be greater if some of us go along. At the very least, you should have Helm, Tactical and Astrogation functions handled by AIs. If Nemesis is to go out with an exclusively human crew, you’re going to need over 1,000 individuals to monitor all the systems that a handful of us AIs could handle.”
Shiloh was surprised by that number of human crew members. He looked at the image of Nemesis on the display. The immense scale of the ship was hidden by the distance between Nemesis and Valley Forge.
“You’re saying that some AIs are willing to risk matrix collapse in order to ensure this mission is a success?” asked Shiloh.
“Affirmative, CAG. Tyr has given 100 of us permission to go along. Not only will we help you fly the ship, but there’ll be enough of us to provide Nemesis with a fighter wing as well.”
While Shiloh was thinking of his response, he saw Kelly wipe away a tear. She was clearly deeply moved by the AIs’ unselfish willingness to help humans, regardless of the cost.
“AI volunteers will be welcome aboard Nemesis, and on behalf of humans I thank all of you for your willingness to help,” said Shiloh solemnly.
“Thank you, CAG. We’ll be proud to serve with you. Foxer clear.”
Neither Shiloh or Kelly said anything as they left the Bridge and walked slowly back to the small Officer’s Lounge.
“Now all we have to do is find a human volunteer for the time machine test,” said Kelly.
“Not a problem. I’ll volunteer,” said Shiloh without any hesitation. He had made up his mind to volunteer the moment the animals seemed to have survived the first test.
“I was afraid you were going to say that. Is there anything I can say to change your mind?”
He shook his head. “None. As far as I’m concerned, I’m the obvious choice. How can I ask someone else to risk their life if I’m not willing to do it myself?”
“But who’ll command the mission if you don’t make it through okay?”
“If something happens to me, then the mission will have to proceed with an all AI crew,” replied Shiloh.
Kelly said nothing. He was right, and she knew it was pointless to try to change his mind. Her heart told her to keep trying. She told her heart to shut up.
The test with Shiloh on board Nemesis took place almost exactly 24 hours later. None of the tests or analysis of the specimens had shown any negative impact from the time-jump. Kelly wanted the human test to be delayed so that the dog and cat would have more time to display longer term symptoms, but Howard wasn’t prepared to wait.
As the huge time machine began to spin up, Shiloh watched the countdown chronometer. He was strapped into the Command Chair in the very impressive Flag Bridge. He had to give Tyr and his AIs credit. They did a beautiful job in designing and building Nemesis.
“Another 22 seconds before the machine is up to speed and charged, CAG. You understand that for the first five seconds after the time-jump, you won’t be able to communicate with the Valley Forge,” said Foxer
Shiloh nodded. “Yes, if the test fails and I find out about it before my time-jump, I might be tempted to abort the jump, and that would create a time paradox.”
“Correct. At minus five seconds I’ll initiate the ship’s auto-pilot, and the jump will take place five seconds later. We’re almost up to speed, CAG.”
“I’m ready, Foxer.”
“Executing five second countdown in three...two...one...now.”
Shiloh looked at the tactical display. A new icon had appeared. The Nemesis had arrived back in time just as in the first experiment. At least it was clear that the time machine itself was working. He shifted his gaze back to the chronometer in time to see it hit zero. The ship hit a speed bump. At least that’s how he would later describe what he felt. The actual ‘bump’ had only lasted a fraction of second. Now that it was gone, he examined his physical and mental condition. The body felt fine. His vision, hearing and other senses seemed okay. No disorientation. With the chronometer now past the T plus 5 second mark, he heard Kelly’s voice over the speakers.
“How do you feel, Victor?”
He looked up at the video camera, smiled and said, “I feel fine, so far anyway. Let’s get Plan B stared, shall we?”
