Golinar
by
Josh Underhay
Chapter I
"C
aptain's log: Stardate _____.  First log entry, LSS Implacable.  We're about to leave the Dyson sphere with the second vessel to bear the name.  I've finished reading the specs, and with the crew familiar, test runs complete, this is the official maiden voyage."
	First Admiral Bunji Ben put down the PADD and looked around the bridge.  It was the crew he'd always known, the best in the Alliance, they all thought.  Lieutenant Commander Ishan, the Jem'hull weapons officer.  His long, slanted helmet gave him a bird-like appearance.  There was Commander Chan at science.  He was Unitron.  Straight ahead, above the narrow passage that led to Alpha Section, was seated Captain Shikar, Explorien and helmsman.  There were also two other crew, but he did not know them.  An Insectoid, and an Ice Planet. The Captain tapped a button on his armrest, and asked Dyson Command to open the shipyard doors.  He rose, and looked past Shikar's head, through the window, at the closed doors ahead of the ship.  The doors rotated open, revealing the  brilliant rays of the Alliance Sun.
	"Helm, one quarter impulse.  Head for the main aperture."  The sun suddenly seemed larger, and then lurched downwards out of sight.  Small houses, on the inside surface of the giant sphere, rushed by at an alarming rate, swinging to the left and right above the hull.  Although the center of gravity never shifted, it was disconcerting watching the ground spin outside your window.  "Shikar, do you mind?"
	"Sorry, Sir," he replied, "I just couldn't help myself."  The ground abruptly spun around, and the window was filled with the sky and Sun.
*	*	*
	Lisa allowed herself to lean back and enjoy the scenery.  Although there was no one to talk to in Alpha section, she could hear the speech going on the bridge through the hatch.  Ben said something to Shikar, and the scenery shifted again.  She loved what Ben always called 'wild rides', and wished she were at helm instead of Shikar, dodging and lurching around in the biggest and best Alliance vessel ever made.  The scenery slowed, and the nose pointed down towards the giant aperture, where a huge round door opened.  
The Dyson sphere had been discovered about a year ago, about the time the Alliance fleets had reclaimed their homeworlds, finding most of them desolate and lifeless.  The sphere seemed perfect.  Being a gargantuan ball in space, it was found to contain a star in the center, and habitats were built on the inside of it.  It was colonized with animal and plant species in respective habitats of each world, also becoming home to most Alliance civilians and military headquarters.
	After the door was open, the ship was sucked into the vessel-sized airlock.  The inside door closed, air was pumped back into the main sphere, and then the outside door opened.  Even though she'd seen it many times before, the vast expanse of stars made Lisa's breath catch in her throat.  She heard from the bridge:
	"Set course for sector 8-1-9.  Ahead warp eight."  She felt the Implacable lurch beneath her, the stars stretch around her, and the sense of exhilaration one always felt when jumping to warp speed.
*	*	*
	Herbert Bunji looked around at the crew of the Delta Section.  He felt they were his crew, as much as Dad's.  As he paced slowly up and down the center of the section, he noticed details.  The reactors were swirling with gravatic energy.  If they breached, the ship would be sucked into a black hole wherever they were, and exploded like a small supernova.  Yet, the thought didn't scare him.  He felt confident in Chief Tchrekor's ability at engineering, like a favourite uncle.  He also noticed the science stations.  Even though the ship was barely out of dock a few minutes, some strange experiment was underway.  Herbert could never have been a scientist; he hated dissecting things or tinkering with things.  He felt he was a command person, but not bossy.  There were the shuttlebay doors, beyond which were the shuttles, obviously.  Inside each shuttle was a droid, one of which he had come to know very well:  Turmoil Alpha.  It was a Jem'hull blue droid, programmed in science and medicine.  It hated to be designated 'he' or 'she', which were biological designations.  Droids had no need for gender specific pronouns.  The other shuttle contained Unit Beta Three.  Herbert didn't know it very well.  Another Jem'hull droid; it was red--programmed in weapons, tactical, and combat.  Just beyond the shuttlebay doors on each side, were two openings in the ceiling which led to the small cockpit-like deck two.  Forward of the openings was the auxiliary bridge--full bridge of Delta alone.  It had four stations:  helm, weapons, and two general stations for whatever was required.
As he was turning aft, the vibration in the floor slowed and the glow from the reactors subsided--meaning they were dropping out of warp speed.  Wishing he was on the actual bridge, he tapped the nearest station to determine their coordinates.  They had arrived at their destination:  a spatial anomaly detected by long range sensors.  Coinciding with the launching of the Implacable, and also wanting to test it, the new ship had been assigned to the anomaly in the name of exploration.  Some crew members objected to the idea of a warship investigating anomalies, but they were countered by the argument that there was no real war going on at the time.  He could hear voices from the bridge, but they were too muted to make out words. There was a loud hissing, a whirring, and a kthunk.  On the panel, two shuttles flew into the abyss, then vanished.  He heard more words from the bridge, oh, he wished he knew what was going on.  Impatiently, he waited.  Suddenly, the red lights lit up, along with the red alert klaxon.  Herbert's father came over the intercom.
"Battlestations!"

Chapter II
	"R
eport!"  Bunji Ben shouted over the klaxon.	"Enemy vessel on other side of rift!"  Chan reported.  "Alpha shuttle not responding!  Beta shuttle is returning to this side, being pursued!"
	"Initiate starship separation mode!"  Bunji Ben wished it was under different circumstances that he had a chance to test the new ship.  But, it was not like they had a choice.  The bridge door, as well as the Alpha Section hatch immediately closed.  There were whirring noises, and deep thunks, and the Alpha section sped away forward.  There was also an almost imperceptible change in the movement of the bridge, as if it were lighter somehow.  The other sections arrayed themselves in front of the rift.
	"Alpha Section ready." That was Lisa.  As long as Ben and Lisa had known each other, Lisa was always ready when it came to combat.
	"Gamma Section standing by." General Kontari said in his cybernetic sounding voice.
	"Delta Section ready." Herbert, very military like.
	"Epsilon Section standing by." Dr. Jonthax, trying to be military like without much success.  He was a doctor to the bone.  That's why his section was assigned Unit Delta Five, a famous droid for his service and experience in military matters.
	They barely had time to check in when a shuttle came racing out of the small hole in space/time.  Almost immediately, the hole widened to a gaping orifice and a huge unknown vessel emerged.  It fired some energy weapon at the shuttle, which nicked its shields.
	"Mayday." Unit Beta Three seemed impervious to its imminent destruction.  "Unit Turmoil Alpha in stasis.  Request immediate assistance."
	"Delta Section, beam the shuttle minus its reactor into a shuttlebay.  All sections, attack pattern 'fleet alpha seven'.  Target these coordinates."
	"Why those sir?" The Ice Planet Lieutenant asked.
	"I don't know.  I just thought it might weaken them if we hit them in the same place repeatedly.  By the way, we're in combat."  Bunji Ben didn't wait for a reply.  "Damage?"
	"None, as of yet."
	"Keep trying."
	"Sir, they are charging some kind of weapon!"  Ishan sounded alarmed.  A flash lit the window.
*	*	*
	Lisa waited a moment for her eyes to clear from the flash.  She hoped desperately that Beta or Delta had not been hit.  She liked everyone on board, but nowhere's near her family.  Despite the raging combat, she did a scan.  It revealed that Delta Section had been hit, and had a major hull breach.  It seemed to be dead in space.  "Please don't let Herbert be hurt."
	"Admiral," prodded Lieutenant Commander Jones over the intercom.  "We are in battle.  Please pilot the ship."
	"Right."  She stopped a moment, to concentrate.  She envisioned herself, in primitive medieval earth armour, about to go into battle as a knight.  The enemy was charging, with a ten to one army and a mystical giant.  Screaming, she led her horse deep into the enemy's flank and fired phasers at the designated coordinates.  Lisa was deadly calm, doing her job whether it be photon torpedoes or a double headed axe.  Sensors showed damage to the enemy's shields.  She pushed her horse further, past the infantry, and calvalry, striking to the very heart of the enemy vessel.
*	*	*
	Herbert pushed himself to a seated position, only to realize that he was sitting on air.  He was in the Delta Section, but they had obviously lost power.  The liquid hull had filled in the wall, but not fast enough to keep atmosphere.  There were bodies floating around him, breathing, but seeming to sleep.  Ensign Gérald, waving through the half dozen bodies, seemed to speak in his ear:
	"Captain!  I thought we were done for!"  Herbert started to remember what happened.  A beam struck the hull, knocking everyone unconscious and systems off-line.  Fortunately, all Alliance starship crews are required to wear space suits on duty that seal visor and activate oxygen the second atmospheric containment is released.  Most crew had been knocked out, but would be coming around soon.
	"Report."  Herbert asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
	"All systems off-line.  Space suits have approximately fifteen minutes of oxygen left.  We're a sitting duck."
	"Yes, but they obviously no longer perceive us as a threat, or we'd be dead or prisoners by now."
	"Uungh…"  Captain Jones, RoboForce, was waking up.
	"Well, all we have to do is wait…"

Chapter III
	T
he Delta Section was dead in space, the thought raced through Bunji Ben's head for the last time, he decided.  Herbert would be fine, he's grown up now.  Really.  He wished he could really be sure that he was fine.
	"Enemy's shields are penetrated at that location."  Chan allowed no emotion into his voice; he was on duty.
	"Continue firing.  Use torpedoes."  The Admiral tapped his armrest.  "All sections, switch to torpedoes and continue to target those coordinates."
	On the screen, he saw volleys of small but deadly torpedoes leave each section.  They streaked through space, and collided with their target.  The enemy was repeatedly bombarded this way.  Then their lights went out, and their weapons stopped.
	"Sir, the vessel is activating a cloaking device,"  Chan reported.  "Tachyon type."
Bunji Ben reviewed his options.  They could emit tachyon disruptions, but that wouldn't work for two reasons:  Alpha section, the only section with emitters, was unreachable-communications were jammed, and it didn't have enough power-the Delta Section powerhouse reactors were floating dead in space.  He suddenly received an inspiration.
"Ishan," he ordered, "fire a plasma shockwave, and then, when the wave hits them, fire all weapons at the point of impact.  Chan, make sure all sections are accounted for, and power down the wave so that it does no damage.  It should light them up for a second.  Do it."
*	*	*
	There was another flash in the window, and for a second, Lisa thought Beta Section had been struck too.  Then, she realized, it was firing; not being hit.  A second later, there was a flicker in space, and Beta Section fired at it a volley of weapons.  There was an explosion in what seemed like nowhere, and Beta fired another volley.  Ben was always coming up with new ideas, she thought.
	"Jones," she said to the weapons officer through the intercom.  "Fire at that disruption in space."
	The other two viable sections, Gamma and Epsilon, soon opened fire as well.
	There was a large explosion in space, and it seemed the sky was shattered into a million fragments.  Something wasn't right.
	Lisa glanced down at her controls, which were bleeping.  There were literally thousands of warp signatures heading in all directions.  Hardly thinking about command, she leapt into warp speed to a randomly selected target.  Within seconds, there was a small robotic probe on screen.  She snagged it with a tractor beam, and headed back to the Implacable.
*	*	*
	Herbert braced himself--there was the sound of something powering up, and everything around him crashed to the floor.  The lights came on again, and there was hissing outside his helmet.  A green light blinked on beside his face, and he opened his visor.  Everything seemed normal except for the people sprawled on the floor and Tchrekor smiling proudly.  He rarely smiled, except when he had accomplished some engineering feat.  It was certainly nothing less, re-establishing power from a disabled ship.  Even still, he was not omnipotent-all systems besides life support, short-range communications, and limited sensors were still dead.  It would take a team of engineers to restore full power.  Meanwhile, Herbert wanted to know what was going on outside.  He stepped over Captain Jones, RoboForce, and scanned the vicinity.  He found debris, and all four other sections.  Alpha Section, his mom's, had a small object in tractor beam.  Herbert's father came on speakers:
	"Prepare to initiate redocking procedures."  The screen showed Alpha and Beta attach, and then proceeded as one to Gamma.  Herbert turned around to watch Epsilon Section's cockpit push a door open and hear the clamps put in place.  Now as Gamma backed into place the two larger units combined to complete the puzzle.  He couldn't help feeling amazement at the Alliance engineers who built and designed the LSS Implacable.
Chapter IV
	"C
aptain's log:  Stardate _____.  We have encountered and destroyed an unknown alien vessel with hostile intentions.  Although we have lost Alpha shuttle, and Delta Section has sustained major damage, we have no casualties.  End log entry."
	The Admiral rose and walked out the back of the bridge into Gamma Section, and then into Delta.  Chuck was to Ben's right, working on some experiment; he was completely absorbed in his work.
	"Commander?" Bunji Ben inquired.
	He gave a start, and spun around.  Almost immediately something started beeping.  He spun back to his controls and the beeping stopped.  "I've almost got it.  If I reroute the primary data junction of the probe through the impulse emitter, I should be able to receive the basic programming through frequency and amplitude emissions of ions in the impulse jet.  Or, I could reroute it through the warp and-"
	"That should suffice, thank you,"  Bunji Ben cut in, not noticing Lisa approaching.  "Now what have you to show me?"
*	*	*
	"As I was saying" he continued, with less vigour.  "I could discover the probe's mission data and other information.  From markings on the hull, the computer came up with the letters 'Golinar'.  I have no idea what they mean."
	"Was there anything else on the hull?" interjected Lisa.  She exchanged a smile with her husband Ben.  "Seven separate digits are not a lot to work with."
	"You are correct, there was a small message on a hatch on the hull.  I will bring its translation on screen."  Chuck pressed a button.  It read:

PROBE 5164
TAMPERING WITH EQUIPMENT
IN VIOLATION OF TRUE LAW
PUNISHMENT IS DEATH

	"There seems to be no punctuation of any kind."  Chuck continued.  "There was another message on a screen when I opened the hatch."

YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF STANDARD LAW
YOUR COORDINATES HAVE BEEN LOCATED
YOU WILL BE DESTROYED

	"Don't worry," Chuck assured them.  "I put  a subspace and radio wave dampening field around the shuttlebay when we brought it in. It couldn't have sent any message."
	Lisa thought the words contained emotion, despite the lack of punctuation and computerized script.  They filled her with a sense of foreboding and fear.  She only half listened to the rest of his explanation, only that the probe was being tricked into thinking it was flying in space.  He would monitor its engines to find its destination using star charts.  Mostly, she was thinking about the implications of a new race of hostile aliens.  There would be yet another war, and the Alliance would once again rally for its original purpose.  There would be a toll on soldier and civilian lives.  Not to mention the aliens.
*	*	*
	"Herbert, come over here."  Chuck was staring at a screen a the science station.
	"What is it?"  Herbert wondered.  He had seen his parents over here earlier, but if Chuck had something important, he would have shown them.
	"I…"  he trailed off, as if he was debating whether to tell Herbert something important after all.  He took a deep breath and began in a hushed voice:  "I found something in the probe's computer after the admirals returned to their posts.  I found…"  He trailed off again.
	"What!?  What!?"
	"I found, well, here.  I'll show you."  He showed Herbert the screen.
	"It's a view of the bridge."  Herbert figured that it was some joke, an excuse to talk.  Chuck remained silent with his eyes on the screen.  The room was slowly rising and falling.  The screen's viewpoint raised upwards, and then floated towards Chan's station with even jolts.  The screen looked down, and Chan's mouth moved, there was a pause, and he mouthed the words:
	"Yes, sir."  As the realization dawned to Herbert, he went cold all over.
	"I figured you were the only person I could tell without arousing suspicion.  Herbert?"
Chapter V
	C
huck had been acting strangely lately, talking with the doctor and avoiding eye contact with the Admiral.  Whenever Bunji Ben confronted him, he avoided eye contact, but was polite.
	Bunji Ben had known Chuck a long time, as long as the Alliance.  He was Captain of an Ice Planet warship, when Captain Bunji happened to discover it adrift.  The Ice Planet government had been first to join.  At the time, Chuck was a hardened warrior, fighting for his people's freedom against Spyrius.  After the two became reluctant allies, the fighting stopped.  With time, Chuck gave up killing for a newly discovered talent:  science.
	But today, he seemed to be hiding something.
	"What is it?" inquired the Admiral.
	"What's what?"  His face was too neutral.  But then it became pleading, and finally looked relieved.  "It's Herbert.  He never gets a chance at command.  I think he deserves a turn."  Bunji Ben raised an eyebrow.
	"You know our military ranking system, and the Captain is in charge unless he
is–"  He was cut off when Chuck touched his arm with a hypospray.  There was a hiss, and the Admiral collapsed on the floor unconscious. 
*	*	*
	"Jonthax to Lisa" the doctor's voice came over the intercom.  "please report to sickbay immediately."
	"On my way"  Lisa Bunji crawled through the hatch to Beta Section.  When she stood up, she noticed the Captain's chair was empty.  Her heart beat faster.  It could be any number of things, she thought.  In Gamma Section, the quarters were empty, no black forcefields obstructing view inside.  He could be in Delta, but that was proven unlikely when she saw him nowhere.  The only section remaining was Epsilon, and he could only be there as a patient in sickbay.  She controlled her pace through Delta section with difficulty—she felt like sprinting.  Lisa stepped over the low wall of Epsilon Section's cockpit, and into sickbay.  Ben was sleeping peacefully, she felt with relief.
	"Admiral," began the doctor.  Lisa suddenly realized that maybe he wasn't as fine after all.  Jonthax held up a stasis bottle with a small chip floating in it.  "This was found in your husband's brain.  It has been safely removed, and he is recovering nicely.  This chip is somehow implanted in the victim's optical lobe.  It receives nervous signals, converts them into data, and sends them via a subspace bandwidth.  We think it has something to do with the alien vessel and the probe.  It is obviously an espionage device, and no offence, the Captain of a vessel is the perfect target."
	"None taken."  Lisa was shocked.  Her mind was full of questions, but one seemed especially relevant:  "How long was it in him?"
	"We think it was implanted when we arrived in the sector.  The computer detected a dimensional fluctuation within the ship, but wasn't discovered until further analysis.  It seemed to be a tiny version of the huge rift."
	"You mean to say it was teleported into his head from another universe?"  The possibilities just opened up were alarming.  "They could transport anything, a rock into someone's body, you wouldn't know until it was too late.  Someone could just…"
	"Easy, ma'am."  Chuck, who Lisa had not noticed, interjected:  "Actually, that is only partially true.  They must be able to currently see or scan the target.  Another spy or vessel must be in the area.  My theory is, they had one or two cloaked probes in the area.  When they detected our approach, they scanned us, figured out who was the Captain, and beamed the chip in through the other universe."
	"Maybe they were preparing to send a fleet through," Lisa speculated. "with these probes as advanced scouts.  But when the enemy ship exploded, there were thousands of them, heading in all directions."
	"Delta section was offline when the vessel was destroyed," Chuck explained, "but since then I have reviewed the sensor records of Alpha Section.  Seconds before the actual detonation of the alien vessel, it launched thousands of these probes, and each jumped to warp instantly.  When the final volley of torpedoes finished it off, the probes were safely out of range.  Then you chased down and caught one, without which we wouldn't know any of this."
	"But why wouldn't the probes head back towards the rift?  They have no backup in this universe, no home base."  Lisa was trying to follow Chuck's reasoning.
	"Ah, there's the danger." Chuck smiled, as though coming to a brilliant conclusion. "I believe the probes are each capable of opening a rift.  They would find a suitable location, and once a rift was open, warships would be sent through like the one we destroyed here."
	"Why are you smiling?"  Lisa was once again stumped. "That could have profound implications."
	"Because we have the means to prevent it."
*	*	*
	Herbert piloted Alpha Section with ease.  He had received pilot training before he was thirteen.  Secretly, he harboured a jealousy toward Shikar, the helmsman of the Implacable and so many ships before.  Despite outranking him, he longed to fly a starship at the helm.  He pressed a few buttons and the rift opened up.  He then piloted through the fissure…
…and barely turned to avoid hitting another alien ship.  It fired weapons.  Herbert took evasive action.  "Ingraxh," he said to the Insectoid science officer, "determine the nature of subspace here and then change the subspace cloaking device and warp field to compensate accordingly.  Jones, target the enemy's weapons with everything we've got."  Herbert then spun the nose around to the warship, and came at it full speed.  At the last second, Jones fired weapons and Herbert whipped away again.  They continued this maneuver several times when the blast hit them.  Everything went white…the alien stared at him with strange eyes…came at him with some sort of instrument…the crew walking under guard down the alien corridor to their fate…the radiation sizzled him all over…and a strange word repeated over and over in his head: 'Golinar' it filled him with fear like he had never known…
…and faded to the quarters on the LSS Implacable.  He sat up in the holographic bed covered with cold sweat.  He was breathing hard.  The dream was more real than any childhood nightmare.  As he put his space-suit back on, the word kept ringing in his head: Golinar…Golinar…Golinar…