NEBULAR Collection 3 - Morgotradon: Episodes 12 - 16 Read online

  »… and assumed a hostile position upon their arrival,« Nok completed Petrow’s sentence. »Your theory does not explain how the Shwakans arrived on the platform. It looks as if they just popped in.«

  The holo displayed how the Shwakans were building igloo-like tents and positioning mobile guns.

  »It appears to me that they’re willing to defend their platform. It’s a miracle that the Hawk was able to land and take these pictures,« Nok commented.

  »Is it possible that they arrived with a stealth-type ship, landing on the platform unnoticed?« Petrow inquired.

  »We can’t rule that out with technology as far advanced as theirs,« Jörgmundson replied. »I think, though, that there’s probably a different explanation.«

  Jörgmundson stopped there. He couldn’t offer a better theory.

  »We know that an agitator has become active in the solar system,« Nok revealed. »I think that whoever that person is, is in direct contact with the platform, and might even receive his orders from there.«

  »McCord?« Petrow and his first officer asked at the same time.

  Nok Daralamai just smirked.

  »That’s what it looks like, doesn’t it?« she commented. There was just enough sarcasm in her voice that they couldn’t tell she believed it was true or not. Instead she steered the discussion to a different subject. »So, what’s our next move? The threat is obvious, and we need to react. I even think it’s possible that Ivanova and Fosset might still be alive! They might be prisoners on the platform, which would rule out a bombardment. Even if not, we may assume the strangers can defend themselves against our attacks.«

  »Well … that needs to be seen,« a base officer interjected. »We have three Nova Hawks available. Fit them with heavy bombs, deploy them in the Neptune system and …«

  »… what? Nova Hawks?« Petrow inquired surprised.

  »A new series of Hawks destined to be deployed on our new Comet-Class cruisers. They’re bigger than the Hawks on Triton, faster and suitable for different types of sorties,« continued the officer.

  Petrow exchanged glances with his first officer.

  »The Blue Moon is also capable of launching attacks from its orbit. We could use our high-energy lasers. My crew’s ready on a moment’s notice!« Petrow announced.

  Nok Daralamai wasn’t interested.

  »It seems to me that you gentlemen have a short term memory deficiency. Have you forgotten that the Blue Moon’s weapons failed against the Stinger? Why would they do any better in this case? Dropping bombs is no solution; at least not as long as there could be some of us down there! I want to know more about this bulwark. Who are the intruders? Can we negotiate with them? I consider a bombardment as our last resort.«

  »They shot at us already, we have the right to self-defense!« the fleet liaison complained.

  »Correct, but it is also our duty to weigh our options in Humanity’s interest. We’re on the firing line, gentlemen! The Globs are hiding inside the Kuiper Belt, just a couple of flying hours away from here. Let me make this very clear: I do not need trigger happy officers. I need you to work on solutions that will buy us enough time to understand the phenomena we’re dealing with. Only then can we react intelligently.«

  Nok Daralamai turned toward Petrow.

  »You will maintain absolute radio silence. Get your staff involved, including the Triton Hawk leaders, about how we can execute a landing mission on the platform. You have twenty-four hours to come up with a plan!«

  »What if the enemy’s faster?« Petrow threw at her.

  »Then we can still use your beloved bombs and lasers,« Nok replied sternly. »Not that I think it’ll do us much good, though!«

  No unnecessary risks

  Toiber Arkroid was still thinking about the events on Coip-Pertyl as the Yax K’uk’Mo’ flew to their new destination. Despite the Myzel’s warnings about this solar system, Arkroid had transferred the coordinates to Scorge. Actually, it had been Vasina, since she understood more about galactic navigation than Arkroid.

  »We need to talk about our strategy,« Arkroid pushed the issue.

  The crew members had gathered inside Scorge’s refuge, close to his command seat.

  »If this is really a central portal planet, then we can expect that the Dark Brotherhood is defending it accordingly. I suggest having the Yax K’uk’Mo’ wait at a safe distance from the planet while Pi and I use the Techno-Ferry for reconnaissance.

  »This time, I’m coming with you!« Vasina insisted with a serious face. »If we encounter Dark Brotherhood allies or their charges, you’ll need my experience.«

  Scorge was sitting relaxed on his command seat. It seemed as if he was pondering. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that the Guild was working together with the pirates. The Rexas were probably under the power of the Dark Brotherhood, which in turn meant that the Brotherhood’s influence was much wider than expected. Vasina had been right all along.

  »I could fly the Yax K’uk’Mo’ under stealth cover into that system. The camouflage worked with you Humans,« Scorge suggested moments later.

  Arkroid shook his head.

  »I appreciate your help, but we can’t ask that of you. The danger of discovery by enemy forces is too great.«

  »Well … then let’s detour around the system at a safe distance and search for a different destination. There’re many more places to explore,« Scorge replied.

  »The Myzel’s warning suggested that this portal planet may also connect to our solar system. We didn’t know that before we went to Lottrun! If there’s a receiver portal in our system and an attacker is using the portal planet to get to us, Humanity wouldn’t have much of a chance. We have to know what threat this portal planet poses to us,« Lai Pi injected in a soft voice.

  »There’s still the question: can we trust the Myzel’s information?« Vasina threw in.

  Arkroid frowned.

  »You’ve been in mental contact with the Myzel longer than any of us. I think you know the answer to your question yourself. To be honest, I’d be more than glad to find out that the Myzel was wrong! How could the Myzel prove its information? I think it extrapolated the main information from small fragments, supplied by various sources. If there were people who knew the coordinates, we’ll probably find the planet too. We have to be cautious, though …«

  »What’s the name of our target sun?« Pi asked.

  »Our destination star is Procyon, a bright white-yellowish star in the Little Dog constellation. The system is only 11.5 lightyears away from our solar system!«

  Suddenly, it became very quiet in Scorge’s refuge.

  »Exactly,« Arkroid continued after a couple of seconds, »that’s way too close to our home-world. There’s no way around this, we need to check this out! If things get too hot, we can abandon our plans and fly home to warn our people. We won’t take unnecessary risks.«

  Be more careful

  »Fascinating, Raghoon! There’s life on one of the inner planets … lower lifeforms such as plant life but it covers the entire planet. These moss-like plants grow three meters tall and our scientists believe that they’re harboring a micro-cosmos of other lifeforms. I took the liberty to baptize this planet: Persia Lanuk … Refuge Persia!« Mandatt announced.

  Morgotradon nodded in agreement.

  »No objections, Mandatt. Can we land on Persia Lanuk?«

  »The oxygen atmosphere is thin, Raghoon. We would need respirators. Our medical section strongly advises the use of decon chips. There’s also water on the planet, as we just found out. This means that we could encounter a biosphere of microorganisms. If we pump the water through our bio-filters then we should be able to use it and replenish our supplies. The gravitation is within our limits and can be tolerated for a prolonged time span.«

  Mandatt stopped talking, but his face showed there was more.

  »What else, Mandatt?« Morgotradon invited him to speak up and finish his report.

  »The second world is a mystery to
us. Our reconnaissance team has found combined crystal structures whose makeup is astonishing.«

  »Crystals?«

  »Correct, Raghoon. These crystals behave very strangely; they covered a probe completely upon landing.«

  Morgotradon straightened in his seat, facing Mandatt.

  »What? Are you telling me that these crystals are growing, reacting to the presence of our probe?«

  Morgotradon frowned, unbelieving.

  »Our guess is that the crystals have the ability to replicate biological structures,« the Peukoom replied, as all other discussions inside the control central suddenly stopped at once.

  Morgotradon commanded the computer to display the orbital data of the two strange planets as well as a close-up display. The orbits were highly eccentric and intersected two times. The crystal planet was leading its brother with almost the same orbital speed. The simulation showed that both planets at times came very close to each other on their extended elliptical orbits, causing slight orbital shifting due to the gravitational push-pull forces. Basically, they were doomed to collide one day. A catastrophe was in the making.

  »I’m afraid that these two planets will collide relatively soon,« Morgotradon announced. »This system is extremely unstable and chaotic. I’d say they will collide within the next hundred thousand years and leave nothing but an asteroid belt!«

  »I assume we won’t be staying that long, Raghoon?« Mandatt said seriously and respectfully, although it almost sounded as if he was making a joke.

  »Definitely not! We didn’t come here to settle down, Mandatt,« Morgotradon picked up the thread mockingly. However, he still had questions. »What causes this replication ability and how did our scientists find that out?«

  »Our research team observed the crystals’ reaction to the probe. At first, they thought that it was a simple defense reaction to the probe’s metallic structure; that the landing gear’s element composition may have functioned as a catalyst, exciting the crystal growth, but we were wrong …«

  »… and?« Morgotradon asked, fascinated.

  »Well, it sounds strange, but it was microorganisms, transplanted with the probe from our ship to the planet. Since we had declared this world as non-inhabitable, the decontamination of our probe was executed without the proper care. The crystals reacted to our microorganisms and began to replicate their DNA. This caused crystals to divide, similar to growing bacteria in the lab …«

  »… and we caused this because of neglect?« Morgotradon asked a bit more loudly.

  Mandatt looked at the floor.

  »Actually … uh … yes,« he answered slowly. »The crystals’ ability to replicate must have been latently present already. We assume that biological matter is transferred by the solar winds from one planet to the other when they pass each other at a close distance. This means that crystal dust could also have been transferred to Lanuk. It is therefore possible that the crystals have adapted to biological matter a long time ago. This is all very remarkable.«

  »I want a more detailed analysis done before we land on either of these planets. I want the molecular structure of these crystals and what relationship the two planets have to each other. Are there any dangers for our people upon a landing?«

  Morgotradon took a deep breath. It seemed that they’d opened a can of worms. He had to stay on top of the scientific section, driving them to find answers to this as well as to the Dark Brotherhood’s ultimate weapon. He didn’t like having to divert some of the staff to work on the problems they could encounter on these two planets. Morgotradon briefly considered leaving this system and flying to a neighboring sun, but he stuck to his original plans. It was too dangerous, since detection by Dark Brotherhood carriers couldn’t be ruled out. The enemy employed very sophisticated tachyon space scanners and was probably still looking for them.

  »We remain here and wait. Send more ships to the crystal planet and collect more samples,« he commanded, »and this time … be more careful!«

  Procyon C

  »What do we know so far about Procyon?« Vasina inquired, »other than its distance to you Humans’ solar system?«

  Arkroid raised his eyebrows, surprised.

  She’s asking me and not the navigation computer?

  Arkroid gave a brief nod.

  »Well, Scorge doesn’t even know this system. All we have are basic data. Doesn’t look like the Shwakans have ever been here,« he replied.

  Lai Pi looked around.

  »That means we’re discoverers?«

  »Kind of,« Arkroid acknowledged. »We know that it is a dual star system. The main star, Procyon A, has just recently, in cosmic terms of course, transformed into a sub-giant, emitting much higher UV-radiation than our home sun. It’s nearly twice as big as Sol and seven times brighter. Its surface temperature of 6,500 degrees Kelvin – about a thousand times hotter – and its color appears gleaming white. It probably has numerous planets. The data we got back along with the coordinates reveal a companion, possibly a large planet orbiting Procyon A. There’s also a dwarf star in the system which we’ll just call Procyon B.«

  »… and which, like all other stars of its type, sends a cocktail of hard radiation throughout the system,« Pi finished for him.

  »Right,« Arkroid replied. »The white dwarf has a diameter of 17,000 kilometers and travels around the main star in an eccentric orbit. The distance between the stars varies between 8 and 21 astronomical units. If we compare this to our home system then the dwarf would be orbiting Sol between Saturn and Uranus.«

  »So, what we really have here is a dual star system,« Vasina summed up.

  »Not quite,« Arkroid put in quickly. »There’s a third star, orbiting the two other ones at a large distance. It’s a red dwarf, and it’s remote enough to be hosting its own little planetary system. Let’s call it Procyon C.«

  »I still don’t like just parking the Yax K’uk’Mo’ around this cosmic dwarf!« Scorge complained bitterly. »We Shwakans need to be visiting and developing new Systems daily, to find new civilizations and open new markets.«

  Pi grinned.

  »Toiber’s right,« he said seriously. »It’s too dangerous for the Yax K’uk’Mo’ to fly into the system. Hide in the red dwarf’s shadow; we may need you later if we run into any problems.«

  That seemed to calm Scorge down.

  »Okay, then!« he replied more amiably. »If the Techno-Ferry fails, or you get caught by the Brotherhood, just send me a signal. I’ll bail you out! The Yax K’uk’Mo’ is mainly a trading ship, but it has a more to reckon with than just merchandise!«

  »We’re counting on that, Scorge, « Arkroid replied soberly, and winked at Pi. »Well then … Scorge is flying to Procyon C and we’ll approach Procyon A with the Techno-Ferry and with all due precautions. We’ll reconnoiter the system. If we find only some ordinary planets then we can breathe a sigh of relief … if not – and it is the portal planet – then we need to spy out what’s going on there and try to leave without being detected. I’m taking the Myzel’s warning seriously! We have to assume the planet is heavily guarded!«

  We are warriors

  Morgotradon was the first Progonaut who set foot on Lanuk. It was a young world with a thin atmosphere due to the lack of oceans to produce more oxygen than the moss-like vegetation could. At least the gravitation was suitable for Progonauts. Morgotradon looked around and activated his personal defense shield, which also served to protect him from the environment.

  »I advise keeping the personal defense shield activated, because of the UV-radiation alone,« the highest peukon suggested as the first space combat group deployed on the planet, securing their perimeters.

  Morgotradon watched them silently as they took up their positions.

  »Why all the caution?« he asked with a mild scorn in his voice. »There’re no real dangers here – no animals, just bacteria!«

  Morgotradon seemed to dislike taking this world by military force.

  »Forgive me, Raghoon,« Mandatt apologi
zed. »I ordered the troops planetside. You’re probably the last surviving fleet commander of the Progonaut Empire. The planet itself is not dangerous, but we don’t know if the enemy has been here. There may be a trap or an ambush. We don’t know if there’re any combat drones hidden inside the large moss fields, for example.«

  Morgotradon narrowed his eyes, then nodded in agreement.

  »Good then,« he acknowledged to Mandatt, and turned his gaze to the forest, noting that the moss-like plants grew much taller a couple of kilometers away from the landing spot.

  »These moss forests are impressive. Can we build a camp under those big moss roofs?« Morgotradon inquired.

  The answer to his question came faster than he thought. A scientific reconnaissance team had just returned from an inspection flight to the forest. Three scientists in pearl-white lab suits with the all-seeing eye of Persia on their right chests approached the fleet commander.

  »What did you find?« Morgotradon asked.

  Gondraap, the leading scientist, nodded respectfully.

  »The dense growth is caused by mostly moss or lichen-like plants that grow unusually high using photosynthesis. There’s no aggressive flora on this world, such as flesh-eating or poisonous plants, so no danger entering these forests. We detected countless microorganisms and spores. We cannot yet determine if they pose a threat to our health. We strongly suggest keeping shields and decon chips activated.«

  Morgotradon had expected this result and dismissed the scientists, who hastened back to the small landing ship to analyze their findings and samples.

  »We can live here for a while,« Morgotradon told Mandatt. »The second planet gives me a bit of a headache; what was the name again?«

  »The second planet isn’t named yet, Raghoon,« Mandatt replied and pondered.

  »Then I’ll call it Lanuk Baldar – Lanuk’s Shadow!« Morgotradon decided quickly before Mandatt could come up with a name.

  »As you wish, Raghoon,« Mandatt acknowledged. »I’ll send a request for information to the Persia. The Regatt was sent to research the crystals on Baldar, but we haven’t heard from them for a while.«