Chapter 588: Stock Car Race

And then I saw, I saw a billion stars, and I remembered,

I remembered the cost that mankind, no, that humanity and its allies paid for peace,

I remembered the dandelion's seed blowing in the wind,

I remembered the fire of war

I remembered the number of times humanity was brought to bend but not to break,

I remembered that at each bending a breath was taken, and whit each of these breaths, dandelion seeds were cast away.

And then I ask thee, How many seeds found soil? how many germinated? how many grew? how many reach adulthood? how many cast new seeds?

And I ask thee, HOW MANY? for that is an answer that all the galaxies now must know, for only one of these seeds might have survived, but what if all did? how many civilizations of mad Terran are there, how many systems, how many? I fear the answers more than I fear Death.

Because know this, The Mad lemurs of Earth are coming. And the survival of this galaxy and of the universe depends on how many of these seeds failed. And I ask Thee, when did the mad primate fail?

Because for each unknown star I fear that earthlings, not Terran, not TDH, earthlings are hiding there biding their time, and now their time has come. The time of Madness has come

---------MADNESS FOLLOWS-----------

The Canticles of Fear, Chapter 8, Section 8, Soothsayer u/ThatKriegsGuard, 8568 PG, Hivehome Institute of Philosophy and Soothsaying'

Captain J'vetip leaned forward and watched the viewscreen nervously.

The entire bridge was hushed, everyone concentrating on their consoles or just not wanting to break the intent silence. Amber lights were the only illumination, the whole ship at Stage-2 Alert. The debris shields were up and at full strength, hull integrity shields were at maximum power, and the battlescreen projectors were powered up but not running the emitters yet. Passive targeting systems were running at a full 11% of the ship's computing power, the weapons of the battle cruiser were on standby. Boarding parties were suited up, armed, and ready on the transport pads or sitting inside of heavily armored shuttles. Security parties cruised the decks on a steady patrol, already clad in shipboard combat armor and carrying the heaviest weapons they could while not putting the hull at risk.

Well, except for one member of each squad, which was carrying a weapon that could engage a light armored vehicle. That weapon was on a reflex trigger slaved to a phasic energy trigger, slaved to a profile trigger.

Captain J'vetip knew that the gunner would only have a split second to keep half the squad alive. If the split second was wasted, the entire squad would be dead and the fight to keep the ship in the Captain's hands would be engaged.

The Symphonic Glory was moving steadily in-system at 0.62C, coming in from a high angle on the stellar plane, the equatorial angle chosen to keep the ship away from everything but the fourth planet of the stellar system. It had been under constant targeting scanning as well as scans from other scanning devices since they were in jumpspace three light years out from the system.

There was no chance on sneaking up on the system, but Captain J'vetip had used the entry trajectory strategy to avoid running directly into any ships along the normal lanes and the primary military defense lanes.

They were locked up well and good, but had yet to be hailed by even a VI.

"Anything on channels?" Captain J'vetip asked.

Second Communicator shook his head. "Automated messages only. Entertainment stations are showing typical virtual intelligence generated programming lineups," it said. "I have secondary evidence that the Attack happened here too."

"Send it to my screen," J'vetip ordered.

The second screen on his right lit up and he frowned. The communicator had sent him a weather report. On it, a shapely human female in a skimpy outfit was pointing at a map of the southern half of one of the northern continents and talking about weather. He had just opened his mouth to ask the communicator what kind of evidence this contained when it went to a 'live on location' weather segment.

The CGI inserted VI weather being was standing in light clothing with a microphone, talking about how it was a hot and cloudy day, with winds rising in excess of 25 kph.

Behind him the city was sullenly burning. There were corpses behind him, all showing months of decay. Burnt out cars and buildings sat with mute testimony to the fierce fighting that had occurred. Ash was drifting down from the sky, the black ashfall of a long term polymers burn being whipped around the scene by the wind.

The VI weather being acted as if none of it was there.

J'vetip swiped the video off his screen.

"Make sure our IFF is transmitting on query only," J'vetip said. "We're not going stealth, but let us not make ourselves hugely obvious."

"Roger, sir," both Nav Two and Emissions Control Three said at the same time.

"We are still being scanned," Electronic Warfare Three said. "More point sources."

"It is Fortress Tellestia, nobody fought their way through these defenses or any of the Tellestia Protectorate Union system defenses on any of the stellar systems," Captain J'vetip mused. "We will probably have to be extra wary nearest Tellestia, especially when we pull into orbit."

A few of the bridge crew nodded. Even in far orbit the ship could still be reached by mat-trans system with powerful enough projectors.

The tension was still thick as the ship approached within two million miles of Tellestia Prime. The artificial ring around Tellestia Prime was only a few thousand miles away. Even at that distance the crew could see damage to the superstructure.

"Orbital defense systems are hot, we're taking active scanning," EW-5 said quietly.

Jump Master Urtlerut slowly reached forward, a key held in his short stubby fingers, and unlocked a plastic cover. He looked at Captain J'vetip, who just nodded, and then slowly raised the plastic shield, exposing a bright red round button with DO NOT PRESS embossed in white runes.

"IFF beacon being queried," EW-2 said.

Captain J'vetip just nodded.

"Handshake accepted," EW-1 breathed a sigh of relief. "They're dropping active scanning, but they're still obviously running passive."

"Incoming communications request," Com-5 said. "Has the ID headers of Tellestia Prime Ring Security," he looked up. "No message, just the request."

Captain J'vetip looked at the two midshipmen at the side of the bridge and nodded to them. Both swallowed and nodded back. The Captain looked at the two other midshipmen standing by a different wall. One paled, the other ruffled their feathers, but they both nodded.

"Accept the request," Captain J'vetip said.

The screen flickered and rezzed for a moment then cleared.

The image brought exclamations of shock from the bridge crew.

In front of the Tellestia Prime wallpaper stood a human woman made entirely of code. Her eyes were wide, maddened, bloodshot with burning red code. Her uniform was tattered and torn, her mouth was open, drooling blood from behind sharp animalistic teeth.

She held the 'head' of a security VI in her hand, pressing it against the 2.5D viewscreen.

"LET ME IN!" she shrieked. She screamed again and jumped to the holotank in the middle of the bridge.

"SCRAM!" Captain J'vetip yelled.

Before he had even hit the second consonant all four of the Midshipmen brought down their axes on the thick cables they had been standing over. Sec-4 swung the vibroknife in his hand and severed the cord running to the holotank. Sparks showered out but the only linkages to the holotank were cut, isolating it completely.

The Digital Sentience threw herself against the wall of the tank, causing sparks to shoot out as she screamed.

"What happened here, Commodore?" Captain J'vetip barked out.

The Digital Sentience, her header made up of a jumble of over a dozen other VI and DS headers, screamed and threw herself against the edge of the hologram field, clawing at it with bloody fingers.

"What happened to your people?" Captain J'vetip asked.

"KILL YOU! EAT YOU! KILL AND SKIN YOU! EAT YOU!" the Digital Sentience screamed. "LET ME OUT!" she shrieked, trying to rip at the air-gap barrier.

The Safety Cable Redundancy Axe Midshipmen chopped another section then kicked the severed length of cable away.

Captain J'vetip stood up, walking slowly to the tank. The entire time the DS raved and gibbered, threatening and screaming, clawing at the edge of the hologram as if she could tear her way free.

"I'm sorry," Captain J'vetip said, staring at her maddened eyes as he leaned forward slightly and grabbed an exposed insulated superconductor cable.

She just screamed, her hands coming up to claw at her own face.

Captain J'vetip yanked the cable, disconnecting the portable zero-point reactor from the holotank.

She just vanished.

"Slag the RAM molycirc blocks," Captain J'vetip said softly, turning away from the tank. "She was beyond help."

He sat down heavily as the ship slowly moved in orbit, five thousand miles from the 'ring' around the planet, scanning the artificial ring.

"It couldn't be helped, Captain," Guns-2 said.

"I know, but it didn't make taking her life easier," Captain J'vetip said softly.

"She would have torn the ship down around us and used it ram a planet or worse," Guns-3 said.

"I know, but killing should never be as easy. It is a duty for us as it is for those Tellestians who have survived with their intellect attack this cowardly attack upon their people," he said. He shook his head. "Eight centuries of peace between the Galactic Dominion and the Tellestian Protectorate made us forget that it was they who stopped the Cyclic Reapers, made us forget that it was they who stopped the Cycloid Empire," Captain J'vetip said.

The bridge was silent as the ship continued its orbit. Damage to the ring could be seen everywhere. In some places ships had crashed into the ring, in other places it had taken fire from attackers, some areas bore the unmistakable marks of internal detonations. There was even damage on the planetside of the ring, mute evidence that planetary defense batteries had fired on the ring.

"Captain, I've located the museum," Scan-Three called out.

"Is it damaged?" Captain J'vetip asked.

"It doesn't look like it, Captain," Scan-Three said.

"Alert the boarding parties," Captain J'vetip said.

"There's a mat-trans beacon. Tourist header, looks like an inbound/outbound tourism unit," Scan-Four called out. "Signal and carrier wave are stable."

Captain J'vetip nodded. "Send the boarding parties," he ordered.

Long minutes passed before Com-2 looked up. "Boarding parties have arrived. They report heavy damage, presence of dead humans, but from the decay it looks like there has not been anyone alive for at least eight months."

Captain J'vetip just nodded, feeling both of his stomachs clench.

The ship sat in space, waiting, while Captain J'vetip stared at the viewscreen.

A massive ship was held in a gantry frame. It was obvious an ancient relic. Captain J'vetip had read about it, heard about, even seen holopics of it.

He'd never actually seen it.

It was an ancient relic, thousands of years old. Shaped like a long rectangle, heavy armored hull, massive engines, and completely black.

Over 800 kilometers long, over 400 kilometers wide, and just shy of 130 kilometers tall, it was possibly the largest ship ever built as far as anyone knew, it's armor two or three miles thick depending on what was behind the armor. Two hundred massive engines, dual purpose engines that could move in realspace or in jumpspace. Massive domes, ten miles in diameter, were still present in 15 rows of twenty-five down the length. The command module, a massive eighty kilometers long, forty kilometers wide, and 81.6 kilometers thick, was still attached, supported by massive connecting columns ten kilometers thick.

Captain J'vetip stared at the massive ship. He could see the markings on the side, the viewscreen having an offshoot mark with the translation for each section.

"United Western Starship Cartel - Trans SPACEYARDS" was written in letters ten miles high that could still be seen despite the ship's age.

In several places the name of the massive starship was visible.

The Warden.

"How long were they on that ship?" one of the midshipmen asked.

"Just over one thousand two hundred years," Executive Office Grade Two Brotriupt said.

"Did they spend the entire time in jumpspace?" another crew member asked.

Captain J'vetip shook his head. "No. It would exit for twenty years then spend another century in jumpspace."

"I heard they were escaping a disaster," a midshipman said.

Captain J'vetip shrugged. "Records are spotty. The Tellestians claim their world was destroyed, that they had to abandon their galaxy, which they called 'The Milky Way', over some kind of disaster that would wipe out all life."

XO2 Brotriupt nodded. "The claim was a gamma pulse from their galactic core exploding."

"How far was it?" another midshipman asked.

"We don't know. We don't know which galaxy is the Milky Way," Captain J'vetip said. He folded his hands and rested his chin on it. "Status of the boarding parties?"

"No contact. They say it looks like it was closed, in between operating hours, when whatever happened went down," Com-4 said. "Engineering Team Two reports that it appears the primary reactors are not only still operable but are fully fueled."

"Of course they are," Captain J'vetip said.

More time passed and the crew underwent shift change. Captain J'vetip took a quick nap in his ready room and went back in, waiting for updates.

"Engineering Teams are reporting the engines and engineering spaces are not only fully operations, but look ready to go," Com-9 said, shaking her head. "They said it looks like its ready to move, not acting as a museum."

"The Tellestians would have kept it operational," Captain J'vetip said.

"Engineering Team Seven states that the cryogenic bays are loaded to 62% capacity and rising," she looked startled. "That's almost two million Tellestians."

Captain J'vetip nodded. "Make sure they aren't dethawed."

"Engineering Nine and Science Two have reached the computer data core space," she looked up. "They say it stretches for kilometers."

"Tell them to hurry up, we're starting to feel a little exposed up here," Captain J'vetip said.

"They're downloading now. Archival data in the earliest sections of the cold storage," Com-9 said.

"Captain, Science One and Engineering Eleven report they've reached the command deck," Com-3 said. He looked up, his eyes wide. "They state that it looks like a digital sentience is being grown according to the ship's VI datalink information," his eyes got wider. "They state it looks like the command deck is manned by teenage female Tellestians asleep in their armored vac-suits!"

"Tell them to hurry up," Captain J'vetip said, feeling both of his stomachs clench. "Tell them to get out of there!"

"Team-Six says they need more time. It's petabytes of data," Com-2 said.

"SIR!" Scan-Three called out.

Captain J'vetip looked at the viewscreen and felt his ears go straight up.

The engines were glowing and the ship was starting to move, tearing free of its moorings. The gantries, hundreds of meters thick but skeletal beams only a few meters each, shattering and spinning away in the silence of vacuum.

"GET THEM OUT OF THERE!" Captain J'vetip shouted, half standing up. "Keep close enough for the mat-trans to work," he turned to Nav-Three. "Get us a vector, as soon as we have them, I want us in jumpspace."

The Warden ripped free of the ring, angling and moving away from the planet and its artificial ring.

Captain J'vetip could tell it was doing a least-time course for a viable jumpspace transfer.

"Last team aboard!" Com-Nine called out.

"JUMP JUMP JUMP!" Jump Master Urtlerut called out over voice, suit com, and the communications system as his hand slapped the button.

Everything streaked as the Symphonic Glory made the translation to jumpspace.

"All crew recovered. No injuries, no fatalities," Com-Four called out.

Captain J'vetip fell back into his command chair, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Where do you think it was going?" a midshipman asked.

"Perhaps it is best if we do not know," Captain J'vetip stated.

------------

Nine hours had passed and Captain J'vetip was down in a specially constructed scientific bay in the main cargo hold. Every system was isolated, every cable air gapped, with electronic counterwarfare systems in operation around the heavy armored walls of the isolated scientific bay.

He stood next to a holodisplay, looking at the data.

"You said it was urgent," Captain J'vetip said.

The Lead Science Officer Grade Two nodded. "We figured out where the ship was going," she stated. "Well, know exactly where, we don't have that data. It's encrypted with polymoprhic intrusion countermeasure programs that are capable of network roaming and creating copies of itself."

"All right, where's it going?" Captain J'vetip asked.

"The ship was executing something called 'Shadow's Sassy Chance'," the Scientist said, moving into a quick seque. Captain J'vetip had been an officer long enough to know not to interrupt a scientist, no matter how meandering the conversation appeared at first glance.

"It was baking up digital sentiences, creating their memories, running hashes," the scientist said. "Additionally, it was creating something called 'Born Whole' clones for both crewmembers and those in cryosleep."

Captain J'vetip just nodded.

"The ship will travel out into the space between this galaxy and what they refer to as the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy where it will stay dormant for a period of time we are not able to decrypt. After that, it will start the second part of its journey, then a third and final part. We're unsure how long this will take," the scientist said.

She waited and Captain J'vetip nodded. "All right, where is it going?"

"Home. Back to the Human Origin System," she said.

Captain J'vetip raised an eyebrow tuft. "Where is that?"

"We only have a general idea," the scientist said. "You have to understand, the data is heavily encrypted in typical human fashion."

"All right. Only a general idea. I need to be able to tell the Grand Senate. Where is it going?"

"It will be travelling two point seven million light years," the scientist said.

Captain J'vetip frowned slightly. He knew that the ship had supposedly traveled a long distance, but that was preposterous.

"It's heading to what they call 'The Milky Way Galaxy', leaving our galaxy, which they call Andromeda," she said. Before Captain J'vetip could say anything she held up her hand.

"They're going someplace called 'Earth'."