Not of This World
#5 of Silent Guardians
Here is the next chapter. I had fun writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading. For those that read this chapter prior to the others:
Kyree (key ree): anthromorphic wolf-like race
Kenseng (ken sang): anthromorphic tiger-like race
Arastos (a rest tos): alien starship http://www.sofurry.com/page/248059
Sora (so ra): kyree and kenseng home world
Not of This World
Written By: Spudz
Daybreak came, bringing about a broad reddening of the eastern horizon with the coming sunrise. Slowly light chased away the darkness of night, allowing the metallic blue tinged hull of Arastos to gleam brilliantly in the crisp morning air. And so another day began in Cape Canaveral, Florida with the alien starship continuing to sit motionless along the shuttle landing runway.
Standing alone within the relative darkness of the bridge, the hologram of Lumina regarded the approaching sunrise in captivated silence. Although the A.I.'s perception was spread out across the various sensors of the ship, it still felt right in some odd way to view the beautiful onset of first light through her kyree holographic persona.
The construct was currently alone aboard the ship, since the entire crew had departed the previous day via the shuttle for a little trip across the planet. The plan had called for apprehending the terrorists responsible for starting the whole mess of things over the past week... and all of the ship's crew wanted some up close and personal payback. Lumina didn't begrudge her flesh and blood crewmates of the notion since she too wanted to repay the human assholes for their malicious attack.
Although the A.I. was capable of performing an untold number of tasks simultaneously within the realm of her consciousness, she instead allowed her thoughts to idle. Contrary to the idea this was no easy task, because it required Lumina to withdraw her awareness from every network and electronic system she "touched." In a sense, the construct had to pull herself into one central location... that being the perceived perception of her white-furred holographic self, which continued to stand quietly within the confines of the bridge.
The narrowing of her awareness to one defined location brought on a dizzying sensation that momentarily caused the A.I. to blank out for several nanocycles of her thoughts... almost like a living creature might black out temporarily. However, Lumina quickly overcame the change in her perception and again turned her attention to the coming sunrise. This was an event she did not want to miss.
The construct could not explain why a normal mundane sunrise was so special to her. She had run countless diagnostics on her subroutines, but had found no errors to explain the oddity. Lumina never dared to mention this fact to the crew for fear they might think she was malfunctioning. Regardless of her worries, she still was keen on taking in the spectacle. This would be the first time she could focus her entire attention without having to deal with tasks assigned by the crew or maintain the starship's systems.
At first only the general onset of light across the eastern sky hinted at the imminent day. Soon though, the very tip of the sun's crimson red orb touched the horizon, casting a deep ruby reflection across the ocean surface adjoining the nearby beach. Lumina could do nothing but gaze out through the bridge window in fascinated silence, her entire awareness devoted to recording the event as it unfolded. Slowly, ever so slowly, the reddish globe of the sun crawled its way into the morning sky, allowing daylight to take a firm hold of the landscape. The A.I. sensed her consciousness change slightly as the magnificent event unfolded before her... bringing about a sensation of...of... satisfaction... of happiness.
However, the coming day could not be held off any longer, and after a few minutes it was all over.
With a deep sigh, Lumina's kyree hologram moved forward slightly to place a hand against the surface of the bridge window. The sun now stood fully in the sky as she continued to eye the horizon, taking note of the various naval vessels that stood guard just offshore. Sadly, the onset of daylight was only a brief start to an otherwise long day for planet Earth.
Swiftly the construct allowed her consciousness to again branch out into the complex network of the starship, but elected to keep the vast majority of herself contained within the confines of the hologram. With careful consideration, Lumina wormed her way through the intricate computer systems of Arastos... until... there.
Hidden away behind a series of complex firewalls and backdoors in the countless circuits and archives was a simple file storage directory, the A.I.'s personal memory databank. Here she came to store her most treasured memories... her recollections of past events that Lumina wished to remember and cherish. It was a personal aspect of the construct she dared not reveal to the crew, or any living being for that matter. Just what would her flesh and blood counterparts think if they discovered their computer was recording and storing data relating to personal experiences? The notion was quite troubling for the A.I. to consider.
Many memories were stored in this secret database; from the embarrassing time she had interrupted Riyla and Kanolos while they mated, to the construct's first glimpse of a breathtaking sunrise over the surface of Sora. Every notable occurrence Lumina had witnessed was kept safely here, and the beautiful sunrise over the calm Atlantic waters of Earth would make a perfect addition to this ever-growing keepsake file system.
Quickly she transferred the visual recording from her kyree hologram to the private database, where the file was correctly labeled and saved. Satisfied that the memory was safely tucked away, Lumina then withdrew from the directory and reestablished the multitude of protections designed to keep the crew from accidently discovering her memories.
Hopefully her colleagues aboard the shuttle hadn't noticed the A.I.'s absence over the past hour. With haste, Lumina reached outside the confines of the starship hull, feeling for the hanging end of the open communication link she had severed to the transport earlier. After a mere two nanoseconds, she found the connection and swiftly moved a tiny fraction of her awareness to the smaller ship's computer systems. Apparently, the shuttle was already on final approach toward Arastos.
This fact was confirmed by a sweep of the bigger starship's sensors, revealing the transport descending through 80,000 feet directly overhead. In an awkward double vision, Lumina brought up two separate visual feeds; one from Arastos showing the approaching shuttle, and the other portraying the exact opposite from the smaller spacecraft's viewpoint. Unlike before, the shuttle was approaching without the camouflage of the optical cloak.
The cloak wasn't necessary, due to the crew's mission being already complete. Furthermore, Kano's appearance at the White House had already been leaked to the media the day prior, so there really was no point in continuing to sneak about outside the public's eye.
As a multitude of news cameras watched, the bulky delta-shaped hull of the shuttle came to hover alongside Arastos. At that same moment, Lumina activated the outer door to the starship's rather small hangar bay. The result was a section of the starboard exterior separating from the main superstructure to slide sideways, similar to the door on a typical minivan.
When the main door was fully open, the transport slowly slipped sideways into the now empty space, eventually disappearing completely inside as everyone present around the runway watched in rapt fascination. Quickly thereafter, the disjointed hull section slid neatly back into place to once again become seamless with the exterior.
The task of docking the shuttle complete, Lumina elected to remain in her kyree holographic form until the crew made its way to the bridge. It was strange... but to her it felt more comfortable to be anchored to a single entity... although she had no idea why.
Tentatively, the construct allowed her awareness to spread out across the vast human information network, using the hologram as the base of her consciousness. The alien infrastructure, what they called the internet, always had an odd feel when she first accessed it. Lumina supposed it almost felt like dipping a hand into a bucket of icy water... for that was the best way she could describe the sensation.
Quickly she poured over countless websites, visiting each and analyzing the information it conveyed. News organizations, military defense networks, and even private blogs of individuals... she read them all. The mood that presented itself was a confusing array of views and opinions regarding her ship and crew, as it had been ever since she started keeping track a few days ago.
Some called for aggressive peace talks, others cried for the destruction of the alien ship and all those aboard. There were even pieces of information floating around conveying the supposed fact that Arastos was responsible for the destruction of the International Space Station. The shocking aspect of this startling news was that this information wasn't pulled from the humble blog of an irrational individual, but rather the actual secure network of the American government. That certainly did not bode well.
As Lumina continued her research, the bridge door suddenly swooshed up behind her kyree hologram. Although she didn't have to turn and see who came through the threshold, the A.I.'s figure did so anyway out of habit. It was disconcerting to her living counterparts if she acknowledged their presence without looking at them.
"Good morning Kano," the construct said with a warm smile. "Welcome back."
The fox-furred kyree returned the A.I.'s smile as he came to stand alongside the captain's control station nearby.
"Thanks," he replied, before taking a generous sip of the coffee he held in hand. "Things still ship shape here since we left?"
"Everything is operating well within optimal tolerance levels."
Lumina suddenly placed a hand on her hip while she cocked her head to the side slightly. "How did it feel to punch the living daylights out of those terrorists?" the construct asked. "Honestly I wish I could've gotten in a lick or two for all of the trouble they caused us."
"Well, suffice it to say I took great pleasure in introducing myself first," Kano chuckled in response. "You'd think I had told him he won the lottery the way his jaw dropped to the ground."
"So Mr. Terrorist was just going about his regular business for the day when suddenly a menacing alien wolf-like creature abruptly appears to rain on his parade," Lumina said with a grin. "Oh I wish I could've seen the look on his face."
"Trust me, it was priceless," Kano laughed. "In any case, how is your revenge coming along? I'm sure you've been hitting them where it really hurts."
His words were the truth. While Kanolos and the crew set out to take down the small group of terrorists responsible for the satellite hacking, Lumina had put into play a complex electronic warfare attack made to hit right where it hurt most... in the wallet.
With care, the construct had methodically set out to identify any electronic assets that were maintained by the terrorist organization globally. Once an account was found, she quickly cleaned it out and laundered the money across a multitude of banks located in Europe. When this was accomplished, the construct set out for her next target in a systematic process of attrition.
Over the previous day, Lumina had managed to accrue roughly 60 million euros by cleaning out accounts ranging in origin from Sri Lanka to the United States. Al Qaeda was quick to catch on as operatives rushed to save what little assets were still untouched. However, it was too little too late.
Soon there were no more funds left for the A.I. to plunder, so Lumina promptly moved on to the next step. Taking the capital deposited in the various accounts she had created, the construct divided the sums up into smaller amounts and transferred them to even more financial institutions. Now with everything divided up into small enough sums so as not to attract attention, the A.I. then made a series of donations to a variety of medical research organizations and not-for-profit groups with the acquired terrorist assets... all while making sure that no one organization received too much to raise questions.
Payback was a bitch...
"I've pretty much emptied their coffers," Lumina replied with triumph. "They managed to convert a small fraction to cash reserves. However, having all of the organization's money in hard currency severely limits their options."
"Now that is how you hit em where it hurts," Kanolos spoke while wearing a broad grin, his tail wagging happily. "Hopefully that will keep the organization off balance for some time to come."
"Hopefully so..."
The construct moved to stand alongside him. "I take it the others are stopping by the mess hall for some breakfast," Lumina added as she folded her arms across her chest. Obviously she knew this to be true since her perception was spread out across the bulkheads of Arastos. "I must say... the red present bows were a nice touch for the president's gift."
"Well, that was Shyla's idea," Kano replied with a shake of the head. "That kenseng has never failed to add a bit of humor to a given situation."
Lumina's kyree hologram suddenly perked up as if she had just remembered something. In actuality, the A.I. had stumbled onto something quite interesting while the two talked, since her program was still analyzing information in the meantime. It only took the construct half a second to confirm her discovery by checking and rechecking multiple sources. The finding was nothing short of amazing.
In response to her look of surprise, Kano cocked his head to the side in puzzlement as he wondered what had grabbed her attention.
"I must say Kano," she began again, smirking while shaking her head in bewilderment. "I always think I have the humans figured out... and then I find out something more that knocks me flat on my holographic furry butt."
Several displays appeared around the two kyree and quickly showed a few different webpages that existed within the human's internet. Kanolos turned his attention to the screens, and tried to make out what the A.I. was referring to. For all intents and purposes, the webpages appeared to be just simple forum boards and miscellaneous image hosting sites. After a few moments of silence, he shook his head in confusion.
"I don't get it," Kano said in puzzlement. "These don't seem abnormal in any sense."
"At first I thought so as well," the A.I. responded. "But, while I was analyzing blog posting, I started to see a subtle pattern emerge within the wording. Several of these postings kept referring our appearance to something called a 'furry', but only after that photo emerged showing you shaking hands with the president. And so I started to dig some more and eventually I found these sites."
Lumina motioned to one of the displays behind her figure. "Apparently, there is a sub community of humanity that revolves around appearing... well... just like us I suppose."
Kanolos scratched his pointy ear in confusion as he tried to discern what the A.I. meant. "I'm not sure I follow," he eventually spoke, while still eyeing the screens carefully.
"Art, literature, personal appearance... it is a culture that embodies beings that almost resemble the kyree and kenseng perfectly." She punctuated her statement by bringing up various displays depicting a vast variety of furry art... artwork that looked stunningly similar to Kanolos's own appearance. The fox-furred kyree couldn't help but stare awkwardly at the screens and try to make sense of things.
"The idea is to take the various non-bipedal species of Earth and depict them in a roughly human form...," The A.I. continued. "Although, while maintaining many of the qualities of said species... whether it is fur, scales, tails, or pointy ears like our own. An even smaller portion of this culture also dresses up to look like us."
Several new pictures appeared showing a few humans wearing full body suits covered in fur. Although they appeared somewhat cartoony in nature, the basic features and idea were almost identical to the kyree and kenseng physical forms. Kano couldn't help but stand there with muzzle ajar and continue to stare wordlessly.
"Is this a response to our arrival?" the helmsman asked incredulously after recovering his composure somewhat.
"Actually no. This culture has been around for some time now. I'm truly surprised I didn't discover it sooner."
Kanolos continued to eye the pictures while still scratching an ear in bafflement. It was uncanny how similar these depictions were to his appearance. But then again, his own planet's ecosystems and life closely resembled that of Earth. Perhaps the desire to appear wolf-like stemmed from a deeper admiration for the kyree's four-legged cousins and their majestic nature. Still... he couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that a human would want to appear just like him. The notion was just too weird to comprehend. Lumina seemed to read his mind.
"I know... I can't figure it out either," she added with a shake of the head. "I only learned about this due to the sudden frenzy of activity that occurred in response to the picture with you in your full kyree splendor. It must be astonishing for these humans to see a real embodiment of a concept that until now could only be depicted through art and creative attire."
The A.I. suddenly grinned playfully. "You are an idol to these individuals Kano," Lumina chuckled. "And you didn't have to do anything except appear in a simple photo."
"I never would've imagined."
Kano shook his head in bafflement. "This is something the rest of the crew should see," he added with a smirk.
Several minutes later, all six of the ship's crew stood around the same visual displays with varying degrees of shock and bafflement. This was certainly a revelation no one expected.
"Hard to imagine this culture of humanity exists," Taylo said as he stood with arms crossed. The kenseng engineer's words echoed the other crew's thoughts.
"No doubt," was Riyla's simple reply. She just couldn't believe what she was seeing. The captain turned to Keith, the sole human representative aboard Arastos. "Did you know about this?" she added curiously.
"I can't say I did," Keith spoke with puzzlement. "I had a slight notion that this subculture existed, but not on this level. I have to say, I'm learning just as much about my race as you all are."
"Now there is something I never expected you to say," Shyla chimed in with a smile. "I have to agree with what the captain said in her speech earlier... humanity is certainly the most interesting race I have come to know."
Just like her engineering counterpart's words, the kenseng's comment was shared by the rest.
"Well... I'd like to know more about this culture," the captain said, taking up the conversation. "Perhaps eventually we can meet with some of these humans personally to..."
"Captain! I have an incoming subspace transmission," Lumina interrupted.
Her expression took on a distant far off gaze as the A.I. accessed information that required the bulk of her subroutine's concentration. "The message is priority urgent," she added with a hint of concern. Priority urgent wasn't as dire as priority critical, but it still implied a communication of grave importance.
"Oh that's not good... well... open a channel Lumina," Riyla stuttered, as she mentally jarred herself back into a higher state of alertness. Whoever was on the other end, they would most definitely be higher up in the chain of command.
Lumina's hologram nodded in acknowledgement while a blank screen appeared in front of the captain. Everyone waited in silence as the construct patched into the subspace signal and worked to sync up with the frequency encryption. After a few brief moments the display switched to a video feed of Commander Chali sitting at his desk, the kenseng high commander tasked with maintaining fleet operations around Earth and its nearby planetary neighbors... you couldn't get any higher in the chain of command without stepping into the political realm of things.
"Greetings Captain Riyla and crew," The Commander spoke in a crisp voice that radiated authority.
"Greetings sir," Riyla replied evenly, as she clasped her hands behind her figure and stood upright. It was standard procedure for a military officer to stand at attention when addressing a superior. Her black fluffy tail remained stiff while the captain's pointy ears twitched periodically in unease.
"I'm sorry captain, but I must cut your plan short concerning matters with Earth," Chali began. The elder kenseng promptly folded his hands together atop the desk while his expression took on a look of concern. "A situation has developed that complicates matters and I must ask for your return to Sora immediately. I cannot explain the circumstances over a standard subspace transmission unfortunately."
"Aye commander... we have already made contact with the humans and currently have our ambassador aboard. He is standing just off frame at this moment."
"Ah... good, bring him along as well," Commander Chali spoke with a nod. "His presence will help us resolve this growing problem."
"Yes sir."
Chali went silent for a moment as he seemed to consider something. "This could get messy very quickly captain... I will meet with you promptly upon your return."
With those parting words, the transmission ended and the display screen faded out of existence. For a moment Riyla stood and tried to guess at what had gone wrong. Was it the military brass? Politicians? Who would oppose the introduction of Earth into the Federation... because that had to be the underlying reason behind their recall. Why else would Keith be required to come along?
It then occurred to the captain that her human friend was still in the dark as to what had just transpired, due to their transmission being spoken in Federation Basic. The kyree quickly turned to catch his worried expression. Even though he had no idea what they had talked about, Riyla's rigid stance coupled with the commander's tone communicated to Keith that something had gone wrong.
"I'm afraid we have to adjust our plans," the captain spoke to him in English. "Feeling like a return trip to space?"
"What happened?" Keith replied with growing concern.
"That was my commanding officer. Basically he recalled us back to fleet headquarters for a serious situation he couldn't tell me about over subspace communications. He also asked me to bring you along... although only if you feel comfortable."
"Oh... well that can't be good news," was the human's meek reply. Whatever was happening, it couldn't be good... but it was probably in everyone's best interest for Keith to stick with his friends. Besides, he was dying to see just what wonders lay out beyond Earth's meager solar system.
"Well... of course I'll come along," he continued with more strength. "Someone has to represent my kind, and I suppose I am the best human for that at the moment."
"Alright then," Riyla spoke with a warm smile. "Federation HQ is an orbital space station in high orbit around Sora... so it is only a short jump to get there."
"So I will get to see your home world huh?"
The captain nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'm sure your planet is quite a beautiful sight to behold," Keith continued, mirroring Riyla's smile. "I can't wait to set eyes on her splendor."
"Let's get out of here then," Riyla proclaimed as she moved toward the captain's console position. The rest of the crew acknowledged the captain's order and padded to take their stations, while Lumina's hologram disappeared from sight.
Taylo and Eriras quickly exited the bridge to make their way to the engineering compartment as Kano slid into the helmsman post. Meanwhile, Shyla and Yana took control of the duel tactical consoles and began warming up their displays to initiate the startup sequence. Each crew member was required at their position, and no one wanted to keep the others waiting.
By now the procedure was second nature to Kano. The kyree first brought his console to life and displayed various screens detailing engine status and supporting system configurations. Swiftly he entered another command to begin running routine diagnostics on the atmospheric thruster array, impulse engines, and sub-ether nacelles.
As the helmsman watched, an overwhelming display of information washed across his screens and cascaded downward. Patiently he waited, while the computer ran checks on all vital engine equipment with the help of Lumina. Slowly a series of data outputs informed Kano that every system was configured properly for engine start. Now he had to wait for the others.
At that same moment, the two kenseng engineers entered the engineering compartment. Without pause Eriras assumed her position behind the main console and began the plasma core's startup sequence.
During surface operations, the main core was put into a standby state, with the output set to around two percent to just barely maintain the plasma cycle. This was essential in conserving energy and ultimately lengthening the lifespan of the power systems.
Slowly, the engineer added power to the injectors and began to ramp up the core output in preparation for engine startup. After a few moments, the plasma reaction was hovering at ten percent while a familiar dull hum emanated from the core casing... music to the engineer's keen pointy ears.
Once Eriras's task was complete, Taylo started about powering down the ground power systems. Slowly he began to bring the auxiliary fusion reactors to an idle setting. At that time, he nodded to his mate, who entered a command to switch all power circuits over from the reactors to the main core. The transition was seamless, as Taylo finished his task and stowed the backup power systems in a standby configuration... just in case they might be needed in an emergency.
Forward of the engineering compartment, the tactical stations of Yanashi and Shyla reported the completion of the power system switchover. Now it was their turn.
Almost by memory, Yana punched commands into her console to draw power from the plasma core and begin charging the shield emitters. It was always prudent to have the shields on standby... just in case. It surely wouldn't be good for ship and crew if someone took a pot shot at their vessel without the defensive system ready.
As her mate worked with the defenses, it fell to Shyla to warm up the offensive capacities. Just like the shields, it was also sensible to have the vessel's weapons ready at a moment's notice. With skillful attention, the kenseng brought each armament aboard the ship to a standby configuration. Simultaneously, she also warmed up the targeting computers, and weapon fire supporting systems. After a few moments, her display indicated that all components were online, and operating within normal parameters.
Arastos was now ready to begin the engine startup sequence.
While each crew member had performed their varying tasks, Riyla monitored the whole sequence from her console with rapt attention. Soon the display indicated Arastos was ready.
"Alright Kano," the captain said with a grin. "Start the car."
"Aye captain."
It was a constant joke between the two kyree as to how similar the ignition system of their technologically advanced starship was to that of a simple automobile on Earth. This likeness happened to take the form of the ignition key, which Kanolos had to turn in order to start all three independent propulsion drives. The reasoning behind this feature was the need for the helmsman to quickly and easily shut down every external driving system in the event of an emergency.
All Kano had to do was simply reach over and insert the small unassuming key he held into the appropriate console slot and twist it sideways to the startup position. At once, his screen filled with information detailing the automated sequence as power was shunted to the impulse reactor. With a careful eye, the kyree monitored his console for any signs of malfunction or abnormal power fluctuations. There was no satisfying sound of a piston engine rumbling to life under the hood, but that didn't matter considering Arastos had slightly more horsepower than the average car.
Meanwhile outside the starship, heads turned and activities stopped as a deep growl suddenly emanated from the alien spacecraft, cutting through the peaceful silence of the late-morning day. The menacing noise steadily increased in volume while the impulse engines slowly spooled up to idle, alarming those situated around the hull. It almost sounded like an aircraft engine startup, but with a much deeper groan.
Realizing the ship was about to do something, the army personnel positioned along the concrete of the runway scrambled into nearby vehicles and began withdrawing. Unfortunately in the confusion, one particular Humvee ended up flipped over in the nearby ditch as the driver tried to vacate the immediate area hastily. Soon however, the concrete was empty save for the massive starship.
Within the bridge, Kano's screen indicated startup completion for the impulse drive as a dull familiar hum resonated across the bulkheads... a soothing sound to the crew that always melted away into background noise and quickly went unnoticed.
"Impulse drive online and operating normally," Kanolos said after a few brief moments. The helmsman entered a command to illuminate the running lights along the ship's exterior, warning everyone around that the vessel was preparing to lift off. "Magnetic cushion engaging now. Ship is ready for liftoff."
"Very well, take us up Kano," Riyla commanded before leaning back in her chair to gaze out the bridge window with her wolfish golden eyes. Command authority was now in his hands until they exited the atmosphere.
"Yes captain, I have the conn."
Kanolos brought his hand up and slowly added power to the magnetic cushion emitters located across the ventral hull surface. After a brief moment, the shock absorbers of the four landing struts slowly expanded as weight was lifted off by the growing magnetic field.
With news cameras and military personnel watching, the alien starship began to move for the first time. It was quite an unnatural sight to behold as the massive hull of the vessel lifted up slightly in defiance of gravity and all known physics... it was a spectacle that just took the breath away.
When Arastos was roughly 50 feet off the ground, Kano retracted the landing struts. Gradually, the four massive structures folded inward toward the center of the ship and disappeared within the hull. Soon after that, the outer doors slid neatly back into place to become flush with the ventral hull surface. Now the starship really was just hovering there in quite the unnatural fashion. Arastos was now configured for departure.
Now ready to leave, Kano added just a small amount of thrust in the three main impulse engines mounted directly to the stern of the ship. Arastos responded immediately as the ship began to glide smoothly forward toward the nearby ocean.
At that moment, the kyree brought up a three dimensional map across his dash showing every airborne aircraft within the nearby vicinity. He doubted any planes would stray into his departure path, but still it gave the kyree peace of mind to know where everything was currently flying nearby. Since the ship had already been pointing eastward toward the ocean away from civilization, Kanolos figured that he would continue along on that ascent vector.
Slowly the imposing shadow of Arastos slid effortlessly across the landscape, directly over the heads of a few awestruck humans that could do nothing but look straight up and simply gawk. Within a minute the starship was out over the crystal blue ocean water, still continuing her eastern course.
By this point, a few military fighter aircraft had either noticed the ship departing, or been instructed to descend and investigate. Kano swiftly noted the small dots on his heads-up-display showing the handful of military birds spiraling down toward him.
At that same moment, all kinds of radar signals suddenly saturated the airspace since word had spread that the aliens were on the move. This would prove futile however, as the emissions were just simply absorbed by the composite alloy of the outer hull, effectively making the vessel invisible. However, it wasn't exactly hard to locate the massive slender shape of the starship in the clear sky of early afternoon.
As Arastos passed just a quarter mile north of the imposing HMS Illustrious Royal Navy carrier, Kano increased power to the magnetic cushion. With ease, the ship rose up away from the ocean surface and climbed toward the heavens. Simultaneously, the helmsman added more power to the impulse engines while pitching the vessel's nose upward with the forward atmos. thrusters.
In a carefully coordinated move, the kyree shifted the burden of the planet's gravitation pull from the cushion to the main impulse engines. The result was a general rocket type trajectory with the nose pitched almost straight upward. However, aside from the rapidly changing viewpoint outside the bridge window, there was no indication for the crew that the ship was in motion due to the inertia dampers.
With more added power to the engines, the starship accelerated rapidly through the atmosphere on her way back into space. For the humans back in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the crimson red glow of the aft impulse thrusters was the last sight of the mysterious alien spacecraft before it completely vanished from view.
A long stretch of time passed after the starship had vanished with most people just simply standing and gazing upward to the heavens. Questions were soon asked as everyone tried to figure out why the aliens had departed. Where did they go? Back to their planet? Why did they take Ambassador Ramirez with them? Will they ever return?
Unfortunately, the answers to most of these questions would come through a series of shocking events that would again shake the very fabric of humanity to its core.
Quickly Arastos accelerated through Mach 10 as the starship clawed for altitude through the stratosphere. While the crew gazed out the bridge window, the light blue atmosphere of Earth slowly melted away to reveal a stunning view of the cosmos.
Only a few moments after Kano had first pointed the nose skyward, the ship settled into a high orbit just over The Bahamas.
While the crew carried out the ascent back to space, Keith had elected to stand off to the side and simply watch the scenery through the panoramic view. The return to orbit was bitter sweet for the lone human aboard since the earlier incident involving the ISS. Even though it brought back bad memories, being able to once again look down upon the splendor of planet Earth was quite satisfying.
It was then that Riyla remembered they had another member aboard the ship.
"Oh... I'm sorry Keith," the captain spoke bashfully as she smacked her forehead. "I forgot you were standing there. I'm not used to having guests aboard." She motioned over behind where he stood to an empty console. "You can sit at that auxiliary station if you like."
"Thanks," Keith replied with a chuckle. "I think I'll stand here if that is ok. I like the view."
"Alright then... it will be a few moments before we make the jump to slipstream. Gotta warm up the sub-ether nacelles first."
Keith simply nodded in acknowledge before Riyla turned her attention to Kano. Her mate already knew what to do as he entered commands to draw power from the core to spool up the slipstream drive. Information soon started to cascade down the helmsman's dash detailing the automatic startup sequence.
Along the aft portion of the hull, the four cylindrical nacelles configured in a quad-pod configuration came to life. The sub-ether engines each consisted of several counter rotating ring assemblies housed within the base structure. Additionally, each nacelle was hollow in the center, since this was the location where energy was spun to grasp the fabric of space during a jump. The overall apparatus was relatively simple in mechanical design, although the concept behind slipstream technology was extraordinarily complex.
A deep groan started emanating through the bulkheads with the slipstream drive coming online, cutting through the background noise the crew had already become accustomed to. Outside of the ship's hull, each nacelle began spooling up the rotation rings to idle as power was diverted from the core. Within a few moments, all systems were ready.
"All four nacelles showing idle captain," Kano reported after reassessing his console readings. "Had a slight abnormality with engine three, but it appears to have stabilized."
"Hmm... we'll have to run a full diagnostic when time permits," Riyla replied, rubbing the underside of her black-furred muzzle in thought. "Will it be a problem for our jump to Sora?"
"No captain, we should be ok."
"Ok, please plot a course," the captain commanded.
With expert hands, Kano's fingers flew across the inputs of his console while his wolfish ears twitched occasionally in the kyree's concentration. As he worked, the view outside changed again while the nose swung out away from the planet's surface toward the distant stars. Soon the helmsman's HUD illuminated a projected course which displayed heading, projected jump distance, and jump duration.
"Course is laid in captain," Kanolos spoke after he double checked his dash for possible errors.
"Helm, conduct object collision calculations," Riyla ordered casually.
"Aye Captain."
In another familiar routine, Kanolos brought up the holographic stellar map and began cross checking the ship's projected jump path with known astronomical objects. Sora wasn't all that far away relatively speaking, so the calculation was quick and painless. However, the procedure was always a prudent measure to conduct since it wasn't exactly a good thing if the starship ended up inside a planet upon exiting slipstream.
"At our current orbital trajectory and axial orientation, we are safe to jump for another two minutes," Kano concluded after only a short pause.
"Very good," Riyla replied with a grin. The captain stole a brief glance toward Keith who gave her a quick nod.
"Punch it."
In acknowledgement to the captain's order, Kanolos reached over and pushed the sub-ether throttles down to half power. Up until that point in time, Arastos had not been tested at slipstream speeds faster than that particular threshold, so the kyree didn't want to push their luck when it was only a short distance to travel.
At that very instant in time, the plasma core suddenly ramped up to 50 percent power with the abrupt demand from the nacelles. Quickly the energy flowed from the hull out into each of the four supporting pylons, before entering the power matrix of the slipstream engines. The sudden increase in power immediately caused the counter rotating ring assembles to rapidly increase in speed.
In the span of about one second, the ring structures were accelerated up to a rotational speed of roughly 10,000 revolutions per minute. Now, with the devices up to optimal speed, energy was fed into the center of the four cylindrical housings. After a nanosecond, the growing power concentration became so immense that it literally punched a hole in the fabric of normal space.
At that fleeting moment, the entire starship was thrown into slipstream.
From the outside perspective, the aft portion of the vessel's hull was suddenly consumed in a brief flash of blinding white light. Abruptly, the hull lurched forward, and rapidly disappeared from sight off into the distance.
For the crew, the view outside the bridge window skewed and seemed to stretch outward. Quickly thereafter, a dull thump emanated as the stars vanished, replaced instead by a disquieting black void of nothingness.
Meanwhile further aft, each sub-ether nacelle had, in a sense, grasped the unwound fiber of space that resulted from the entrance into slipstream. At that point, the ship was literally pulling itself forward through the underspace, guided by the fibers that the sub-ether engines currently tugged on. In effect, the result was a bending of normal space to reduce the total distance the vessel ultimately travelled, much like folding a piece of paper onto itself.
"Welcome to slipstream Keith," Riyla said with a smile, as she stood to face her human friend. "You are now effectively travelling faster than the speed of light."
For a moment, Keith simply looked out the bridge window into the empty black void. There were no stars, and consequently no frame of reference for him to base movement on... it was quite unsettling. The captain seemed to notice his unease.
"It can be a little disconcerting at first," she continued while moving to stand next to him along the one side of the panoramic bridge window. "But... you get used to it after a few times. I just picture the ship not moving at all, but rather space is moving around us instead."
Riyla's muzzle split into a playful grin. "I suppose that doesn't help too much," the captain added with a chuckle.
"Well... a little," Keith spoke. "I just have to throw everything I know about physics right out the window first."
Before the captain could continue their conversation, another thump reverberated through the ship, and suddenly there were stars outside once again. The entire trip through slipstream had lasted all of one minute.
For the lone human aboard, the scene that suddenly presented itself was completely unbelievable. Right in the center of the viewing window was... Earth. But no... it wasn't Earth, but rather another planet that looked almost completely identical. How could this be possible?
The world had two moons instead of one, and the continents were quite different... but aside from that, this planet could easily pass for his.
So this was Sora...
Riyla had to laugh at the awestruck look her human friend sported as he gazed out to her home.
"Remarkable how similar Sora is to Earth isn't it," Kanolos spoke from the helm console.
"Uncanny to say the least," was the simple reply from Keith.
The captain suddenly pointed out toward the planet. "That sickle-shaped continent in the northern hemisphere is where I was born," she spoke, while the human followed her finger out to planetary feature. "That is the Tanlos Province. You can't really see it from here, but there is a tiny little island that butts up against the land mass on the southern side... that is where Kano grew up."
"And I would certainly trade the fishing and sedate lifestyle of the community there for a sleek starship any day," the helmsman chuckled with a cheeky grin. "If Riyla hadn't come along and seduced me with that beautiful furry butt of hers, I might've ended up working the deck of a fishing boat instead of piloting Arastos."
In response, Riyla walked over to the helm console and tweaked Kano's pointy ear with her hand to his amusement. "You'd better be grateful I rescued you from the ambitions of your family stud," she chided teasingly. "Else this ship wouldn't have such a brilliant pilot at the helm."
"So I'm guessing your parents wanted you to continue the family business," Keith reasoned as he smiled at the scene of Riyla holding Kano's ear at her mercy.
"Exactly," Kanolos replied, still smirking like a child who had been caught stealing cookies. "I happened to meet her at a local bar while she was on vacation to the island... one thing led to another, and now I am a slave to her will."
Riyla gave a small tug on his ear, making Kano wince briefly. "Mind your manners crewmen," she spoke with mock authority. "You are talking to the captain after all."
"Yes ma'am," Kanolos replied, still grinning wickedly.
The captain released her grip on his ear, while still eyeing her mate with an accusing glare. Before Riyla could react, Kanolos reached out and grabbed her tail, causing her to yelp involuntarily. Giving a quick yank, he caused her to fall into his lap with a muffled "oomph."
"I never forget that for a moment...," he added with a warm smile. "My dear captain."
Before she could reply, Kano locked muzzles with his mate in a passionate kiss. At first Riyla wavered. But, soon the captain couldn't help but melt into her mate's embrace. For a few moments, their tongues wrestled with one another as the two kyree forgot about everything, except each other.
However after a few blissful seconds, Riyla remembered she was currently on the bridge... a bridge that she was in command of. Abruptly the black-furred kyree ended the kiss and pulled back to stare into her mate's golden wolfish eyes.
"You are such a hopeless romantic," she cooed, blushing furiously under her fur at the fact they weren't alone on the bridge.
"Ah, don't worry about it Riyla," Shyla chimed in from her console, noting the captain's embarrassment. "You two are such a perfect mated couple. It never hurts to steal a kiss every now and then."
Swiftly, the captain moved to stand again, while straightening her clothing. She then shot a glance at Kano, who was doing his best to appear innocent with big puppy-dog eyes. Her quick evil smirk implied to him that she would get her revenge later on.
"I couldn't agree more with Shyla," Keith proclaimed with a smile.
"Well... thanks..." Riyla stammered. She gave a quick shake of the head to clear her thoughts. "Erm... ok, Lumina can you contact Federation Control and request a docking gate?"
"Yes ma'am," the disembodied voice of the A.I. echoed across the bridge.
As they waited for the construct to acquire clearance, Keith noticed something out of sorts with the planet. There was a faint, almost invisible, spherical shadow encompassing the terra firma. Was it pollution? Or maybe perhaps just the atmosphere reflecting sunlight?
"I just noticed something," he began. "There is some sort of silhouette surrounding Sora. What might that be?"
"Hmm? Oh... that is the planetary shield grid that protects our planet," Kano said, as he turned in his seat to regard Keith. "It was built almost a century ago, Earth time, to defend against an orbital attack."
"Fascinating. Just how do you power such an immense system?!"
"The energy is supplied by the planet's core," Riyla added, rejoining the conversation. "It is almost completely self-sufficient... although maintenance has to be performed regularly."
"And how do ships pass through to the surface?" Keith questioned. This was an astonishing feat of engineering might he could only begin to understand... it was something right out of science fiction story.
"There are several locations across the equator that allows passage," the captain added. "Sort of like the locks in the Panama Canal. The shield also helps us regulate the flow of tradable goods to and from the surface. The idea is to prevent alien species contamination of the planet's ecosystems and life. Consequently, each vessel is scanned thoroughly before being allowed to move through."
"Makes sense," Keith spoke after considering the kyree words. "I suppose it wouldn't take much to destroy the fragile balance of Sora's biosphere. Earth certainly has had trouble with invading species on a continental scale."
The human again turned his attention to the planet. Sora was definitely well defended... but who was the shield designed to protect from? He knew from earlier conversations that the kyree and kenseng were a part of the Federation Alliance, but he had no idea who else belonged to the coalition, and who might oppose them. He couldn't help but wonder how similar actual stellar relations were to those portrayed in Star Trek... he absolutely wasn't any Jean-Luc Picard for a start.
"I was wondering," Keith began again after contemplating his next question. "But who is the shield designed to protect from? I'm guessing there are more alien races out there besides those that belong to the Federation."
Riyla looked to Kano, who motioned for her to take up the conversation.
"It is probably easier for me to show you," the captain answered. She then turned her gaze toward the tactical station. "Can you toss me a data pad Yana?"
The grey-furred kyree's ears twitched at her name as Yanashi turned in her seat to face Riyla. Up until that point, the tactical officer had been content to just sit and quietly listen to the other's talk. The captain's request had caught her off guard.
"Um... sure... just a moment," she replied tentatively, before turning to rummage through a storage compartment at her station. With haste the kyree located a blank pad and tossed it across the bridge toward the captain, who snatched it out of the air with an expert grab.
Riyla held the pad in hand and quickly entered a series of commands. After a few moments of scrolling through information, she finally came to the visual she had been looking for. The captain then lowered the pad down so that Keith could take a look.
http://www.sofurry.com/page/222716
"This is a diagram of surrounding space," Riyla began. "We are currently right here in high orbit around Sora." She emphasized her words by pointing to the blue sphere that was located in the center of the space. "And Earth is located right here nearby. You can see just how close your planet is to ours."
The kyree then motioned toward the surrounding planets. "The Federation Alliance comprises five races," she continued. "There is the ryokian, raloman, delvan, and of course the kyree and kenseng."
She pointed to the blue sphere named Ralo. "The raloman call Ralo their home. Their world is almost completely oceanic, and so their race evolved in an aquatic environment. They appear fairly human in nature, but I guess you could say they are best characterized as similar to a dolphin... although only vaguely. You'll know a raloman for their distinctive aquatic tails and pale white skin."
Riyla then moved her hand to another blue dot on the display. "Orlana is home to the ryokian. Their world is quite close in resemblance to Earth and Sora, and thus their appearance is fairly analogous to species you are familiar with." She paused briefly while the kyree tried to drum up a good description that Keith could relate to. "I suppose the closest Earth species you can relate them to, is that of the kangaroo... although, aside from the powerful legs and tail their appearance is more cat-like."
"And then there are the delvan," the captain spoke, as her finger moved to the last blue planet on the map. "Galamean is their world, which is quite unique for its vast continents of purple and blue vegetation. They are relatively small in stature, standing about as tall as your waist. The delvan are pretty close in appearance to humans although they have rather pointy ears and a tail like my own, and are typically covered in a bluish-purple fur."
Keith absorbed all of the information in spellbound silence. It was obvious that other intelligent races existed out beyond the stars. But it was nonetheless fascinating for him to try and picture just how these aliens might look like, outside the relative familiarity of the kyree and kenseng he had become acquainted with. According to the map, there were quite a few more neighbors out there. Riyla seemed to read his thoughts.
"Aside from the Federation Alliance, there are a multitude of other territories we have come across," She continued. Thankfully the map was color coded, which helped display every individual sector for Keith. "The Confederate Dominion is the Federation's closest ally. About 50 years ago Earth time, the two coalitions signed a mutual aid pact. Fundamentally, if one ally was attacked, the other would immediately come to the aid in a military capacity. The treaty has so far proven a powerful deterrent against aggressive races."
Keith noted that the Dominion possessed quite a few systems within its borders, each with a unique race to call that particular world home. Just from eyeing the simple diagram, he could tell that it was quite a powerful ally and a force to reckon with.
"There is the Endo Corridor," Riyla said, while motioning to the smaller sector of the map. "I guess you could say they are a high and mighty territory that regards other races as inferior beings. They also charge passage fees across their space like a toll booth... so we don't associate with the endolora much."
The captain's finger moved to the next sector. "The Sorrlator Territory is a fairly neutral region, much like the Algardion sector. We trade regularly with both races, although they each declined an alliance offering by both the Federation and Dominion. They prefer to be independent species with no affiliations."
"The mirtux are another ally of our coalition, but a shaky one at that. We only finalized a pact with that species about two years ago, after a territory dispute led to war with their neighbor. They have proven to be an incredibly resourceful race when defending against the sorrlator in two different conflicts, of which we wanted no part in. The alliance was a means of ending the fighting, although it has put a strain on our relations with their former enemy."
The captain again moved her finger to point out the final territory on the map. "And our last neighbor is the drala. They are a proud race that has proven a valuable trading partner to the Federation and her allies. Unfortunately, the species is suffering growing pains of sorts. With a rapid expansion in population and technology there have been periodic food, resource, and labor shortages. The Federation has been providing aid when needed, while the drala work to build up colonies and terraform uninhabitable worlds."
Riyla handed the data pad to Keith for him to examine closely as she took a deep breath. It was a lot of information for the human to absorb.
"You should abandon your job as captain for a more suitable teaching position," Shyla chuckled from the tactical console.
"Ha... and give up running amok across the cosmos," Riyla replied with a grin. "Hell no."
"Well, at least you get to yank Kano around by the tail."
"Hey now," the fox-furred kyree chimed in with feigned anger. "Don't give her any ideas."
Keith silently looked up from the data pad to again gaze out toward Sora and its planetary beauty. It was just unfathomable how many intelligent races existed near Earth, yet humanity was completely unaware of their presence... even when actively looking out into the stars in an attempt to discover such life.
At that moment, Lumina's miniature kyree hologram appeared standing atop Kano's dash with a hand on the hip.
"Captain, I have just received clearance to dock at Federation HQ," the A.I. announced. "Docking port 134-A. We are cleared for immediate approach."
"Very well," Riyla responded. "Kano, go ahead and take us in."
"Yes captain."
With expert hands, Kanolos brought the impulse engines back online and powered Arastos toward the planet's surface. However, that was not the destination as he quickly made adjustments to the ship's trajectory for a lower orbit.
While Keith watched, a small object appeared over the planet's horizon. Quickly the shape grew bigger... and bigger... and bigger still. The human became increasingly alarmed as the orbiting silhouette slowly resolved itself into the massive space station that was Federation High Command.
The structure was shaped roughly like a spinning top, with large circular projections expanding out horizontally at the widest point in a hexagonal pattern. The actual size of the platform didn't fully hit Keith until they were roughly a mile distant. Each of those circular partitions was a docking station hub... with an untold number of spacecraft berthed around the circumference, above, and below! The sheer size and complexity of the station was just too much for the human to comprehend.
Not only was the space station impressive, the fleet of starships situated around the imposing structure was similarly striking. Each vessel was armed to the teeth, at least from what Keith could see through the bridge window. He supposed that made sense, being that this station was their military headquarters after all. The spacecraft ranged drastically in size, from the smaller sleek hull designs like Arastos, to massive vessels bristling with daunting deck guns similar in appearance to a World War II battleship of Earth.
"I can't believe how big some of these starships are," Keith breathed, while placing a hand against the bridge window in awe. "I thought Arastos was big... but these craft make us look like a tiny tugboat floating next to an aircraft carrier."
"No doubt," Riyla replied from next to him. "Our primary function in fleet action is reconnaissance, diversion, and precision fire. We can't slug it out against a capital vessel like the bigger ships, but we can hurt them from a distance before vacating the scene quickly... shoot and scoot I believe your military calls it."
"Like a sniper team hiding in the weeds," Keith reasoned, still staring out the window.
"Exactly," the captain confirmed with a smile. "...except we can strike a target from several light-years away, as opposed to just over a mile. In terms of strategic importance, our tiny vessel is just as valuable as the rightly named big guns, since we can harass an enemy well outside their weapon's range."
While they talked, Kanolos slowed Arastos's velocity as he gradually reorienting the ship's position in preparation for docking. At that point, the bridge view passed onto the other side of the docking station hub structure, revealing a starship unrivalled in size. Keith was about to speak again when he caught sight of the enormous hull, causing Riyla to turn her attention and see what had caught his eye.
"Ah... that is The Federation Axis Vessel Keyla," the captain spoke with reverence. "She is the largest ship in the entire fleet... quite a sight to behold."
The massive starship was currently docked to the underside of the station, with a swarm of smaller craft maneuvering around the hull. She was not lacking any in terms of firepower, with enormous armaments protruding out from the superstructure menacingly. Just like Arastos, the vessel was equipped with four sub-ether engines, although these were mounted directly to the aft sides of the hull... and they were each the size of a New York skyscraper!
"A city built into a warship," Riyla commented with admiration. "She is one-of-a-kind, although her sister ship is currently being constructed in orbit around a nearby colony planet. I suppose Keyla is the equivalent to America's aircraft carriers in terms of military might."
"It is just... unnatural to see such a large vessel that is capable of punching holes in the fabric of space," Keith breathed, still fixated on the starship. "She can achieve slipstream... right?!"
"About half the speed of Arastos," the captain replied, with just a hint of triumph. Her ship's speed was unmatched by any vessel currently in the fleet... a point of pride for the kyree. "Keyla wasn't built for speed though... she was built to absorb a great deal of abuse and dish it right back to the enemy," Riyla added, before turning her attention to the rapidly approaching docking hatch Kano was aiming for.
When the starship was roughly 100 feet from the berthing port, Kanolos thumbed a key on his console, bringing up communications with the local docking authority.
"Axis vessel Arastos, ship ident 8001... requesting clearance to dock," the kyree spoke in Federation Basic. A momentary pause occurred before a reply came over the bridge comm. in the form of a feminine voice.
"Local docking control A3, clearance granted... welcome back Arastos."
The starship was currently positioned alongside the outer circular circumference of a docking hub, with her nose pointed toward the planet surface below. In effect, Arastos would dock at a 90 degree rotational offset from the space station deck. This was due to the close proximity of the ship docked at the next berth over. It was found that more vessels could be parked in the given space if you stacked them vertically as opposed to lengthwise around the external superstructure.
The unsettling consequence of this docking orientation was the fact that Arastos's deck floor would be perfectly aligned with the right wall surface in the berthing extension. This was due to the station's artificial gravity and deck alignment being parallel to the planet surface below.
Slowly, Kano applied thrusters along the starboard hull to gently ease Arastos sideways toward the extended berthing port. He then quickly reaffirmed that they were still perfectly lined up, before checking various camera displays across the dash for any obstructions that might interfere. Soon a soft thump resounded and the ship's drift stopped with a firm connection to the structure along her port side.
They were here.
With a turn of the ignition key, Kanolos powered down all three propulsion systems. He then placed each drive in a standby configuration before shutting down the helm console. Meanwhile, the tactical officers shut down the weapon arrays and discharged the shield emitters.
Further aft the engineers repeated their procedure of slowing the core's plasma flow rate down to the idle setting. However, the kenseng didn't switch power circuits over to the auxiliary fusion cores, but rather shunted energy directly from the space station through the power connection in the docking port. It was standard procedure for any extended stay at a Federation installation.
Just as Riyla was about inform the crew of her departure to see Commander Chali, Lumina suddenly spoke up.
"Captain, I have an incoming transmission... with Commander Chali's ID tag." The A.I. said evenly.
"Patch him through please."
A screen quickly appeared and snapped to the familiar picture of the elder kenseng behind his desk. His expression was unreadable as always, while he regarded the captain with a calm air.
"Greetings Captain Riyla," the commander spoke somberly in Federation Basic. "I'm afraid I have some good and bad news. I am on my way to depart off station at this very moment, so my meeting with you will have to be postponed. That is the bad news." The kenseng folded his hands together atop the desk in the familiar manner the captain had become accustomed to.
"The good news," he continued. "Is that I am departing for a diplomatic meeting that will hopefully resolve the situation I originally brought you back for. Suffice it to say that if everything goes according to plan, I can send you back to Earth to resume your own diplomatic mission."
Chali's expression took on a rare look of sympathy. "I am sorry that I haven't briefed you on what is happening. Hopefully, I can bring you up to speed upon my return. Under my orders, you are to remain at Federation HQ until I return in roughly two cycles (2 days)."
"Aye commander," Riyla replied firmly as she continued to stand at attention.
The commander took on a look of consideration before he continued. "The rest of high command has high hopes we can resolve this issue with our stellar neighbor, but I'm not so sure about matters myself... I will see you in two cycles."
"Chali out." With that parting address the elder kenseng ended the communication.
The captain mulled over her superior's words carefully. Even though he appeared under orders to withhold information, Chali still had given Riyla the courtesy of relaying at least a tidbit of info. So, it wasn't a problem within the Federation, but rather another territory.
But who?
Was it the mirtux backing out of their alliance pact? Were the algardions or drala up to something? It had to be something relating to Earth, since Chali wanted Keith here to help resolve the situation. Hell, any one of their planetary neighbors could be behind the trouble.
Whatever the problem was, it was currently out of her hands. With a huff, the captain turned to the others on the bridge... it would've been nice to find out this information before they had left Earth!
"Well... we got two days of shore leave until the commander gets back," Riyla spoke in English, so that Keith could keep up. "Now what the hell do we do?"