As Dwight prepared to open fire on their pursuer, the captain’s voice spoke over the comm. “We need you to distract the target for one minute. I’m sending you coordinates, have them programmed into the wraith navigation and set to automatic manoeuvre the moment we send the signal. Your lives depend on it.”

He quickly checked they had received the data before responding. “Yes ma’am.”

“We’re counting on you.” The comm fell silent.

The object had covered half the distance between them and it. They were running out of time. The wraiths engines powered down slightly, they had switched to the five G burn. Dwight keyed in the coordinates the captain had transmitted and set the wraith to switch to autopilot the moment signal was received.

Dwight’s fingers were hovering over the trigger for the particle cannon, as he opened the comm to Mary. “Have you set the coordinates?”

“They’re set, but why are we splitting up?” Mary’s voice sounded strained from the extended period of acceleration.

“The captain has a plan. We just need to focus on keeping this thing distracted.”

“Are we going to make it?”

“We are. Two minutes until contact. Open fire.”

Both wraiths fired their particle cannons. They alternated between left and right cannons, each firing a volley in turn. Each beam reached the target and were bent out of its way. It didn’t take any damage and its velocity didn’t increase.

The cannons on Mary’s wraith fell silent. “What! How has it got a shield?”

Dwight had seen something like this before. He just hoped that was all it had managed to replicate. “Just keep firing!”

The distance continued to close between the object and the wraiths. Dwight had been counting the seconds in his head. Any moment now. He wasn’t quite sure what the captain had planned, but he had a few guesses. A second after he reached a minute, the wraith’s autopilot engaged, and the engines fired up.

He almost felt as if he was being crushed by his own body, the acceleration was so fierce. The two ships shot away from the object in opposite directions. It didn’t show any signs of following either craft, yet.

One second after the engines fired a huge particle beam cut through the space between them. It must have been half a mile wide. It hit the object, engulfed it. The entire thing was vapourised almost instantly. The wraiths would have faced the same fate if they had moved only a fraction later. The engines powered down and the wraith manoeuvred back on course towards Palehost.

Dwight breathed easy as his wraith reached stable velocity. He opened the comm. “Mary come in?”

There was no response, only static returned over the radio.

He called out again. “Mary?”

The static was finally broken when TX’s mechanical voice responded. “She blacked out during the manoeuvre… She doesn’t appear to have sustained any injury. I expect her to regain consciousness shortly.”

Dwight let out a sigh of relief. “Phew! That was a close call. I wonder what the captain was thinking when she came up with that!”

“She must have determined it was the best course of action.” The response was dispassionate.

He almost laughed at TZ’s flat reply. “Let me know if Mary’s condition doesn’t improve. We’ll continue to Palehost at our current velocity for now.”

“Understood.”

The interference around the original target had begun to clear up, as the debris had dissipated. The impact point became visible once again. There was still a large chunk of the asteroid intact. It didn’t show any sign of following them.

The comm burst with static for a moment and then the captain spoke. “What’s the situation?”

Dwight was quick to respond. “It was a direct hit. The target seems to have been destroyed… That is, the piece of it that was giving chase. The asteroid is still partially intact. Both wraiths avoided the blast.”

“Good. Return to Palehost but monitor the asteroid as you go.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The channel went dead.

The wraiths continued back to Palehost. It would be hours before they returned. The object was still showing no signs of pursuit. It appeared to have returned to a dormant state now the wraiths had left the vicinity. Dwight doubted that it would be left to drift in space. He expected the captain to order its destruction.

They were now out of the blast zone for even the largest nuclear devices Palehost carried. Dwight’s best guess was that she would order an apocalypse class missile strike on the rock. The main cannon could vaporise it, but the missile strike would destroy everything in a thousand mile radius. Knowing what it was, he was sure that would be her response.

 

 

 

Back on the bridge the panic had resided since second object was destroyed. There was still a state of alert. The reconnaissance team had confirmed what the object was. When the captain had cut the channel to Dwight, everyone on the bridge looked to her for the next order.

The central monitor was showing what remained of the space rock. The captain knew just how dangerous it would be to leave it alone. In her mind there was only one course of action to take now.

She stepped forward, feeling every pair of eyes on the bridge follow her steps. “Prepare to launch apoc… Tsk…” She stopped on the spot. “Await further orders.”

Her instruction had been cut short. As she spoke, she had received a top priority transmission directly to her neural implant. She knew the council would have been watching the events unfold, but she had hoped they would let her handle the situation before they decided to interfere.

The message was relayed by the chair of the council, Dimitri Dolser. “An emergency council meeting has convened. We’ve decided that you are to take no further action until we have reached a conclusion.”

The only sign externally of the conversation was a frown, that looked ominously like it could turn into a scowl on the captain’s face. “What? You can’t instruct me to do any such thing. In any situation where Palehost is in immediate danger, I don’t have to consult the council before taking action.”

“This is true, but Palehost is no longer in immediate danger, is it? The fragment that was on course to us was destroyed.”

“But the original object is still intact!”

“And that is exactly what we want to discuss. So long as it is dormant, we forbid you to take further action against it. That is until we reach a consensus on how to proceed and if we decide it is in Plaehost’s best interest for it to be destroyed.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“We’re entirely serious. You will report to the council chamber immediately while we discuss the current situation.”

The transmission was terminated.

She gritted her teeth. “That little shit!”

The commanders jaw nearly dropped. “Captain?”

She quickly got hold of her agitation. Her expression returning to neutral calm. “Nothing… You have the bridge. If that thing shows even the slightest sign of moving, contact me immediately.”

The commander glanced at the object on the screen and then back to the captain. “Yes ma’am… But is now the time to…”

She looked the commander directly in the eye. “The council have convened.”

He knew exactly what that meant. “Yes ma’am.”

The captain turned and headed for the door. She strode quickly, but calmly. Not showing her anger as she walked. She was still aggravated by Dimitri’s words. When they spoke, she had half a mind to launch the strike, just as she had initially planned.

The only thing that stopped her was her understanding of his nature. What is he planning, that conniving little shit. The best thing she could do now, was head to the council chamber and find out for herself. She knew full well that he wouldn’t have contacted her if he hadn’t already gained some support for his idea.

The automatic doors opened as the captain approached, then she left the bridge. As the door closed behind her, she glanced up the corridor and noticing she was alone she slammed a fist against the wall. Her only outward display of her frustration. Not feeling any better for it, she headed to the nearest elevator.

The council chamber was ten levels below the bridge. In the time it had taken her to reach the room, her anger hadn’t quelled. If the door hadn’t been automatic, she would have flung them open. The council of ten all turned towards her as she strode inside.

The council was known as the council of ten, because it contained five men and five women, all bred specifically for the role. In reality, it was a council of twelve. The eleventh member didn’t have a vote, they weren’t human. The AI was technically just the council’s advisor, but it was so adept at bending their wills to its own it didn’t need one. The captain was given the deciding vote when the council was tied.

The room was sparsely furnished. The walls were brushed stainless steel. Apart from the two opposing, ornately crafted benches and the small desk in front of them, there was only a large table in the centre and a giant display at the far end of the room.

The AI’s hologram was standing in the centre of the room, in between the two council benches. This was where the captain strode towards when she entered.

As she reached the middle of the room, Dimitri rose then spoke. “Thank you for joining us captain. Please, take a seat.”

She forced a smile. “Thank you, but I’ll stand.”

He nodded. “As you wish.” Then he sat back down.   

The captained scanned the faces of the ten council members, all sat on their benches waiting for her to address them. Instead, she turned to the AI. “Did you suggest the council’s request?”

The hologram lowered its head for a moment then spoke. “I did. It has been over three hundred years since a visitor was last encountered. I would be remis in my duties if I didn’t suggest all possibilities.”

The captain rolled her eyes and tried not to grit her teeth. “And what did you suggest to them?”

“We delay the destruction. This is the perfect opportunity to study the visitor.”

The captain somehow stopped herself from flying into a rage there and then. Instead, she took in a deep breath, turned away from the AI and addressed the council. “Are you even considering this?”

It was Dimitri that answered.

He ran his hand through his slick black hair. “Of course, we’re considering the suggestions our advisory AI has given us.” The tone of his voice was just as sickly sweet with a hint of patronising as always.

The captain turned to Dimitri, flashing him a glare just for an instant. “I can understand why you would consider its advice, but this? We shouldn’t delay in destroying a serious threat to Palehost.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “The AI made a valid suggestion and we’ve carried out our duty by considering it. We called you here so we could complete the discussion before, we make the final vote.”

She walked a little closer to Dimitri. “What were the specifics of the request?”

He sat further back in his chair and looked up at the captain. “The AI has suggested that it could be possible to collect a sample from the asteroid.”

She gasped. “What!?”

“It would be an important research specimen.”

She slammed her hands down on the desk in front of him. “This is out of the question. I’ll never authorise something like that being brought aboard Palehost.”

There was quiet murmur from the other council members.

He waved a hand dismissively. “Of course not, the research will be carried out on a small research vessel some distance from the ship.”

“How do you plan on doing this? The visitors can blight anything they come in contact with. That includes the machine collecting the samples and the research vessel. It isn’t possible to do this.”

Dimitri remained calm even with the captain glaring down at him. “The AI has suggested a method for us to proceed.”

“And what if it goes wrong? The object could reactivate if another craft approaches it. The research ship could be blighted and become a threat to Palehost itself.”

“We discussed these possibilities before you arrived. You can have your missiles on standby. If the object reactivates when the samples are collected, you can destroy it.”

“What about the crew collecting the samples?”

“That would be a tragedy, but the knowledge we could gain from being able to collect a sample and to study the visitors for the first time, far outweighs that risk.”

“Tell that to the people we send on the mission.”

The slight smirk on Dimitri’s face grew larger. “You lost one pilot today, didn’t you? You knew there was a risk when you sent them out then, but still did so anyway.”

“I did, but we had no way of telling what the object was. If we had the slightest inkling it was a visitor, we wouldn't have sent them to investigate like that.”

“The risk isn’t any higher now, than it was then.”

“And what about the research vessel?”

“It will be kept at a range where it can be destroyed before it poses a threat to Palehost.”

“But not to those crewing the ship.”

“They will be informed of the risk. Only those that consent will be chosen to participate.”

She turned and faced the other council members. “This is madness!”

“Do you have any other serious objections, or are you only going to give an emotional response to the events?”

“I’ve already lost one crew member today. I seriously object to anything that would put us at greater risk.”

“Your objection is noted.” He placed his hands flat on the desk in front of him and looked at the other councillors in turn. “We’ve heard the suggestion from the AI and the arguments for and against following the advisory. Now, it is time for us to vote.”

Each of the council members had a single vote. The voting was anonymous and conducted through their implants. It was recorded directly in Palehost’s systems. The result was displayed on the panel at the end of the room.

There were seven votes in favour of the suggested plan and only three against. The captain wouldn’t get to cast a deciding vote.

She looked at the screen and realised she had lost the argument. “I won’t dispute the result.” She turned and approached the AI hologram. “Have the full details of the planned mission sent to me.”

“The full procedure, along with the detailed decision process has been sent already.” Its response was mechanical.

“Good…” She looked to the council members, checking their faces for a hint of which way they had voted in their expressions. It was impossible to judge. “I will make the preparations. Good day.” She then headed for the door.

Dimitri rose as she left. “Thank you for your input captain.”

A moment later and she was heading down the corridor back towards the elevator.

Idiots. Especially that Dimitri. They should all know better, and what is that AI planning by suggesting a course of action as dangerous as this? I don’t know what it’s thinking.