The Search for Gram Read online

  “Sir!” interrupted the communications officer, “we’re being hailed by the ship.”

  “On screen,” said the commanding officer.

  “Damn,” said the helmsman, in awe, as the screen lit up to show an enormous humanoid. Although hard to tell, as everything around him was oversized, the being seemed colossal. Dressed in red-spotted pelts, the Jotunn had a chain-metal shirt over his torso. Light blue hair flowed out from under an outsized helmet with immense horns. The Jotunn’s red eyes glared as he slowly surveyed the bridge of the Vella Gulf.

  “Whoa,” said Calvin under his breath. “He’s got to be 13 or 14 feet tall.”

  Steropes shook his head. “Probably more like 15 or 16. Most of them reach at least 15 feet and weigh well over a ton.”

  The Jotunn’s scan stopped upon catching sight of Captain Nightsong, and it laughed a long, deep belly laugh which was echoed by several of the other giants who could be seen at stations behind him. “This is the best you could do, Aesir?” it asked. “You come into our territory with this toy ship and these puny creatures to aid you? We had expected more…even from you.”

  Captain Nightsong’s eyes narrowed, and a small growl escaped his lips. “This is not your system,” he replied. “By treaty, this is our system, and we are here to find several of our ships that have gone missing.”

  “You banished us to Jotunheimr,” said the Jotunn, “but we stay there no more. We have ventured forth to reclaim the worlds which once were ours. No longer will we do as you say. We have new friends who will restore us to Asgard. As to your ships, we have your Blue Forest, or what is left of it. You are welcome to come and get what few survivors remain.”

  “You destroyed our ship?” asked Captain Nightsong. “There will be war!”

  The Jotunn laughed again. “Destroyed it? No, we did not. Nor will we destroy your puny ship, or seek to harm you in any way if you want to come and get your people.”

  “I am Captain Sheppard of the Terran ship Vella Gulf,” said the commanding officer. “May I ask who it is I am addressing?”

  The Jotunn turned and glared at him. “I am Fenrir, son of Loki, and captain of the Jotunn ship Soaring Eagle,” the giant replied. “I am also the military commander of this system. Who or what is a Terran, and why have you come?”

  “We are from Terra, a planet many light years from here. The Aesir asked us to help them find out what happened to their missing ships.”

  “Ho, ho, ho,” the Jotunn laughed, “since you have come so far, I will make it easy for you and simply tell you what happened. The elves came into our systems and were destroyed. Now that you know, you may carry this word back to their leaders. You may also take them a warning. Tell them we are coming for them.” He smiled and then added, “Ragnarok has begun.” The screen went blank as the transmission ended.

  “Huh,” said Captain Sheppard, turning to face Captain Nightsong, “that was kind of abrupt. What do you make of it?”

  “Like I said,” the Aesir replied, “there will be war. I don’t know how they destroyed our ships, but now that we know it was the Jotunn, they won’t be able to fool us again.”

  “How do you know it was the Jotunn who destroyed your ships?” asked Steropes.

  “Because Fenrir said they did,” replied Nightsong. “His own admission damns him! We will muster our fleet and come back here to teach them the consequences of their actions!”

  “Steropes is right,” said Calvin. “How do you know it was the Jotunn? Fenrir didn’t say the Jotunn destroyed your ships; he just said they were destroyed. Isn’t that right, Solomon?”

  “That is correct,” replied the ship’s artificial intelligence. The front view screen lit up with a replay of the conversation. The image of the Jotunn leader filled the screen and said, “Destroyed it? No, we did not.” The tape jumped forward a little, and he added, “They came into our systems and were destroyed.”

  “You said before that the Jotunn periodically attack you, correct?” asked Calvin.

  “Yes,” agreed Nightsong. “They were actually overdue to attack, based on historical patterns. It has to be them.”

  “Wouldn’t your ships’ commanding officers also have been aware of this, especially after the first ship or two went missing?” asked Calvin. “Wouldn’t they know to be on the lookout for a Jotunn attack? How could something so big have snuck up on one of your ships?”

  “I do not know how it is possible,” admitted Nightsong. “They have never been able to surprise us in the past. They must have developed some new technology; either that or they were given something by the new ‘friends’ Fenrir alluded to.”

  “Or maybe it was the new friends who destroyed your ships,” said Captain Sheppard. “Steropes, do you have any indications of other ships in the system?”

  “No sir, I do not,” replied Steropes. “That does not exclude the possibility they exist and are cloaked, however.”

  “Understood,” said the commanding officer. “Keep looking. Let me know if you find anything out of the ordinary that might be a cloaked ship.”

  “Aye aye, sir,” said Steropes, turning back to his console.

  Captain Sheppard turned back to Captain Nightsong. “So,” he said, “what do you want to do?”

  “If they have any of the crew of the Blue Forest, like he said they do, I want to get them back. If nothing else, the crew would be able to tell us what happened.”

  “Umm…how much do you trust them?” asked Captain Sheppard. “I’m not in a hurry to get close to that ship and have whatever happened to the Blue Forest happen to us.”

  “They do have a sense of honor,” said Captain Nightsong, “but that doesn’t mean you can necessarily trust them. They are very literal. For example, if Fenrir says the Soaring Eagle won’t attack, all it means is that one ship won’t attack. It doesn’t mean any other Jotunn ships in the system won’t attack. You have to be careful how you word things.”

  “Steropes, are there any other ships in the system besides the two of us?” asked Captain Sheppard.

  “No sir, there are not, although my earlier warning still stands,” replied Steropes. “There does appear to be the wreckage of a ship near the Soaring Eagle, possibly the Blue Forest, but that is all I currently see.”

  “Okay,” Captain Sheppard said with a nod to Captain Nightsong, “so if I can get them to agree to give us safe passage, it should be safe to approach them closely enough to launch a shuttle and retrieve the remaining crew of the Blue Forest? Remember, you are risking not only your life, but the lives of all of the members of my crew in this assessment.” Several members of the bridge crew turned to watch Nightsong’s response.

  The Aesir scanned the Terrans watching him before returning his gaze to Captain Sheppard. “Yes, it should be safe,” he said finally.

  Captain Sheppard turned to Calvin and raised an eyebrow. “Well, hero, what do you think?”

  “I think I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t call me that, sir,” answered Calvin. “It’s bad enough when Steropes does it. Regardless, we need to know what happened to the Aesir ships if we are going to find an answer. The only way we’re going to do that is to get the remaining crew members from the Jotunn. Of course, I’d still say we ought to man all of the fighters and weapons systems…just in case.”

  “I agree,” replied Captain Sheppard. “Communications officer, raise the Soaring Eagle. On screen.”

  Within a few seconds, the face of Captain Fenrir appeared on the front screen. “Yes?” he asked. “Is there some reason you haven’t left yet? You are trying my patience.”

  “Captain Fenrir,” said Captain Sheppard, “when we spoke earlier, you said you had some of the members of the Blue Forest, and we were welcome to come and get them. We would like to do so before we leave.”

  The Jotunn looked off-screen. “Did I say that?” He turned back to the Vella Gulf. “It appears I did; however, I never gave you the terms.” A giant smile crossed his face.

  “Terms?” a
sked Captain Sheppard. “What terms?”

  “Well, you can’t expect us to just give them to you. We rescued them from their derelict spaceship and have given them food, drink and comfort ever since. There is the matter of payment for our time and services. I choose to take that payment in the form of entertainment. One of you Terrans will fight me in the arena. If you win, you may take the survivors of the Blue Forest and leave. If I win, you leave and return with payment for your people.”

  “How much is the payment?”

  “One billion mega-credits.”

  Captain Sheppard heard a sharp intake of breath from Captain Nightsong. Before he could say anything, Captain Sheppard said simply, “We accept,” and ended the transmission.

  “I do not know how you will get us out of this,” said Captain Nightsong into the silence that followed. “You cannot beat him in hand-to-hand combat, and one billion mega-credits is more than the cost of a super dreadnought. There is no way the Thor will pay that with war upon us. He can’t.”

  “Well then, Calvin, I guess we’d better not lose,” said Captain Sheppard.

  “No, I guess we’d better not,” Calvin replied. “Night is better-suited for this, even if I wasn’t still recovering. I’ll go get him.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Proceeding to Jotunn Ship, 14 Herculis System, June 14, 2021

  “Four hours until the rendezvous with the Soaring Eagle,” said the helmsman. “Recommend rotating ship.”

  “Roger,” replied Captain Sheppard. “Rotate ship; commence braking.”

  “Rotate ship, aye,” repeated the helmsman. “Commencing braking, aye.” He input the instructions that flipped the ship so its thrust could be used to slow the ship’s approach to the Jotunn vessel.

  “I have a question,” said Calvin. “When we spoke to Fenrir earlier, he said Ragnarok was coming. I looked at the information we have available, and it says Ragnarok is the end of the world. What did he mean?”

  “The Jotunn used to inhabit the planet Asgard,” Captain Nightsong replied. “They achieved space flight at about the same time we did and immediately attacked us. After a series of wars, the Aesir were triumphant, and we moved the Jotunn out of the system for the good of both of our races. The Jotunn have never forgotten their ancient home, and they have a number of stories about what will happen once they return to it. Ragnarok is one of these stories, and it is more than just one event that results in the end of Asgard. The story is a series of future events all the Jotunn believe will occur. It includes a great battle which results in the death of a number of major figures on both sides, various natural disasters and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. How that’s supposed to happen, though, is beyond me. Afterward, Asgard will resurface new and fertile, and the Jotunn survivors will live happily ever after, free of Aesir rule. It’s a very nice fairy tale….from their point of view.”

  “It didn’t sound like Fenrir thought it was a fairy tale,” replied Calvin.

  “No, to him it is not. Still, there is no way the events could happen as they prophesy. For example, it is extremely unlikely the major figures the story mentions would ever be together in the same system, much less together in a battle where all of them would die.”

  “Who are the major figures?” asked Captain Sheppard.

  “Our ruler Thor and their ruler Odin, to start with,” Captain Nightsong answered. “Also, Tyr, the head of our military and Freyr, the head of their military. A few others beyond that.” He smiled. “It takes a certain kind of bravery on the part of the Jotunn leader to declare Ragnarok has begun when he knows that he is supposed to die as part of it. That is very interesting. Perhaps they have redefined the story; it is unlikely the Odin intends to die if he thinks the Jotunn can take back Asgard.”

  “Sir!” said the DSO. “I’ve got a new contact. It just appeared about 10,000,000 miles from us!”

  “What is it?” asked Captain Sheppard.

  “Unknown,” replied the DSO. “It’s not in our database. Initial indications are it is destroyer-sized, but that’s all I’ve got.”

  “Talk to me, Steropes,” said Sheppard, turning to the science station, “What have you got? Where did it come from?”

  “I do not know,” replied Steropes. “It just appeared. I did not have any indications of its presence before. Although it appears destroyer-sized, its power readings are unlike any I’ve ever seen.”

  “I don’t like this,” said Captain Sheppard. “General Quarters!” he commanded in a loud voice. “Emergency power. Get us back to the stargate.”

  “Aye aye, sir,” said the helmsman and the duty engineer. Red lights began flashing as the engineer called for General Quarters.

  “Lieutenant Commander Hobbs, get your fighters manned,” Captain Sheppard added.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Calvin. He bolted for the door, already comming orders to the squadron.

  “Sir,” said the DSO, “something strange is going on with the unknown ship. There’s something onboard that is using a massive amount of power.”

  “Is it a weapon system?”

  “I don’t know. If they are charging something, it’s going to be something big!”

  “He’s right,” said Steropes. “Something onboard is using enough power to drive the ship, but it isn’t moving.”

  The communications officer sat upright in her seat. “Sir, we’re being hailed by the Jotunn ship.”

  “On screen,” said Captain Sheppard.

  Captain Fenrir’s laughing face filled the front screen. “Ho, ho, ho,” he chortled. “One little ship appears, and you immediately try to run? Do you Terrans have no bravery or honor? Perhaps the ship is friendly.”

  “Is it friendly?” asked the CO.

  “Of course not,” replied Captain Fenrir. “You are about to find out what destroyed the Aesir ship. You asked who destroyed it; you’re about to get your answer. It is unfortunate word won’t make it back to Golirion, but we will be there to show them ourselves, soon enough.”

  Captain Sheppard pushed the button that ended the transmission, and the Jotunn’s face disappeared. “What is the new ship doing?” he asked.

  “Nothing that I can tell,” replied the DSO. “It’s just sitting there. Something on board is still using a lot of power, though.”

  “Communications, try to hail the vessel,” ordered the CO. He turned to the helmsman. “How close are we going to get?”

  “It’s going to be close. We’re probably going to come within 750,000 miles before we begin accelerating back away.”

  “We’re within missile range,” noted the Offensive Systems Officer (OSO). “Do you want me to begin firing?”

  “No,” replied Captain Sheppard. “Despite what the Jotunn said, we don’t know that the unknown ship actually destroyed the Blue Forest or that they are our enemies. If we can talk to them instead of fighting them, maybe we can bring them over to our side.”

  Chapter 6

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Proceeding to Jotunn Ship, 14 Herculis System, June 14, 2021

  “The ship is still not responding to our hails,” replied the communications officer.

  “Keep trying,” ordered the CO.

  “Progress toward the Jotunn ship has been halted, and we are now accelerating toward the stargate,” said the helmsman.

  “Sir!” said the DSO. “I think the unknown ship just fired at us! There was a power spike, and then something launched that is heading towards us!”

  “What is it, Steropes?” asked the CO.

  “Unknown,” answered Steropes. “The object is unlike anything I have ever seen, and it is impossible to analyze. Even though we can visually see the entity on the screen when it blots out stars behind it, the object doesn’t exist on the sensors. I have never seen anything like it in all my life.”

  “That was weird,” said the DSO. “Steropes, did you see the ship blink when it fired?”

  “Yes, the ship was definitely not there for at least 0.27 seconds,” agreed Steropes.r />
  “What does that mean?” asked Captain Sheppard.

  “I do not know,” replied Steropes.

  “OK, you don’t know what the object is. Can I assume that it’s probably a weapon?”

  “With the wreck of the Blue Forest nearby and the other Aesir vessels missing, I believe the object is likely a weapon,” agreed Steropes. “I do not think you want to let it overtake us.”

  “I agree,” replied Captain Sheppard. “DSO, weapons free; defend the ship. OSO, let’s see if we can kill the bastard. Fire all weapons!”

  “Missile doors opening,” both weapons systems officers chorused.

  “Graser mounts extending,” said the OSO as the offensive gamma ray lasers moved into position.

  “Laser mounts extending,” said the DSO as the defensive laser clusters deployed.

  “ASMs away!” announced the OSO. The crew could feel the ship jolt as the big anti-ship missiles launched.

  “Engaging the inbound track with AMMs,” reported the DSO as he launched the anti-missile missiles.

  All eyes followed the missiles on the main screen as they raced to intercept the incoming object.

  “What the fuck?” asked the DSO as the tracks merged.

  “What is it?” asked the CO.

  “Sir, whatever is following us avoided our missiles. When our weapons should have hit it, their missile, or torpedo or whatever the hell that thing is blinked out.”

  “What do you mean ‘blinked out?’”

  “The same thing just happened to me,” said the OSO. “I fired at the ship, and it just disappeared when the missiles should have hit. Our missiles flew right through where the ship was without hitting anything. Then, once the missiles were clear, the ship reappeared again.”

  “What the hell is chasing us, Steropes?”

  “I don’t know, sir. I’ve never seen anything like it. The weapon chasing us is much slower than any anti-ship missile I have ever seen. It appears to be some sort of torpedo.”