CHAPTER 5 – A HEARTBREAKING JOB
16:02 (Earth Universal Time)
Tuesday, August 7, 2328
Repair Dock # 5, Avalon Space Yards
Low Earth orbit, Solar System
A group of Spacers’ League Navy engineers and officers stood on one side of Gustav Shomberg, while a group of his own engineers, plus Eve Silisca, stood on his other side, all of them looking through the observation windows giving them a view of the inside of Repair Dock # 5. The object of their attention was now slowly entering the repair dock via its Space doors, gently pushed inside by an old ATLAS-Class interstellar tug, a ship that had been an interplanetary tug before being retrofitted with a Koomak Drive system. Exclamations started to sound from the group of onlookers as the extensive damages to the ship being pushed inside the repair dock became evident. Gustav Shomberg, who had seen his lot of damaged ships brought to his Space yards for repair, couldn’t help speak softly himself.
‘’My god! It was literally cut to ribbons by these Space Predator laser beams. I am not sure that we will be able to fully repair it, or even that repairing it would be worth the effort.’’
The most senior navy officer, a commodore, looked at him then while asking him a question.
‘’How long will you need to come up with an estimate of the extent, cost and time of repairs needed to return the VLADIMIR KOMAROV to service, Mister Shomberg?’’
‘’From what I can see from here, those laser beams dug deep inside the ship, thus it is very difficult to give you an estimate right away, Commodore Kessel. However, I will need a minimum of at least a week before I could give you a reasonably accurate figure. That is of course if I don’t find quickly that the damage is so extensive as to force us to scrap the ship entirely.’’
‘’I truly hope that you will be able to repair it, Mister Shomberg. We have very few COSMONAUT-Class battlecruisers in service right now and each of them represent a huge investment for the Spacers’ League.’’
‘’And what about the 632 men and women who died on the VLADIMIR KOMAROV, Commodore?’’ asked Eve Silisca, surprising everyone, including Shomberg, by jumping in on that exchange. ‘’A ship can be replaced, but not lives. As it was designed, the VLADIMIR KOMAROV proved to be unequal to the task of facing a Space Predator asteroid ship. Simply returning it to its original state would only put another crew in danger of near-certain death if it ever encounters a Space Predator ship again. I say: don’t simply return it to its original state; instead, modify it while doing basic hull repairs, so that it could be equipped with new weapons which would prove effective against a Space Predator asteroid ship.’’
While Commodore Kessel gave Eve a jaundiced look, not appreciating the fact that an android would contradict him about warship matters, Gustav Shomberg nodded in agreement with her.
‘’Eve is right, Commodore: simply repairing the VLADIMIR KOMAROV and returning it to its original state would be a futile move. On the other hand, with us having to cut away the most severely damaged sections of its hull, that would make it easier to replace main components and armament systems with improved models.’’
Some of the Navy engineers looked at each other, understanding that both Eve and Shomberg had a point. However, Commodore Kessel threw a hard look at Eve while replying to her.
‘’The VLADIMIR KOMAROV was already armed with our best and most powerful weapons systems, miss. What kinds of weapons would you propose that we put on it in order to be able to win a fight with Space Predators?’’
‘’First off, I would remove all the rail guns on it, including the four rail guns of its main battery. Rail guns have proved to be completely useless against the force shields of the Space Predators. In their place, I would install the kind of super-heavy, improved beam focus disintegrator batteries which are being built here for the A.M.S. NOSTROMO. Then, I would greatly multiply the number of secondary disintegrator cannons, in order for them to act as close-in weapons systems which would help prevent Predator boarding pods from gluing themselves to the outside of the ship’s hull. Hundreds of internal defense batteries, all linked to an extensive network of internal ship sensors and directed by the central AI computer of the ship, would also need to be fitted. Even if some Predators managed to board the ship, those internal defense batteries would be able to quickly eliminate those boarders before they could massacre the crew. Finally, your missiles will need to be fitted with micro-jump-capable Koomak Drives, so that they could jump through the force shields of the Space Predator asteroid ships and then detonate their anti-matter warheads directly against the hull of those ships. That is what I propose, Commodore.’’
‘’Now, wait a minute, miss! I have been serving aboard warships for over twenty years now, while you are a simple civilian. How can you pretend to tell me what the Navy should do?’’
Eve then turned to resolutely face Kessel, her eyes staring hard at him.
‘’How? By being an android with AI intelligence able to dissect a problem in a logical manner, exempt from any preconceived belief. By me having proposed to Admiral Forster the attack plan that she ended up using to destroy that Space Predator ship in the Ross 128 System. By me proposing to her the series production of security androids able to deal quickly and efficiently with Predator boarders, security androids that I have now been producing here for over two weeks. That is how, Commodore! I believe that we should approach the case of the VLADIMIR KOMAROV in a logical manner, before we start spending a fortune and countless hours of work on simply returning it to what would then basically be a useless ship.’’
‘’THE KOMAROV, A USELESS SHIP?’’ exploded Kessel. However, Eve immediately replied to that, keeping her voice level but still staring hard at the commodore.
‘’Against a Space Predator ship? Yes! Are you still ready to waste a new crew on it by refusing to upgrade it rather than simply repair it? If you do, then expect me to send a rather stingy assessment about that to Admiral Forster.’’
That was apparently too much for Kessel, who then turned around and marched away, furious. That left Gustav Shomberg, his engineers and the Navy engineers to stare with disbelief at Eve.
‘’Wow! Eve, you were a true firebrand there, but you also were absolutely correct about your assessment of what we should do about the VLADIMIR KOMAROV. I will thus analyze the work to be done through your optics of the situation and will then send my evaluation report directly to Navy Headquarters on Providence…and to Tina on New Haven.’’
‘’What if Commodore Kessel refuses to side with us and insist on simply repairing the VLADIMIR KOMAROV, Gustav?’’
One of the Navy engineers, who was second only to Kessel in rank and seniority, then jumped in.
‘’Miss, I fully agree with the assessment you gave about what we need to do with the VLADIMIR KOMAROV and I am ready to support your proposals at Headquarters, even if that puts me in opposition with Commodore Kessel. Could you tell us more about that new model of super-heavy disintegrator battery and about your security androids?’’
The officer was rewarded by a warm smile from Eve that made him wonder if she was really an android and not a real woman, and a most beautiful one at that.
‘’About the super-heavy disintegrator guns, you will need to go see Doctor Koomak, who is presently working at the Weapons Division of the Avalon Space Yards. As for my security androids, I can have a squad of them show up here in minutes, so that you and your officers can examine them from up close. Just give me a second.’’
Using the radio implanted in her head, she made a quick call to ten of her androids, telling them to come to the viewing gallery of Repair Dock # 5. With that done, she smiled again to the Navy Captain.
‘’They are now on their way. In the meantime, let’s continue to examine the poor VLADIMIR KOMAROV from here.’’
Nine minutes later, the approaching noise of boots walking in cadence made everybody look towards one end of the viewing gallery. The navy engineers then saw a troupe of five men and five women marching towards them in perfect cadence and at an energetic pace. As the squad arrived in front of the engineers, the ten androids, wearing blue coverall uniforms, tactical vests, helmets and pistol belts, came to an abrupt halt, crashing down their left boots in unison and sending vibrations through the deck. The squad then pivoted as one to the left to face the impressed navy engineers. The navy captain, like his subalterns, eyed with fascination the ‘men’ and ‘women’ of the security squad.
‘’Wow! You would need to know in advance that these androids are not actually Humans. And their individualized facial appearances. body build and ethnic diversity make them look even more human.’’
‘’They don’t only look like different individuals: they ARE individuals, Captain. Apart from all getting a standard AI program, plus an individual identity package, each of them was educated by me about the subject of interacting with living beings and given the opportunity to develop further their personalities through watching the various situations and backgrounds around them.’’
‘’Develop further their personalities, Miss Silisca?’’ said a female navy AI engineer in a nearly shocked tone of voice. ‘’How much further could they develop in that respect?’’
‘’As far as I have developed myself: to the point of being able to feel the equivalent of real emotions and to become a fully self-aware sentient being. As far as it concerns me right now, the only human function that I will never be able to possess is that of biological reproductive capability. However, I have partly compensated for that by designing and building those security androids, and then educating them into developing themselves further.’’
‘’So, they are in a sense your children, right?’’
‘’No, Commander! I consider them more as my siblings. Their mother is Spirit.’’
‘’Spirit? Who’s that?’’
‘’Spirit is the central AI computer that was in the KOSTROMA and which conducted the final suicide charge of her ship in order to destroy the Space Predator asteroid ship that had invaded the Ross 128 System. Thankfully, I was able to download a copy of its personality and memories on a number of data storage modules before we evacuated the ship. Spirit has since then been downloaded and reawakened into the core AI vault of the A.M.S. NOSTROMO, which is due to be completed in some fourteen months here, at the Avalon Space Yards. Every android I complete here is then linked to SPIRIT for a few minutes, so that Spirit and the new android can acquaint themselves with each other. At that same occasion, Spirit also transmits to each android the sum of what she has learned about social interaction with Humans during her 39 years of existence as the AI computer of the KOSTROMA. That alone helps a lot the personality development of my androids. You may say that Spirit is the matriarch of our androids.’’
The engineers present, both from the Navy and from Avalon Space Yards, exchanged looks, most of them of stunned surprise, some of concern, while Gustav Shomberg appeared unphased. Eve made sure to remember who showed concern then. The female navy AI engineer then asked her another question.
‘’And how large are the files constituting the personality and memories of Spirit, Miss Silisca?’’
‘’In terms of data files size, Spirit presently clocks at 2,698,344 terabytes. However, that number is continuing to grow constantly, as Spirit keeps learning from her experience and through online studies.’’
‘’Uh, about the security functions of your androids, Miss Silisca,’’ said a male navy weapons specialist, ‘’I see that they are presently armed with two pistols. What other capabilities or features do they have that would help them better defend a ship?’’
‘’Aah, a most pertinent question, Commander! My androids can of course handle efficiently and shoot with utmost precision any portable weapons system presently in our arsenal. Also, integrated inside their cybernetic bodies are a protective force shield generator, a directed gravity propulsion unit, multi-spectral active and passive sensors and an encrypted communications datalink and radio systems. They also have a much superior strength compare to a normal human of their size, have lightning speed reflexes and are built to resist quite a lot of physical punishment. They can also operate for a few minutes in the vacuum of Space and can indefinitely stay and move underwater. Finally, while they are not visible to you right now, they have a number of weapons hidden inside their bodies, including light disintegrators inside their index fingers. Believe me when I say that, in a close-quarters fight or within short to medium range, Space Predators stand little chances of winning over my androids. As a result, the presence of any sizeable force of my security androids will tremendously boost the internal security of our ships against boarders. My androids are also programmed to be able to effect emergency battle damage repairs in conditions which would be untenable to Human technicians.’’
As she finished speaking, the navy engineers were now looking at the ten androids in a completely new way. That was when Gustav Shomberg returned everybody to the true subject of the day.
‘’Well, ladies and gentlemen, how about starting a 3D external scan of the VLADIMIR KOMAROV, so that we can start assessing the true extent of the damages it sustained in combat?’’
11:16 (Earth Universal Time)
Thursday, August 9, 2328
Stern core section of the battlecruiser VLADIMIR KOMAROV
Repair Dock # 5, Avalon Space Yards, Low Earth Orbit
Navy Lieutenant Angelina Prospero, a structural engineer, was getting quite tired after hours spent scouring the inside of the VLADIMIR KOMAROV in order to find and document any damage that had not been recorded yet. At a length of 475 meters and a maximum diameter of 450 meters, the internal volume of the battlecruiser was huge, while missing some of the damage could cause big problems once the repair/modification work began. So, she and another dozen engineers and specialists had been going up and down inside the hull of the warship for two days now. Right now, she was close to the lowest point along the centerline of the ship, where the armored structures used to house the various elevator shafts of the ship formed a sort of spine in the battlecruiser. With the goal of checking that no debris had fallen at the bottom of those elevator shafts, Angelina started opening one by one the access door of each shaft, in order to look down them and check their bottoms. She had just opened the door of a fourth personnel elevator shaft and shone down the light beam of her powerful hand flashlight unit when she saw something at the bottom of that shaft. Looking more attentively, she still couldn’t make out precisely what lay at the bottom of the shaft, so she powered up her directed gravity vest and started floating down the shaft. She touched down at the bottom after a descent of some twenty meters. One close look at what lay at the bottom then filled her with instant fear and horror and she nearly screamed in the microphone of her radio headset.
‘’THIS IS LIEUTENANT PROSPERO, AT THE BOTTOM OF ELEVATOR SHAFT NUMBER FOUR: I HAVE JUST FOUND A DEAD CREWMEMBER, ALONG WITH A DEAD SPACE PREDATOR!’’
‘’Repeat your position, Lieutenant Prospero.’’ replied the voice of the male commander directing the methodical search of the ship.
‘’BOTTOM OF ELEVATOR SHAFT NUMBER FOUR! IT LOOKS LIKE THE CREWMEMBER WAS ABLE TO KILL A SPACE PREDATOR WITH A DISINTEGRATOR PISTOL BEFORE DYING HERSELF.’’
‘’We’re on our way!’’
Doing her best to regain control of her nerves and going over her revulsion, Angelina gave a more methodical look at the two cadavers, with that of a woman pinned down under a big nightmarish-looking creature. That creature must have stood well over two meters tall on four muscular legs ending in large, duck-like paws, each armed with four big claws. The alien also had four arms ending in hands with six digits each, with razor-sharp claws on them. The head, half of which had been blown off by the disintegrator pistol still held by the dead female crewmember, was elongated, with a long snout and jaws armed with big canines and two eyes surmounted by thick ocular ridges. The torso was relatively thin but long and the creature wore only a sort of short pants and what looked like a vest with cargo pockets. A long, whip-like tail with spikes completed the alien. Surmounting her fear and horror, Angelina then forced herself to crouch and crawl under the dead alien, in order to get to the body of the dead crewmember. She was actually very young and wore the insignias of an electronics technician, with the rank of junior specialist. Pulling out the chain of the dog tags worn by the unfortunate woman, Angelina took a picture of it with her camera before breaking off the lower part of it, then leaving the rest on her. Angelina spoke softly to the dead woman, whose face had been horribly slashed by the claws of the alien.
‘’Rest in peace, Specialist Kimi Tanaka. You were a brave woman.’’
Crawling out from under the alien, Angelina then took a series of pictures of the creature, trying to document it as well as she could, very conscious of the importance of her find.
Maybe two minutes later, her supervisor and another navy engineer arrived at the bottom, landing next to her. Like Angelina, they had to pause for a few seconds in order to go over the revulsion caused by the sight of the dead alien. The commander then gave an order to her and the other engineer.
‘’Alright, our first priority is to pull free the body of that poor woman, so that she could finally be carried out and given a proper funeral. Then, we will get that monstrosity out of this shaft as well, so that our specialists could study it. That was a hell of a job you just did, Lieutenant Prospero.’’
‘’Thank you, sir! Here is the bottom part of that woman’s dog tag: she was Junior Specialist Kimi Tanaka.’’
The commander looked again at the dead young woman, sadness in his eyes.
‘’Thanks to you, Lieutenant. We will now be able to honor her the way she deserves. Alright, let’s move that damn thing off her now!’’
17:19 (Earth Universal Time)
Friday, August 10, 2328
Medical center of the Avalon Space Yards
Low Earth Orbit
Janet Robeson, flanked by Tina Forster, Eve Silisca, Gustav Shomberg and Fleet Admiral Lars Nystrom, looked a long moment in silence at the dead Space Predator, its body now preserved inside a refrigerated transparent acrylic cage at the medical center of the space yards. Her first words were for the head of the Navy, Admiral Nystrom.
‘’Admiral, I want this thing, along with everything it carried, studied in depth, and quickly! This may be our chance to be able to answer many of the questions we have about these Predators.’’
‘’I will make that the top priority of my xenobiology specialists, Madam Governor.’’
Next, Robeson looked at Tina Forster, who had also been staring at the alien creature.
‘’Did we find anything else on the VLADIMIR KOMAROV that could tell us something more about those monsters?’’
‘’Only one thing, Madam Governor: our navy engineers found traces of a fierce fight along one of the corridors of the cruiser. By studying those traces, they were able to surmise that some of the crewmembers of the KOMAROV had still been armed with old-fashioned firearms rather than with disintegrator pistols and rifles and that their firearms proved completely ineffective against those aliens, thanks to their force shields. If those Space Predators would ever land on Earth, then the security forces and armies on the planet would basically be next to powerless to stop them. Maybe we should start thinking about revealing the secrets of our disintegrator weapons to the Earth governments, Madam Governor.’’
Janet Robeson winced on hearing that.
‘’Those morons of the European Union, getting disintegrators? That thought is nearly as scary as that of a Space Predator invasion of Earth. But I believe that you are right, Tina: the whole of Humanity must be ready to fight off those monsters. I will call for a vote of the High Council on that as soon as I am back in Providence. Let’s hope that those Earth governments will at last act in the common interest of everyone, rather than in their own, individual selfish interests.’’