Into the Horizon: Information Stolen
#3 of Into the Horizon
There is some mild language. This chapter is shorter than the previous two. This is a transition into the next series of events, so just bare with me.
Into the Horizon: Information Stolen
Ron lay in bed, yet another sleepless night greeted him. He hadn't been able to sleep much since arriving on the Siberia. The crew was nice to him everyone liked him. But it wasn't home, it wasn't the Titan. Scott was in the bunk below him, and Bane was on duty. All three shared one room, therefore Bane and Ron shared a bed together. To keep things from being awkward between them Bane chose to work night shifts while Ron worked day shifts. It had been almost a month since their arrival in this time. Capitan Max had put them to work, knowing there was no way back it was the only logical choice. They had improved the ships weapons systems as much as possible, increased its speed, and doubled the power efficiency. The ship used an antimatter reactor, which none of the three liked. But crystal technology didn't exist and couldn't be integrated into the ship easily. Ron could hear Scott fast asleep, tired out from the previous day. With no chance of sleep in the near future, Ron got out of bed and dressed himself. Fortunately this time had coffee, a human drink that he had gotten used to on the Titan.
Max had been kind enough to grant them top clearance though the ship meaning that he could go wherever he wanted to whenever he wanted to. Ron didn't know why, but he seemed to trust them. As he walked, he couldn't help but to ponder over events. The one thing that made no since was exactly why the Wolf ships seemed so far advanced. They were formidable, almost too formidable. As he neared the cafeteria the smell of a fresh pot brewing perked up his nose and brought him back to reality. It was a puzzle that would have to wait until after his first cup. He was surprised, however, to find Bane sitting alone in the room. He was the only patron present, and he talked with the staff pleasantly. Which shocked them as they were primarily Fox. Bane hadn't noticed his friend enter until Ron took a seat by him.
"And what, may I ask, are you doing here. I thought you had bridge duty"
"I did, but somebody relieved me for a bit so that I could come grab some coffee and think. There is something bothering me about that Wolf ship we destroyed. The metal of its hull shouldn't exist yet, and its weapons are far too powerful for this time period. Not to mention that I found mention of Sub Space weapons being used, and I know that they were not invented until well after the war was over. There were certainly never used, yet they have been in this timeline."
"Bane, do you think that the data core of the Titan came though with us?"
"No, but I think it came though before us, I've detected a sub space signature that appears to be it. But I haven't told the Capitan yet. I'm not sure what to do about this yet."
Ron sat and pondered on what had just been said. "Well, we have to go after it, if they manage to unlock everything it contains then it will shift the war in their favor. The future will be destroyed, and the Wolves will have all the information they need to wipe out the Humans and Fox."
"Yeah Ron, I've thought of that. Problem is, its in the middle of Wolf territory. Assuming we get there in one piece, I'm not sure if we could get to it or get back with it. We certainly can't destroy it, its metal is strong enough to withstand anything. It was designed to be indestructible."
The two sat in silence, each sipping on their beverage of choice. Ron knew the Wolves would need Bane's access codes to get much information out of it. However, they had obviously gotten some without it though, and it was only a matter of time until they managed to gain full access. Bane also seemed to share this thought as he vocalized it. What they were afraid of was the Wolves would discover the plans for the Titan class war ships. Although Titan was the name of the previous ship, it had also been a class of ship. It was one of the most powerful created by the Fox empire, and was the first to use Crystal power cores. They had firepower far beyond anything that had previously existed. They could even give the current wolf ships a run for their money. If the wolves found this ship in that data core, then the Humans and Fox did not stand a chance.
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Max sat in his office. He had gotten off of duty hours ago, but sleep only brought nightmares. His body had became accustomed to no sleep for days, though it wasn't healthy for him. He wasn't particularly worried about health though. His mind drifted from topic to topic. Eventually he began thinking about the trio he had rescued nearly a month ago. Since that time they had become valuable crew members. They had upgraded his ship as much as possible, they had even provided some specs for better weapons to the Terrain empire. He was somewhat worried though. Although he trusted them, he was concerned of their capture by the enemy. They had attempted to gain access to them. The wolves were far more interested than the Fox. The Fox had became busy with a renewed Wolf attempt to push to their capital planet. The Fox were holding their own, but defeat was inevitable. After that the Humans would fall, and Max knew it. The only reason the Humans had held out as long as they had was that the Wolves had their resources divided between two fronts. But the Fox had ignored attempts to make piece and ban together against the Wolves. Not that it would have made any difference though. Their tech was just too damn good, faster ships. More powerful weapons, and some of it just seemed impossible. A sudden knock at his door brought him back. He pushed a button on his desk opening the door to reveal Ron standing with a worried look on his face.
"Ron, come in. I thought you would be asleep."
"Capitan, sleep doesn't come as it used to. But I think we may have a problem."
"Just one problem, that would be nice. What's on your mind?"
"Well," began Ron, "I think I know why the Wolves are so much more advanced than everyone else. I think they found the data core from the Titan."
This sent chills down Max. He knew that if they had that, then all hope was lost. Everything the trio had done from memory had helped. But having full access to future tech would give them the edge to win the war. As Max sat in silent worry, the ship was suddenly rocked as it was fired upon by an enemy. Max jumped up and ran onto the bridge of his ship.
"Report," ordered the Capitan as everyone including Bane and Scott, took their stations.
"Sir," reported the human at the sensor station, "a wolf ship just dropped out of warp and have engaged us. They are demanding the surrender of the Siberia."
"Like hell we'll surrender," replied Max as he ordered Bane to open fire with everything they had.
Bane knew it wouldn't be enough this time. This ship was different, it had particle cannons instead of antimatter cannons. Its hull and shields rivaled that of future battle ships produced by space command. This ship was, without a doubt, a result of the core. There was no doubt that the Wolves had it. As Bane fired back, trying to fight off the ship. The Siberia was rocked by explosions, the outclassed ship had been defeated before the fight even began. The particle cannons were too much for the shields. Several decks had been opened to space as the unprotected hull received the full rath of the Wolf ship. Then, as quickly as it started, the fight stopped. There was no longer a call for surrender. Bane turned to look just in time to see Scott beamed off the human ship. He had been taken prisoner of them, no doubt because of his skills. They needed help to incorporate the future tech into their current ships. There was no conversation as the remaining Bridge Staff watched as the Wolf ship warped away from them. The Siberia was drifting. The power systems had been damaged badly, and warp wasn't an option as the hull was so badly damaged that it would mean the destruction of what was left of the ship. Max just sat back in his Capitan's chair. Everybody was looking to him for orders, but he had none. There was no going after them, the Wolves had seen to that. There wasn't another human ship close enough to do anything. They would soon get everything they needed to bring the Humans and Fox to their knees. It was over, they had lost. The second in command started shouting orders as Max got up and walked into his office. As he heard the door close behind him, he simply went and sat at his desk. He felt numb, there was nothing to be done. There was only one question that remained. Why had the wolf ship not destroyed them? They had them dead in the water, and had not taken the shot. He barely noticed that Bane had entered the room with a look that was sorrow mixed with concern.