Peacekeeper- God Complex

  Peacekeeper

  God Complex

  By: Doug Farren

  Copyright © 2019

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Peacekeeper God Complex—Galactic Alliance (Book 7)

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Cover art design:Heather Zak

  Copy-editor:Lee Dilkie

  Proofreader:Cheryl Farren

  Proofreader:Ekkehard Flessa

  Publisher:Doug Farren

  Author Photo:John Gilbey

  Printer:CreateSpace

  Cover art Copyright © 2019 by Doug Farren

  This book is available in both electronic and print formats.

  Chapter 1

  “Satellite six deployed,” Falima reported from the main survey station.

  “Very well,” Captain Eshif replied. “Helm, drop us to 500 kilometers and adjust our speed to establish a natural orbit.”

  “Altering course,” the helm replied.

  The Rouldian survey ship moved closer to the planet which had been given the rather boring designation of L103-021.

  Falima tilted her head, listening to a voice from the bone-conduction headphones worn by all members of the bridge crew. “Captain, survey is requesting permission to launch probes.”

  “A little early, don’t you think?”

  “This world looks very promising,” Falima replied. “Everyone is anxious to see what’s down there.”

  The Captain glanced at his navigation display which showed the ship in relation to the planet. “Permission granted.”

  Speaking just soft enough for her throat mike to pick up what she was saying, Falima relayed the message to the planetary survey room located one deck down. A few seconds later, the crew felt the dull thunk as the first probe was released from its docking clamps on the outside of the ship. Another thunk followed 10 seconds later, then another and another. This continued for over half an hour as 200 planetary survey probes made their way to the surface of the newly discovered world.

  Located 340 light-years from Roulda, L103-021 appeared to be an ideal location for establishing a new Rouldian colony. The initial discovery had been made by one of the 1,500 automated probes that were slowly making their way into unexplored space. With a surface gravity of 0.8 Roulda (which equates to 1.6 Terran gravities) and a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere nearly identical to their home world, the Rouldian government was eager to find out if the planet was fit for colonization. The newly built survey ship, Vartha’oon, had been dispatched to L103-021 as soon as it had been declared space-worthy.

  “Orbit stable at 500 kilometers,” the helm reported after setting his controls to neutral.

  The Captain got up from his bench and walked over to Falima’s station. She was the bridge’s direct link to the survey room where three dozen planetary survey specialists were monitoring the data being gathered by the fleet of probes now cruising through the planet’s atmosphere. Each probe carried 25 miniature base stations that would be periodically dropped to the surface where they would report on a multitude of parameters. They would send their data to the six recently deployed satellites which would then forward the data to the orbiting survey ship. In a matter of weeks, they would have a complete map of the planet and a good grasp of the world’s weather patterns.

  “Is it as promising as the discovery probe made it out to be?” Captain Eshif asked.

  “It’s a beautiful world,” Falima replied, flicking her tail. “Still no sign of advanced life. I can see my family moving here. I’ve always wanted to be a colonist on a new world.”

  A yellow icon appeared on the center screen as a chime sounded an alert. Falima touched the icon and a graph of data appeared.

  “What’s that?” the Captain asked.

  “An EM emission. It’s very weak but definitely present.”

  “Where’s it coming from?”

  Falima checked her display. “One of the smaller continents just north of the equator. The probe is about a hundred kilometers inland from the center of the western edge. It’s gone into search mode and is descending.”

  “Show me the visual.”

  Falima entered a few commands into her console and a screen to the right began displaying a view of a lush, green tree-top canopy. The trees grew closer as the probe descended.

  “Still no sign of any advanced life,” she said after checking several summary screens. The atmosphere is clear of pollutants. No artificial structures or large power sources have been identified.”

  “Malfunction?”

  Glancing down at a smaller screen, she said, “Internal diagnostics show green.”

  A second yellow icon appeared. After checking, Falima announced, “A second probe is now picking up a similar signal. This one’s located near the southern edge of the same continent.”

  “Two signals on a supposedly uninhabited planet,” the Captain said, his tail swishing back and forth in a small circle. “I don’t like this.”

  Falima tilted her reptilian head to one side then looked up at Eshif. “Survey is unable to identify the source. They’re taking manual control of the probe and guiding it below the canopy.”

  They watched as the probe came to a stop and then slowly descended toward the treetops. The cracking of branches and the swish of thick foliage scraping along the probe’s hull could be heard as it broke through the tops of the trees. The floor of the forest was a wild tangle of green and brown. A startled bird flew by the camera screeching out an alarm.

  “There!” Falima suddenly pointed to a shadowy form on one of the branches.

  A second later, the camera zoomed in revealing a fur covered animal squatting on a branch staring at the descending probe. A large, flat, bluish nose could clearly be seen in the center of its hairless, yellow face. Two round eyes were positioned slightly above and to either side of the nose. Its arms and legs appeared to be heavily muscled. Without a frame of reference, it was impossible to tell how large it was.

  The probe scanned the animal and a block of data appeared on the screen. The newly discovered life-form was a little over a meter in height. It continued to stare at the probe for a moment, then, without breaking eye-contact, began moving to the right. Both of its hands and feet were equipped with six long fingers allowing it to easily maintain a firm grip on the branch. The camera panned as it followed the animal’s progress.

  After traveling to the trunk of the tree it had been foraging in, it paused for a moment to scratch its stomach, then selected another branch and continued moving in the same direction.

  “Captain!” Falima began, swiveling her head around. “You’re not going to believe this. The signal is coming from the animal.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Survey is positive. The probe has not changed position, only the camera is being panned. This allowed survey to confirm that the signal is following the animal.”

  “Could it be wearing a tracking collar?”

  Glancing at her screen, Falima replied, “Unlikely. The scans are not picking up any metallic objects. It could be a small implanted tracking device.”

  “Have we ever encountered a species that naturally emits EM?”

  “A few, but not in a continuous pattern like we’ve been seeing. Survey has been running a computer analysis of the
signal and there’s an 82% chance it’s encoded with information.”

  The Captain extended his neck so he could get a closer look at the still-moving animal. “Do you think it’s communicating using radio waves?”

  “It’s too early to tell, but if so, this is a major discovery.”

  “It’s probably a tracking tag,” the helm suggested, his tail drooping in disappointment. “That means we’re not the only ones who’ve discovered this world.”

  “We didn’t detect any satellites in orbit,” Captain Eshif said. “If it is a tag, then it’s transmitting to a ground station and so far, there’s been no sign of one.”

  “Survey is requesting permission to launch a shuttle,” Falima said, after listening to a voice only she could hear. “They want to know if it would be okay to capture that animal for closer study.”

  The Captain walked back to his bench and sat down. After a moment of thought, he said, “Granted. We don’t know their physiology. A tranquilizer might kill it. Use a capture net and take care not to harm it.”

  “Understood,” Falima replied.

  For the next 45 minutes, the crew watched as the animal made a slow, deliberate circle around the unmoving probe. When it returned to its starting position, it sat down and began pulling leaves off the tree and eating them.

  “I guess it’s decided the probe is not a threat,” Captain Eshif said.

  “Survey is reporting they’ve picked up at least a dozen more signals,” Falima said. “If the signals are not natural, then someone is closely monitoring these creatures.”

  “Still no sign of technology?”

  “Nothing sir. The monitoring stations could be very small and solar powered. If they’re not transmitting, it’s unlikely we would be able to detect them.”

  Ignoring the probe, the animal continued to forage for food. It moved through the branches in a fluid motion always maintaining a firm grip on a branch. It occasionally stopped to groom itself or pick an insect off the bark. As the team watched, it pulled a few leaves off another branch then jerked its head and stared at the sky.

  “The shuttle is on station above the canopy,” Falima reported. “Survey is ready to initiate capture.”

  “Proceed.”

  The probe slowly moved closer to the animal. When it was five meters away, it fired a net that wrapped itself around the creature and the branch it was sitting on. The weighted ends of the net contained small but powerful electromagnets that pulled the open ends together.

  There was a brief moment during which the animal panicked and tried to push its way out of the net. After a few seconds, it calmed down. Reaching out, it pulled on one of the strands as if testing it. Grabbing the strand with both hands, it tried to pull it apart. The strand stretched but did not break. The animal then put a foot on one of the strands, grabbed hold of the one above it, and pulled, its muscles bulging with the effort. The net held.

  “It won’t be able to break free,” Falima said. “The net is made of orincha.”

  The captured animal turned around and began examining the electromagnetic weights. “It’s not acting like a trapped animal,” Captain Eshif remarked. “It’s examining the net; trying to find a weakness. It’s intelligent! That could put this planet off-limits for colonization.”

  “Urgent message from the shuttle,” the communications station reported.

  “Main screen,” the Captain ordered.

  A second later, the face of the shuttle pilot appeared on the bridge’s main screen. “Something is approaching at high speed from the south. ETA 45 seconds. We are ascending at maximum speed.”

  “Acknowledged,” Captain Eshif replied. “Return to the ship.” Turning to Falima, he said, “Release the animal.”

  Falima turned and relayed the command to the probe’s operator. A moment later, the ends of the net fell apart and the animal calmly began extracting itself as if nothing unusual had happened.

  “Done,” Falima reported.

  “Thank you,” Captain Eshif replied. “Well, it’s pretty obvious there’s a technological presence here. Survey, recall your probes.”

  Falima’s head spun around as her tail began twitching. “But- - -”

  “That’s an order,” the Captain said.

  “I wonder who they are?” the helm asked.

  A red icon appeared on one of Falima’s screens accompanied by a shrill chime. The video feed of the animal they had captured was gone. Falima’s hands flew over her controls, waves of frustration traveled up her tail. “Contact with probe 32 has been lost,” she reported.

  “What happened to it?”

  “I have no idea Captain. All transmissions just suddenly ended.”

  “Recall those probes—now!” Captain Eshif ordered. “Comms, see if you can’t identify who we’re dealing with.”

  The communications operator acknowledged the order as he began entering commands on his console.

  “All probes have been recalled,” Falima said. “Survey is putting them into a stable orbit 350 kilometers above the surface. We’ll begin recovery once the shuttle is aboard.”

  “Comms, anything?” Captain Eshif asked.

  “Nothing yet. We’re transmitting on multiple frequencies. The computer is transmitting a standard first-contact sequence on five frequencies.”

  Fifteen minutes passed.

  “The shuttle is secure,” the engineering station reported.

  The Captain’s tail had been slowly swishing back and forth as his frustration continued to rise. There had been no reply to any of their attempts at communication and there was still no indication of any sort of base or installation anywhere on the planet.

  “Very well,” the Captain replied. “Begin recovery of the probes.”

  Falima was in the middle of relaying the order to the survey room when an image appeared on her center screen. “Farquaff!” she exclaimed, her hands flying over her controls. A moment later, the same image appeared on the main screen.

  “Bareth farquaff!” Captain Eshif swore. “Helm! Get us out of here, maximum acceleration. Engage FTL as soon as possible. Set course for Roulda. Comms, send that image and all the data we’ve gathered so far to the nearest military base.”

  “What about the probes, Captain?” Falima asked.

  “We’re leaving them. Put them in surveillance mode,” Captain Eshif ordered. “Maybe they’ll spot something the military will find useful.”

  There was a round of acknowledgments as the crew quickly turned to their assigned tasks. Captain Eshif stared at the screen, terrified at what he was looking at.

  “What the hell are they doing here?” he kept asking himself over and over.

  Frozen on the main screen was the unmistakable image of a large Chroniech warship. Ships of that size were never designed to land. But there it was, a good portion of it undamaged, sitting on the surface of a planet, apparently completely dead as if it had been deliberately landed, powered down, and abandoned.

  Chapter 2

  Another black dot appeared in the clear blue sky. “That one has to be one of their ships,” Kirth said, pointing towards the rapidly growing dot.

  Shava leaned against her mate’s side, her tail gently wrapping around Kirth’s. “That’s what you said when we spotted the last six ships. Their message said they had entered the system, not that they were landing.”

  “That one’s a lot darker—looks black. Their ships are- - -” A chime from both their pocket phones interrupted Kirth. He pulled the device from his breast pocket, glanced at the display, then turned to Shava and said, “It’s them. They’re on final approach.”

  Shava rubbed her head against Kirth’s neck. “It will be good to see them again.”

  The circle in the sky split into two black, disk-shaped ships as the two ships continued their descent. Traveling side-by-side, the Seeker-class starships approached the starport. When they were 30 meters above the tarmac, the ship’s landing struts simultaneously deployed. They continued their descent in pe
rfect unison until they simultaneously touched down on the reinforced concrete. The landing struts took the weight of the ships as they settled to the ground 15 meters apart and 50 meters from Kirth and Shava.

  Twenty seconds later, both ramps descended. The owners appeared and walked down the ramps reaching the ground at precisely the same moment. One was a Rouldian: Lashpa Krish (formally known as Lashpa-ga-Thomas Krish-ga-Wilks), a member of the species that called Roulda their home world. She walked on four stubby legs and had a reptilian head with two arms attached to her chest. Her tail was curled proudly over her back.

  The other was Tom Wilks (officially known as Thomas-ga-Lashpa Wilks-ga-Krish). A Terran who, under normal circumstances would have had a difficult time walking in Roulda’s high gravity. Seeker-class ships, however, were only given to peacekeepers: Cybernetically enhanced individuals who, by direct authority of the Council of the Galactic Alliance, served as the protectors of Alliance law.

  In unison, the two peacekeepers raised their arms, waved, and began walking towards Kirth and Shava. As soon as they were close enough, Kirth said, “Show off! We know you’re gragrakch, there’s no need to try to prove it to us.”

  Gragrakch was a Rouldian word that was usually, and wrongly, translated into English as ‘soul-mate’. However, gragrakch has a much deeper meaning. Rouldians believe that everything in the universe is created in pairs. Matter and antimatter, positive and negative, north and south. This belief extends to the creation of life itself and the soul that exists within every life form. This belief is so ingrained into Rouldian society that if two people declare themselves as gragrakch, they are, from that point forward, considered as one and the same. Tom and Lashpa had declared themselves gragrakch, the first such declaration that crossed species.

  Lashpa stepped forward and tilted her reptilian head just enough to expose her neck. Two tongues flicked out as Kirth and Shava tasted their daughter in a traditional Rouldian greeting. Lashpa did the same, then embraced her parents starting with her mother.

  “It’s good to see you again,” Lashpa said. “How was your trip from Fanish?”