— January, Year 774
Blackness. And silence.
The "Trrt-trrt! Trrt-trrt!" of a holo-comm emergency call cut through the stillness.
"What?" a baritone voice grumbled into the dark a moment later.
"Madame Soghaija, Chancellor of the World Council requests an urgent audience. Level 5," the system announced.
"Accept!" the voice resigned grumpily.
The elegant face of Chancellor Soghaija, eyes downcast and head slightly bowed, flashed into the darkness and hovered in space. Her male junior counterpart, Chancellor Bahandoor stood some distance behind her.
"Your Eminence! My most sincere apologies for waking you at this ungracious hour. We know it is two in the morning, but we have an urgent situation that requires your approval." Her eyes raised cautiously and seemed to search the dark.
"Go on," the deep voice grumbled.
She took a deep breath and her implant strobed ever so slightly, noticeable only to the well-trained eye. He did not, however, need this cue to sense her nervous tension.
"Four hours ago, the Mars galactic observatory's long-range sensors discovered a large cylindrical object tumbling through deep space on a vertical orbit, and now on an intersect path with the solar system orbital plane. Sensors have confirmed that it is not any of the Intergalactics, or any part of them. But it appears to be human-made. And it is on a collision course with the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The World Council would like to execute a recovery mission.
"The Populus has been consulted and concurs, and the Council of Ancients — other than yourself — has already approved.
"Time is of the essence as we have only about a 90-hour window to reach and capture the artifact before it enters the asteroid belt. The Earth-Mars commuter Aldebaran is the closest ship in range. Its passengers have been awakened and have unanimously agreed to turn around and lay in an intercept course. It is risky, but the captain and crew believe they can successfully execute a lasso-and-capture maneuver with the Aldebaran. We seek your authorization to proceed."
"NO!" the deep voice boomed through the dark.
The Chancellor's face fell, and a ripple of her implant betrayed her mortification. Color drained from her face, and she quickly averted her eyes. In the background Bahandoor flushed deep shades of red. He too looked away, visibly contrite.
"Madame Chancellor!" he said more brashly than intended, then flattened his tone, "what is the passenger roster of the Aldebaran?"
"Full complement."
"One-thousand individuals?"
"Yes, your Eminence, but.... everyone has signed on to take the risk."
"NO! OUT OF THE QUESTION! — I will not have one-thousand souls endangered, performing a maneuver that only a recovery ship is properly equipped to do!"
"But,... your Eminence! ...We do not know what this artifact is yet, but there is speculation that it might be form the Missing Age,... and might contain lost data! — And... there is also the concern that, if it were indeed part of an ancient space station,... perhaps one that was destroyed during the Cataclysm? ... that,... it then might contain human remains," she said uneasily. "The Populus feels strongly that any such remains should be returned to Earth for proper end-of-life rites." Her nervous agitation and desperate desire to see the wishes of the world fulfilled, again pulsed visibly through her implant.
Silence filled the darkness for several long minutes before the deep voice finally rumbled:
"I will authorize the Aldebaran to go off course to intercept — but they are NOT to attempt any lasso maneuver!" there was another long pause. Finally the disembodied baritone grumbled on.
"The captain is to get within range and launch his full inventory of — I believe the commuters have nearly fifty of them? He is to have his bots attach and activate and synchronize to slow the object down. He is to keep the Aldebaran in transmission range with his bots, but under no circumstances is the Aldebaran to attempt a recovery by itself!"
Again there was a pause, and the puzzled Chancellor stood round-eyed, awaiting further clarifications. After a few moments the deep voice resumed.
"Contact Luna Base and have a cargo carrier and the recovery ship Hermes go to the launch gate. And have the launch gate readied for ...four consecutive launches."
"Four?"
"Yes. Notify Commander Vassilia to bring the Mercury around."
"Your Eminence, the Mercury is currently on a training exercise, with more than half its crew made up of cadets," she said with unmistakable doubt in her voice, but her implant did not flicker.
"You said yourself, Madame Chancellor, that time is of the essence. I want a rescue ship at hand in case there is need. I have every confidence that Commander Vassilia's cadets are well-trained and capable. — If nothing else it will give the cadets a training experience, as close to a real-life emergency as we hope they will ever need to encounter."
"Of course, your Eminence. It will be done as you instruct. — And the fourth vessel?"
"I am sending Calypso."
"Your personal ship, your Eminence?" Undisguised awe and disbelief as much on her face as coming through her implant.
"Yes. It is the fastest and most agile small craft we have. And Eno will pilot. — In fact, Eno will command the entire operation.
"He will launch first and should be able to rendezvous with the Aldebaran shortly after they deploy the thruster bots. He will take over the coordination of the bots, — and with some luck he will have the artifact under control by the time the recovery ship arrives.
"Send the rescue vessel through second, then the recovery ship. The cargo carrier goes last. It will likely take an extra day to rendezvous, but there is no rush in towing the artifact back."
He paused for a moment then added. "And please thank the passengers of the Aldebaran for their willingness to have their travel plans disrupted."
Her eyes flashed up, staring into the dark, "Your Eminence is sending his personal craft and the Adjutant!" she protested. "The impact to the passengers is hardly an 'inconvenience' by comparison. They will fully understand the importance of this mission!" and she bowed her head deferentially.
"Nonetheless. You will thank them on my behalf!"
"Yes, of course, your Eminence!"
"And please advise the World Council, the Populus, and the Ancients of my decisions. — Also, Eno will be at the space lift within the hour — advise Space Port to get Calypso ready for launch. Eno will transmit authorization codes shortly.
"And now let me get back to sleep! ...I am certain there will be myriads of conferences to attend about this in the morning!" He ground out imperiously.
"Of course, your Eminence! Thank you, your Eminence! May the rest of your night be peaceful, your Eminence."
"Good night!" he finished gruffly, and the comm-link clicked out.
Blackness and silence returned, and only the sound of deep pensive breaths cut through the darkness.
— ~ o0o ~ —
YOU ARE READING
1000 YEARS - Book 1 - Awakening
Science FictionWhen she awakens in a medical bed, without any memories of her identity or her past, all that remains is the echo of a deep rumbling voice, and the words: "Will she remember?" ...Remember what?... Cut off from anything she recognizes, and in the car...
