Invaders from the Deep
The ship slowly trudged through the
region heavy with asteroids, using a laser ranging system to locate
any stray boulders to steer clear of. The helms officer Derded was
just thinking about food, he was starving, not having a bite to eat
since the shift began. A nervous twitch was developing in one of his
flipper out of anxiety stemming from hunger.
He did not want to risk reprisal by
looking back at the Captain, so he kept his eyes on the holo-display
bubble in front of him. Even if Derded could not concentrate it was
better to look like one was working than not. In Corwarian culture,
it would be acceptable for Captain Roikk to bite the head off any
underling who wasn't doing their job.
Nobody wanted to say anything about
eating, mealtime was always at the discretion of the Captain and this
Captain would likely take any query as an insult. Out here in the
deep there would be no appeals before one lost their head to an
enraged Captain.
“Still not picking up anything
unusual” said one of the science officers “Mapping is still
nominal”
The Captain finally decided it was
time. He released the grakken and they swam all over the bridge,
Derded joined the others in swimming after them. Bits of grakken soon
clouded the water but the filters would clean that up rather quickly.
Derded was able to catch and eat a number of the grakken and his
hunger was satiated for a while.
Mapping the asteroid field seemed
pointless to Derded, these rocks were always moving around in the
deep and they were much too far from Corwar to pose any threat.
Fortunately this mission represented the final major study of the
solar system, everything there was to know was known. Any new
discoveries would happen outside the “white wall” that surrounded
their solar system.
They knew there were many other stars
and galaxies out there but most of this was obscured by the cloud of
debris and celestial dust that surrounded the system. Images returned
from robotic probes of what was outside the system were striking and
beautiful. These images were a major reason why the space program
existed in the first place.
Yet, within the system no other sea had
been found. That was the main thing the people of Corwar were looking
for, large oceans. The crowded seas of Coward seemed to have been
maxed out. Some Corwarians even built devices to travel to and study
land, but no long-term project to let them live on land had been
found yet.
“We are detecting some unusual
readings within the asteroid field” one of the scientists said “Let
me try and get you a course bearing”
The Captain ordered the helm to change
course for the new bearing. Derded did as instructed. “We will have
to go around the large asteroids though” he mentioned. Yes, the
energy readings were behind those asteroids. The water on the bridge
was totally clear now and everyone was watching the main holo-display
at the front of the bridge as they crested over the top of an
asteroid.
“What is that?”
someone asked
The
Captain floated toward the display. “Run a detailed scan of that
object!”
“Yes
sir” the scientists said and bent over their consoles, hard at
work. It was their moment to shine, this is what scientists dreamed
of, mot likely. A major discovery right inside their solar system,
this object was not natural and it had not been built on Corwar.
“It
is definitely extraterrestrial, Captain” the scientists told
everyone. “We don't know where it came from but it must have been
sent to study the solar system. Looks like it crashed into the
asteroids but the exterior damage appears minimal. Possibly it is out
of fuel and is just stuck here”
The
Captain waved a flipper. “Okay” he said, deep in thought “We'll
take it into the hold and bring it back to Cowar for detailed study”
Captain
Roikk was about to be very famous, the prestige would give him higher
rank within the space services. He kept Derded and some of his other
trusted crew with him as he moved up the rank ladder due to his fame.
The
probe came from a distant star. The aliens there did not seem to have
hostile intent but from the information gathered from the probe
itself, it seemed the world it came from had large oceans indeed.
This information had excited the public and propelled the creation of
a large war fleet under the direct control of now Uber-Admiral Roikk.
The
first thing Roikk did with his fleet was to carry out a coup on
Corwar and become the undisputed ruler of all their people. Meanwhile
Derded was now Captain of his own warship as the fleet set off to
conquer this distant planet with the large oceans.
==============
You can buy my novel NEW ARRIVALS for $2.99
or Reward: Stolen Planet, a humor short for 99 cents.
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