Wings of Light., No L and no C this time. Ok, there is quite a bit of c. Options

[jack cloudy]

Next one. Ok, several things first.
1: THIS IS NOT FANFICTION. No, this is a story taking place in an original universe. I hope no one minds.
2: Don't expect regular updates. This is an attempt at a professional novel so I want to plan it out and get all the good stuff in it. Foreshadowing, multiple plot lines, character interaction, cool hardware and a god, or maybe two.
3: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Also known as: Technobabble and Handwaves explain everything.
4: The laws of robotics are not implemented here. Sorry Isaac, but I want them to drive the cool stuff. They don't have time to babysit some organic wimps.



WINGS OF LIGHT

CHAPTER 1: Lights, colours, not here.

Without a sound, the SS Hesphire moved to its destination. It would have been useless to expect any sound as such a phenomenon had a hard time travelling through the vacuum of space.
,,This is your captain speaking. We are approaching the wormhole leading to the Eden system. The estimated time for our arrival is approximately half an hour from now. There will be a short burn for course corrections. We advise that all passengers strap themselves in till we’ve entered the wormhole and stabilized our course. If you require any help, our crew is willing to assist you. Thank you.” The disembodied voice echoed through speakers all over the ship.

With this announcement, everyone dropped whatever he or she was doing and moved to the observation deck. Entering a wormhole was always an exciting event for those who were new to interstellar travel. There were also those who were not new to interstellar travel. They also moved to the observation deck, though for a different reason.

Belonging to the second group was Paul Anthony Detroit. Every single cell of his body revealed him as a true veteran of space. He smoothly sailed from wall to wall, without any of the awkward bouncing of the average tourist. His clothes were tight fitting like those worn by all true space farers, yet without looking like a diver’s suit, oversized pyama or any other kind of embarrassing outfit newbies wore. The passengers he passed were mostly less successful in their choice of clothing. Wide, flowing clothes were fashionable these days yet had the unpleasant habit of getting stuck between doors or flowing away from the areas they were supposed to cover. Easy to use belts for strapping down clothes to the limbs were standard issue on civilian ships carrying passengers.

Thanks to his skill at zero g manoeuvring, he arrived well before the other passengers and secured the best place of all, the ceiling. Instantly, a steward pushed off against a wall to reach him.
,,Please mister, you may want to sit in one of the seats. Free floating during course corrections are not advised.” The young man, barely in his twenties, warned. Detroit looked down at the traditional name tag and smiled.
,,Well mister Rein, I can assure you that part of a g is not going to be a problem for me. Unless the SS Hesphire is using an illegally rigged High-performance Fusion torch and will be running multiple gees. In which case I would have to arrest everyone onboard.” He responded with the cool tone of voice that could come from only one kind of person. Military officers, the high-ranking ones.

The steward wisely backed off, allowing Detroit to enjoy the view. The man looked how everyone else entered the observation deck and got strapped in. There was some chaos but the stewards managed to get their job done and everyone strapped into a chair. He smiled again as he thought of the faces they would pull upon seeing a wormhole.
,,This is your captain speaking. We shall initiate our burn in 30 seconds. Anyone who is not yet secured should grab the nearest support and hold on for the next few minutes. Thank you.” This time, Detroit did follow the advise. He reached out and grabbed a small handle jutting out of the glass dome that covered the observation deck at the nose of the ship.

Little puffs of hydrogen jetted out of the minuscule thrusters spread across the Hesphire’s hull. The long cylindrical vehicle turned its nose around slowly. Two minutes later, the thrusters fired again to stop the rotation. Now the main thruster at the far end of the ship fired. Unlike during the turn, the acceleration caused by the main thrusters was felt by the people onboard. It felt as if you were suspended in the air under a parachute with a gentle breeze pushing you along.
,,This is your captain speaking. We are entering the wormhole in five…four…three…two…one…entering now.”

Necks were stretched in awkward positions, eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets. The stars disappeared, to be replaced by pure darkness. Slowly, a hint of disappointment spread across the two dozen or so faces gathered on the observation deck. Detroits smile grew bigger.
,,No lights, no fancy colours, no humming sounds, no sudden acceleration. This ain’t your average holovision show. Welcome to real space. It is boring, it is slow and it rarely takes you anywhere interesting. At least you won’t find bad looking aliens with worse looking rayguns at every corner.” He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. Then, he laughed. Yes, the passengers would be angry with him for the rest of the trip but why should he care? It would only be a week or so and then he would be back where he was supposed to be. On a ship of his own. One with guns, big guns.
“And twenty-two wormholes away from the action.”

[jack cloudy]

Several days later, the salvage operation was coming to its end. Detroit was sitting in his office as usual, looking at the reports that were still dropped on him like an avalanche.
[Anchors locked. Initiating last stage of salvage in thirty minutes. Recalling probes and storing all sensor information.] Blinked on his display for a few moments.
,,Right, give me a basic analysis. I’ve already seen the report from the Daedalos but I want to see what military hardware makes out of it.” The man ordered, putting aside the paperwork for now.

A rotating wireframe of the wreck appeared on the display.
[Crewpod’s external shape matches that of Hydra type 02 crewpod for small ships, with small differences most likely caused by further development over the last few centuries. The main frame is a simple skeleton made out of cheap materials, unable to support linear accelerations in excess of 0.5g. Propulsion is provided by a primitive and inefficient Fusion torch. Secondary fusion plant located between crewpod and fusiontorch. Said plant’s only connection is with a spherical device. It still appears to be functioning, although operating at the minimum requirements for atomic fusion. The fueltanks are nearly dry by now.] The wireframe now zoomed in on the sphere nestled within the metal frame.
[This device is where all theories fall apart. Radar, X-ray, Gamma-rays, all are unable to penetrate exterior. Exterior material is unknown and exhibits the properties of a perfect mirror at all frequencies. Function, unknown though it clearly bears no resemblance to any other known example of Hydra technology. Most likely origin, non-Hydra.]

Now only the sphere was visible, every other part of the display was taken up by a lengthy report on its characteristics. Detroit was no longer looking though. His mind was absorbed by other matters, more grave matters. If Soul’s guesses were accurate, than they had a second alien race. And more important, this race had already proven its willingness to perform genocide. What if they were still around? What if the Terran Colonial Union was next? He shook himself awake and fixed his eyes on the display again.
,,I want a raise to AC 6. All civilians are to leave this system immediately. Quicken the salvage operation. And get a signal to Eden. I want reinforcements. Once they arrive, we’ll make a thorough investigation. If this second race of yours is still around, we’ll find their trail. Am I clear?” He spoke with a stern voice and eyes like steel.
[AC 6, trouble’s about to come knocking. You’re as clear as a vacuum, captain dude.]

Like always, he felt slightly annoyed at the AI’s habit for saying ‘dude’. He ignored it though, his mind was already troubled enough without worrying about something as inconsequential as simple manners.
,,Good, who’s conducting the actual salvage anyway?” He asked, his annoyance still seeping into his voice.
[The best expert around.]

,,Anchors in place, cutters are in place. Everything works.” Jack concluded. He looked at the small devices he’d placed at those points where the wreck’s frame descended into the rock. At a single press of a button, they’d explode, thereby separating the upper part of the ship from the part that was trapped in the piece of planet. Several large cables had been attached to the crewpod. These cables led to several large anchors which had been driven into the rock. They would prevent the ship from moving and suffering damage once it had been cut free.
,,Cut the chatter and press the button already.” Lo’s voice came over the radio, intermixed with the occasional bit of static.

,,Yeah, yeah. No need to rush. I swear, this is the last time I let myself be blackmailed by someone half my age. You’d better fix the Bucket before I’m done here.” The Geno snapped back, still angry about the sabotage he’d suffered earlier. He then glanced at the spherical object that had already drawn his attention the first time he saw the Hydra relic.
,,One fully functional Fusion plant just for that thing. I’m kind off worried it will react somehow to the explosions I’m about to cause. There’s electrical wiring and sensors all over the place.” He remarked. Leaning in for a closer look. The Sphere was hard to see in the small amount of light around, nearly invisible. However, once he shone upon it with his flashlight, he was nearly blinded by the reflection.
,,It could be a bomb for all I know.” He added.

,,Oh, don’t be a wimp. I’m sure it will be fine. It hasn’t done a thing in the last sevenhundred years, so why should it do anything now?” Lo said, with the optimism he always considered her most defining characteristic.
,,Well no one was poking it in the last sevenhundred years. But, I suppose there’s nothing to worry about.” He muttered, his finger hovering above the button of the remote he held in his gloved hands.
,,Here we go.”

A small series of explosions lit up around the frame, neatly cutting the whole ship in two. A computer which had been dormant for centuries in a never changing environment, awoke. If someone had been able to see and comprehend its thoughts, it would have seen something interesting.
[Connection with propulsion unit lost. Conclusion, critical damage suffered, unable to continue mission. Action, confirmed.]

Aboard the TMS Crystal Star, no one was aware of what had just happened, the event that would have a profound impact on how men saw the universe.
[Cutting commences in 5…4….3…2…1…..0.] A moment after 0 had flashed on all available displays, everything shut down. Lights went dark, the eternal hiss of the air-conditioning went silent, The soft feeling of acceleration ceased. The ship had gone death. Detroit waited, expecting some kind of practical joke. It wouldn’t surprise him with the AI he was cursed with. When the darkness continued even five minutes later, he realized it was no joke. It was real.

He released himself from his chair and pushed himself towards the nearest intercom station, a place he could find even in the complete darkness that reigned. In the current situation, he trusted a wallmounted device more than the handheld version he had in a pocket of his uniform.
,,Detroit to all personnel, there appears to be a problem. I want all Techheads to focus on solving it.” He spoke into it and waited. To his horror, there was no answer, not even static. Just nothing. He now realized the size of the problem.
,,I’m in command of a tomb.”

With nothing else to do, he moved back to his chair and waited, giving everyone else in the command center the order to do the same. He checked his wristwatch almost constantly, slowly seeing the minutes tick away. He noticed the air becoming stale, the temperature rising to an uncomfortable level. Then, exactly twenty-five minutes after Soul had died, the crackle of a weldingtorch cutting through the door could be heard. Everyone turned, seeing the glowing line being drawn in a circle on the metal surface. Once the circle had been completed, the cut portion was removed and someone shone through the hole with a flashlight, being careful not to touch the still hot edge.

The air between the two chambers mixed, though it did not become any easier to breath.
,,What’s the situation?” Detroit asked as calm as he could. The Techhead with the flashlight counted the faces in the room before answering.
,,We don’t know. Soul just went out. It all went so fast the backup AI was taken with her. We’re busy all over the place, manually reactivating the automatic nodes. We’ll be able to restore life-support in an hour or two. The intercom will take longer. That is, unless we can get to the AI block and throw a master switch or something.”

Detroit frowned.
,,Something?” He repeated. The Techhead nodded, sweat glistening on his face.
,,Yes. The AI block as you know, is about the size of a two-room apartment and completely separated from the rest of the ship. The NLO-AI is supposed to be fully self-sustaining, there’s no access panel or anything. No one gave us the blueprints or even a general idea of how it worked. We thought of breaking in by force but….” He fell silent before finishing his explanation. An explanation wasn’t needed.
,,Any hole you make could destroy the vital part you need to reactivate the AI.” Detroit finished for the man. The Techhead nodded again.
,,That does make it harder.” The captain concluded.

He looked at everyone else.
,,What needs to be done? Everyone should help. From what little I remember at the academy, the automatic nodes can be reactivated simply by disconnecting and reconnecting the wires. Every crewmember should be able to do something like that. The more hands we use, the faster we get our air back. Lead the way.” He ordered.

In the meantime, Karl stood on the observationdeck, struggling with the telescope. In all reality, he wanted nothing more than go down and help reactivating everything but someone had to find out what happened. With the ship’s electronic eyes death, only his natural eyeballs and a shaped piece of glass in a tube were left.
,,Come on, you stupid old piece of junk.” He grumbled, trying to point the telescope in the right direction. It was much harder than the computercontrolled one he used normally. There was no one around to help targeting the right stars. No one.
,,Damn it, Soul. Why did you have to die?” A tear crawled out of his eye, floating away.

Finally, he managed to get his target in view. The sight left him stunned. The Hydra ship had vanished. Only a perfect bowl carved into the rock was left. If he’d access to a more sophisticated tool than the simple telescope, he would have seen just how perfect. There was not even a single microscopic dent or bump. The bowlshaped gap was perfect. Absolutely perfect.