The Search for Gram Read online

  Through several large open doorways, Calvin could see similar events taking place in other rooms throughout the building. Although the activities were interesting, the place didn’t look at all like a training facility for warriors. Calvin glanced at the team leader, who had introduced himself with his team name of “Landslide.” He was, at least, armed with a sword and laser pistol. “These are the Eco Warriors?” he finally asked.

  “Indeed,” replied the Aesir, “and you will not find more experienced veterans anywhere in our realm.”

  “I hope you’ll forgive me,” Calvin said, “but they look more like artists than warriors.”

  “They are artists,” said Landslide. “While they may not seem deadly to the untrained eye, they are well versed in the combat arts as well.” He paused and then asked, “How many years of training do you have as a warrior?”

  “Well, I started out as an aviator and have about nine years of experience flying various air and spacecraft, as well as a couple of years of ground combat training. Why?”

  “All of these warriors have over 300 years of combat experience. Three of us have over 500 years of training. When you live as long as we do, you can take time out to pursue a number of specialties and still have time to do the things you want.”

  “Hmm,” said Calvin. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  “Will you be leading the team coming with us?” Captain Sheppard asked. “If so, can you point out the members of your team?”

  “Normally, I would be leading the team,” replied the Aesir; “however, as this is a military mission, it requires a military leader.” He held out a hand to indicate Captain Nightsong. “You already know Captain Nightsong; he will be leading the team. His team name is “Inferno.” As you might guess, he is our fire expert.”

  “So that is how you were able to create fire for Princess Merrorritor,” said Calvin.

  “Indeed,” said Captain Nightsong. “I have some small experience with fire nanobots and can use them to accomplish a variety of fire-based tasks.”

  “Inferno is being modest,” said Landslide; “he is one of our most experienced Eco Warriors.” Captain Nightsong shrugged. “The only reason he isn’t a full-time team leader is that he left to pursue a career in the military. He still shows up periodically to refresh his skills.” Landslide led them over to the female Aesir in the fountain. She was also one of the “up above” Aesir, with green skin and blond hair.

  Calvin realized with a start that all of the Aesir in the room were green-skinned; there wasn’t a single Drow in the facility as far as he could see. “Landslide, I don’t see any of the Drow here,” Calvin said. “Aren’t they able to become Eco Warriors too?”

  “They are able to become Eco Warriors,” said the female in the fountain, whose voice flowed fluidly like the water surrounding her; “however, most Eco Warriors spend large periods of time on the surface, which most of the Drow choose not to do. There have been some Drow who stayed below and worked with soil, but aside from them, there haven’t been many others.”

  “Tsunami is correct,” said Landslide. “Most Drow do not choose to become Eco Warriors, aside from the handful who work with dirt. I am also aware of one who dabbles in life, but that’s about it.”

  Looking down at the female Aesir, Calvin realized even though Tsunami was sitting in the fountain, the water wasn’t touching her; an invisible barrier stopped it about a quarter of an inch from her. It was going to be interesting working with the Aesir, Calvin realized.

  Landslide continued on to the female with electricity arcing all around her. Even from a few feet away, the Terrans could feel the hair on their arms standing up. “Cyclone is our air worker. As you can see, she also dabbles in things which aren’t strictly ‘air,’ but are air-based.” He paused to move out of Cyclone’s area of effect.

  “As you can probably guess, with a name like ‘Landslide,’ my area of expertise is working with soil,” he said when clear. “That completes my normal team.”

  “I thought the teams also included someone who worked with life,” said Calvin.

  “While there are practitioners who work with life,” replied Landslide, nodding to the Aesir with the ‘hawk,’ “they normally work at hospitals and are not assigned to teams. Generally, using life-practitioners to take life instead of save it is frowned upon in our society. That being said, there are a few who have trained to use their life skills to take life, and one of these has been added to my team for this mission. He was supposed to join us here…ah, there he is.” Landslide nodded to an Aesir entering the room.

  Unlike the other Eco Warriors, Calvin saw, this Aesir was a Drow. Not only was he a Drow, he looked awfully familiar…and the bruises around his neck confirmed his identity.

  “No!” said Calvin. “I refuse to take him with us.”

  “I think you will find I am not as bad as I am made out to be,” replied Reeve Farhome, who seemed more lucid than the day before…until a little giggle slipped out. “I am fairly sane, in fact…most days. Really. I’m still working on it. Hee hee.”

  Calvin turned to Landslide. “I thought Drow didn’t leave your world. Besides, isn’t he a reeve?”

  “He renounced his reeve-ship,” said Landslide, “but–”

  “I did, hee hee, I did!” interrupted Farhome.

  “Not only that,” said Landslide, talking over Farhome, “he says he owes you for sparing his life. The only way he can ever repay you is to come along and assist you. And, if needed, to give his life for yours.”

  The giggling from Farhome vanished and his eyes achieved a clarity and focus Calvin hadn’t previously seen. “I would have killed you if I could,” he said. “I do not know why you didn’t kill me, but I cannot be in debt to an off-worlder. I must go with you to erase that debt.”

  “This isn’t something I’m just going to be able to forgive or release you from, is it?” asked Calvin.

  “No,” replied Farhome. “I have already given up my position as reeve. There is nothing tying me here.” Just as quickly as it had come, the clarity left his eyes, and the smile returned. “Our lives and destinies are intertwined, hee hee.”

  Chapter 4

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Golirion Orbit, HD 69830, June 5, 2021

  “I wish you good fortune on your journey,” said the Thor from the front view screen. The Aesir queen stood alongside him.

  “Thank you, Thor,” replied Captain Sheppard. “It is my greatest hope we won’t need it.”

  The queen, who had been very quiet during the Terrans’ visit, finally spoke. “You need to tell them,” she said.

  “It won’t make any difference,” replied the Thor.

  “It will to me,” the queen said.

  The Thor gave her a small nod in acknowledgement and turned back to the Terrans. “While the crews of all of the ships are important to us, we would especially like it if you could find and return the crew of the Blue Forest. The commanding officer of the vessel, Captain Silvermoon, is our son and the crown prince of our people. His return is of the utmost importance.”

  “We will do everything we can to ensure his return,” said Captain Sheppard.

  “Thank you,” replied the Thor. He gave the nod again, but this time to the Terrans. The transmission ended, and the screen went blank.

  “Proceed to the gate,” ordered Captain Sheppard. “Set General Quarters.”

  “Proceed to the stargate, aye,” said the helmsman.

  “Setting General Quarters,” added the duty engineer.

  The commanding officer turned to Captain Nightsong, who had taken the extra chair on the bridge. “You never thought it worth mentioning that we were looking for the crown prince?”

  “It was not my story to tell,” Nightsong replied, “but yes, the commanding officer of the last ship to vanish was the crown prince, who was sent to find the other ships that had gone missing. He is also the only child of the Thor, so the succession will be…difficult…if we do not bring him back. Very
difficult.”

  “Thanks,” said Captain Sheppard. “There wasn’t enough riding on this mission already.” He rubbed his forehead. “Is there anything you’re holding back that could actually help us in our quest?”

  Nightsong shook his head. “Nothing. Everything is silent beyond our outpost in Gliese 221. We still haven’t heard from any of the ships that went through the stargate there.”

  “And that is three stargates from here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then there’s no time to waste.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Groombridge 1618 System, June 5, 2021

  “This is the Groombridge 1618 system,” said Steropes. “It has a K-type main sequence star that has 67 percent of the mass of your sun and61 percent of the sun’s radius, but only radiates about 5 percent of its energy. The system has a low temperature debris disk that orbits at over 50 astronomical units (AU) or about five billion miles from the star, but no planets.”

  “Any reason to stop here?” asked Captain Sheppard. “Like, say, are there any signs of enemy activity or anything else out of the ordinary?”

  “Um, no, not that I can detect.”

  Captain Sheppard shook his head. “Helmsman, proceed to the next gate.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, HD 60532 System, June 8, 2021

  “We have entered the HD 60532 system. HD 60532 is a white main sequence star located approximately 84 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Puppis. The system has two planets orbiting the star. The inner planet has a mass three times larger than Jupiter’s and orbits at 0.77 AU, inside the habitable zone. The outer planet has a mass seven times larger than Jupiter and orbits at 1.58 AU in an eccentric orbit. Most of its orbit is in the habitable zone, but it is a gas giant and not fit for habitation.”

  When there was no reply Steropes looked up from his monitor to find the CO, executive officer, Captain Nightsong, Calvin and most of the bridge crew staring at him. “What?” he asked. “Oh! There’s no sign of enemy activity or anything out of the ordinary.”

  “Baby steps,” thought Captain Sheppard. He turned to the helmsman with a sigh. “Proceed to the next gate.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Gliese 221, June 10, 2021

  “This is the Gliese 221 system,” said Steropes. “Gliese 221 is an orange-red dwarf starwith about 70 percent the mass of your sun, butonly 10 percent of its luminosity. The system has three planets, a hot Super-Earth planet at five million miles from the star, a gas giant planet in the habitable zone and a Super-Earth planet just outside the habitable zone.” He looked up and saw the yellow sticky note Calvin had posted at his station. “And there is no sign of enemy activity or anything out of the ordinary. There are, however, allied defenses and ships present in the system.”

  “This is our last outpost in this chain of stargates,” said Nightsong. “From here on, we might find the frost giants at any time. They have tried to establish colonies on the third planet of this system on two previous occasions, but we were successful in making them withdraw both times.”

  “Is that why your defenses are set up here?” asked Calvin.

  “Yes,” replied Nightsong. “There’s a battle station and an extensive mine field which guard the stargate into the system, as well as a minimum of two battleships present at all times.”

  “That’s a lot of Aesir to be on station here,” said Calvin.

  “Not as many as you might think,” replied Captain Nightsong. “The bulk of our defenses are automated, as most Aesir don’t like extended deployments on the battle station. It is hard enough to get personnel for the ships which guard the stargate, much less the battle station.”

  “Sir, we are getting a transmission from the battle station,” said the communications officer.

  “On screen,” replied Captain Sheppard.

  The view screen lit up with the image of a green Aesir. “Welcome to Gliese 221. I am Admiral Valendil,” he said. Unlike other battle stations the Terrans had seen, there were very few crewman in the background. “State your planet of origin and your purpose in this system.”

  “Hello, Brother,” said Captain Nightsong. “This ship is the Vella Gulf from the nation of Terra. Its crew and I intend to go through the stargate to find out what has happened to our ships.”

  The Aesir visibly relaxed. “Good hunting then,” he said. “Be safe; we still do not know what lies on the other side of the gate.”

  “Have you ever known me to be anything other than safe?” asked Nightsong.

  “Yes, I have,” replied the admiral, “Many times.”

  Chapter 5

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Nu2 Lupi System, June 11, 2021

  “System entry into the Nu2 Lupi system,” said Steropes. “The star is a yellow-orange main-sequence star located approximately 48 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Lupus. Nu2 Lupi is very similar to your sun although Nu2 Lupi is significantly older.Its habitable zone is also similar to your sun, from about 0.7 AU to 1.4 AU from the star.”

  He paused and then added, “I do not see any indication of alien activity, nor do I have any unusual readings. There are three planets, all Super-Earths, but they all lie outside the habitable zone.”

  A collective sigh filled the bridge; everyone had been keyed up, expecting a fight.

  “Let’s keep the fighters manned a little longer, just in case,” said Captain Sheppard. “Helmsman, proceed to the next stargate.”

  “Aye, sir, proceeding to the next stargate,” replied the helmsman. “Uh, sir, the navigation records the Aesir provided show three other stargates in this system in addition to the one we came through. Which would you like me to go to?”

  Captain Sheppard looked over at Captain Nightsong, sitting in the observer chair. “Do you have any recommendations?”

  Captain Nightsong considered for a few seconds and then said, “If memory serves, one of the stargates goes to an uninhabited pocket system with no other stargates out. I can’t imagine how anything would have popped up there that could have caused our ships to go missing.”

  “I see that one,” said the helmsman.

  “The other two stargates go to chains of star systems,” said Nightsong. “One of them, the gate to 14 Herculis, leads to where the frost giants live. The other goes to a system owned by hostile insectoids. It is unlikely they are to blame. Although they have space flight capabilities, they have some sort of hive mind and tend to stay close to their home world. If they go too far away, they go insane.”

  “So you are recommending the gate to 14 Herculis?” asked the CO.

  “That would be my guess,” replied Nightsong. “The giants are our traditional enemies and have no reason to wish us well. If they somehow made a technological breakthrough which gave them the ability to destroy our ships, they certainly would. My only question is, if they have the capability to destroy our ships, why haven’t they shown up at Golirion to take back Asgard? It doesn’t make sense for the giants to be the ones responsible for the loss of our ships; however, it makes even less sense for it to be anyone else.”

  “Perhaps there is an unknown race or some other factor that has yet to make its appearance,” suggested Steropes.

  Nightsong shrugged, something he had learned from the Terrans. “I do not know. We have explored many systems further down both chains of stars and never found a hostile race. That is why we moved the giants where we did.”

  “Well, we’re not going to find out anything sitting here,” decided Captain Sheppard. “Helmsman, proceed to the stargate to 14 Herculis.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, 14 Herculis, Jun 13, 2021

  “System entry,” said Steropes. “Launching probes.”

  “Contact!” said the Defensive Systems Officer (DSO) and Steropes at the same time.

  “What have you got, DSO?” asked Captain Sheppard.

  “I’m picking up a lot of power spikes, Skipper,” replied the DSO. “I’m still locking it in.”

  “Can you provide any more information, St
eropes?” asked Captain Sheppard.

  “Yes, I believe I can,” said Steropes. “Give me a second, and I’ll have it on screen.” He paused for a few moments, and the picture of a Super-Earth planet appeared on the screen…along with the fuzzy image of a ship in orbit. “Based on the Aesir star charts, we are in the 14 Herculis system. The star is an orange dwarf with about 90 percent of your sun’s mass, 71 percent of its radius and 36 percent of its luminosity. The star has a lot more—”

  “What about the ship?” demanded Captain Sheppard.

  “Oh! Yes!” said Steropes. “The ship is a quite large. Initial analysis indicates it is approximately a mile and a half long, with a mass of nearly six million tons.”

  Calvin shook his head. “Another damn giant-sized ship to fight. I am so looking forward to a battle where we have the larger ship.”

  “Battles do not always go to the largest ships,” said Steropes. “In this case, however, you are more correct than you know. I believe it actually is a giant ship, as it is crewed by the Jotunn. Although the ship is equivalent in size to a Mrowry dreadnought, it is a Jotunn battlecruiser. It is orbiting a Super-Earth planet in the star’s habitable zone. There is also a gas giant about twice the mass of Jupiter three AU from the star and a planet about five times the mass of Jupiter seven AU from the star.”