Drift Effect

Chapter 07: Digging

Clark jerked himself awake as the sound of a loud whistle rang through his room before ending on a higher pitch. By the time he was fully conscious, Dana was already in the middle of her announcement.

"—neral quarters! All hands to battle stations! Repeat, all hands to battle stations! This is not a drill!"

A klaxon then rang continuously in short bursts. Clark struggled to climb out of bed. His sleepiness hadn't faded, and he was still struggling to get his mental faculties in order.

"Here, Clark," Nikki said.

A rush of energy washed over him. He felt himself awakening fully, the fatigue still present but now in the background of his mind.

"Not a perfect mix of 'wake-up' hormones," she continued, "but it'll do."

"Thanks," Clark replied a little hoarsely. He got out of his bed and made his way to the terminal. "How long was I asleep?"

"Five hours."

Taking a seat, Clark took a deep breath as the login process began. He felt himself shrink and expand as his terminal struggled to connect to the bridge. It wasn't painful, but it was certainly more annoying than logging in from the bridge terminal directly.

"There's heavy Drift dilation present in the virtual bridge," Nikki warned. "Compensating… there we go."

Opening his eyes, he saw everyone present and occupying their terminals. The way they calmly stood in place was a bit of a contrast with the noise and rush outside of the Driftcon.

"Mister Dobson," Curry greeted. Clark saluted, to which she returned it. "Now that we're all present, Mister Michaels, if you would."

The older man nodded. A screen appeared in the center of the room, displaying more alien ships. Clark stiffened.

"Contacts have appeared on the edge of the outer system near the inactive artifact," Michaels declared. "The ships appear to be of the same design as the ones we destroyed thirty hours ago and are utilizing exotic matter. Currently, there are thirty ships, five of which are cruisers, and the remainder being frigates. However, we believe there are at least fifty more contacts en route to the system. ETA, ten to fifteen minutes in real time."

"Fifty?" Moreau asked, eyes wide. "Are you sure about that number?"

"Yes," the older man replied. "I'm very confident about the new sensor program, especially after hearing what the science team shared with us regarding how the alien ships operate."

Clark blinked, wondering what he had missed while he was asleep.

"I mean, I kind of expected some sort of response, but fifty ships?"

"At least fifty," Michaels corrected with a dark chuckle. "The number's actually climbed up to seventy now."

"The number of the incoming ships doesn't matter," the Captain interjected. "We aren't here to fight them off. Our orders are to escort the science teams out of this system and that's what we'll do. Fortunately, Alexanderson only needs five to six minutes, real time, to re-upload himself back from the alien frigate to Kepler."

Clark wondered why their AI had been uploaded to the alien ship in the first place.

"That's plenty of time before the enemy arrives en masse," Curry finished.

"Captain," Moreau piped up. "Not to sound negative or anything, but that still leaves thirty ships present, and they don't seem to be the considerate type."

"Uninvited guests usually are, Mister Moreau," Curry replied. "Thankfully, Hercules and its team know how to deal with unruly people. Dobson, you have five minutes, Drift time, to get yourself ready."