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  “I am,” she replied.

  “Then in accordance with the ancient laws of our people I, Lashpa Methsha Krish…”

  “…and I, Thomas Allen Wilks…”

  “…declare before the presence of our two families that we are gragrakch,” Tom and Lashpa spoke the ancient Rouldian words in perfect unison. “We were created as one and we will be one again. Two bodies, one soul.”

  “A public declaration of gragrakch has been witnessed,” the chief recorder said. “Please follow me so we may record this event in the genealogical archives.”

  Tom and Lashpa followed the chief recorder into her office. After taking her place behind the desk, she said, “Thomas Wilks, our central archive has no genealogical history for you. This is a unique situation and I have asked the central archives for direction on how to proceed. In order to enter your name into the genealogical registrar and to make this entry as complete as possible I have requested information concerning yourself and your family from the Alliance database. With your permission I will now make this a permanent part of our archives.”

  “Granted.”

  “Before I proceed, I’ve also been directed to verify that you understand how you will be treated under Rouldian law. Although you’re a peacekeeper, you’re still subject to Rouldian law on planets governed by those laws.”

  Tom looked at Lashpa then at the chief recorder. “I’m well aware of the law,” he replied. “Lashpa and I will be considered a single individual. I can be held responsible for her actions and she can be held responsible for my own. I’m sure there are other implications I’m not aware of but I want to make this official. Please proceed.”

  The chief recorder tilted her head to one side then looked at Lashpa. Nodding her head, Lashpa said, “Tom is well versed in the concept of gragrakch. Let us delay no more.”

  Satisfied that her legal obligations had been met, the recorder spent a few seconds working her keyboard. When she was finished, she set a large bowl of iridescent green liquid on the counter.

  “Gragrakch has been declared and duly recorded,” she said. “From this point forward, wherever Rouldian law is recognized, you will be considered a single individual. I am honored to be the first to register such a declaration between a Rouldian and another species. Congratulations!”

  Although Tom had extensively researched the entire ceremony he was still a bit fuzzy as to what was supposed to happen next. Lashpa dipped her entire hand into the liquid then put it squarely on Tom’s face. “We are one soul in two bodies. We are gragrakch. Destined to be united again.”

  Following her example, Tom did the same thing placing the heal of his significantly smaller hand between her eyes and laying his fingers as far as they would go on her face. “We are one soul in two bodies. We are gragrakch. Destined to be united again.” Tom removed his hand and noticed it had left a bright green image of his hand on her face. He smiled as he imagined what his looked like at the moment.

  Tom and Lashpa turned and stood in front of the door leading back into the meeting room.

  “Ready?” Lashpa asked.

  Nodding his head, Tom replied, “Ready.”

  Together, they opened the double doors. They were greeted by a single, thunderous word—GRAGRAKCH!”

  Chapter 17

  Commander Choback entered the room and closed the door. Base Commander Zathkra along with Chief Engineer Masthuma were the only others present.

  “Chief Engineer Masthuma, we’re here to discuss what’s been learned from your analysis of the planet killer and how this new knowledge is being applied,” Choback said.

  “I’m not sure I understand Commander,” Masthsuma replied. “I’ve been providing you with daily updates. What else is there to discuss?’

  “Your updates have been lacking in detail. Hopefully this is because you’ve been busy learning about the Kyrra equipment. I want details. Let’s start with the shield generator.”

  Masthuma had purposefully kept his daily updates to a bare minimum at Varku’s request. But refusing to answer Choback now would result in extremely unpleasant consequences.

  “My apologies Commander,” Masthuma replied, choosing his words carefully. “I have indeed been very busy. I will try to be more detailed in the future.”

  “What have you learned about the shield generator?” Choback asked again, sounding frustrated.

  “The analysis of the Kyrra shield generator has shown that its field diameter is fixed and cannot be changed. Testing has confirmed this result,” Masthuma reported.

  “So we can’t use it to protect the base?” Commander Choback asked.

  “No—the field diameter is far too small.”

  The corners of Choback’s lips trembled. “Can anything you learned from your analysis of the generator be used to strengthen our own shields?” he asked, the tone of his voice betraying the fact he was becoming angry.

  “I’m not sure,” Masthuma scratched his head. He was desperately trying to find something he could tell Choback to derail his obviously increasing anger. For reasons he did not understand, Varku had asked him to keep the truth from Choback. The real answer was he had figured out how to increase their shield effectiveness. Masthuma decided to evade the question.

  “I’m sure we’ll eventually discover something. We’re still trying to figure out exactly how it works. Even though the ship is very old, the technology it incorporates is considerably more advanced than ours.”

  Choback slowly balled his hand, which had been laying flat on the table, into a fist. The sound of claws raking across the tabletop were clearly heard by everyone in the room. “Have we learned anything at all that can help our people defeat the Kyrra?”

  “We’ve learned quite a bit,” Masthuma replied, worried that Choback’s anger would soon turn to violence. “Activating the shield generator function is a major achievement considering how complex the control circuitry is. You must remember, the device is also an FTL engine. We’re making good progress towards understanding how- - -”

  “Details!” Choback’s fist slammed into the table. “I’m tired of hearing you say ‘we hope’ or ‘eventually’. I want results, not predictions of what you hope to find!”

  “Commander,” Zathkra said into the silence that had descended. “A word in private please?”

  Choback’s head snapped around so fast the fur around his temples fluffed out and a bead of sweat was sent flying from the tip of his nose. Zathkra remained perfectly calm. Several seconds passed. With a wave of his hand and a grunt, Choback gestured for Masthuma to leave.

  Outside the conference room, Masthuma paced the tunnel as a muffled discussion took place behind the closed door. Five minutes later, Zathkra stuck his head out and said, “We can resume now.”

  Choback waited until Masthuma was seated then said, “You’ve been doing the best you can with the limited resources at your disposal. I was hoping for more. You said the shield generator is also an FTL drive. What can you tell me about it?”

  Masthuma wondered how Zathkra had managed to calm Choback down so quickly. He had always wondered why the Group Commander had chosen Zathkra as base commander instead of himself. He was the more senior of the two and was the logical choice. A quick glance at Zathkra provided no hints of what had been said while he was out of the room.

  “As far as I know, no other race builds a unit that combines the functions of both a stardrive and a shield generator. There must be a reason for this but I’ve yet to figure it out. I’m confident our scientists will be able to discern how the Kyrra stardrive works and can then use that knowledge to build faster stardrives and more effective shield generators. We’ll continue our own efforts into learning as much as we can about the device’s operation.”

  “Make sure you fully document everything you’ve learned,” the Commander said. “What about the main energy cannon?”

  “It’s been moved to a test stand on the surface,” Masthuma replied, looking down at the table. “The weapon is incred
ibly complex with a multitude of internal components that defy explanation. Powering it up, however, is out of the question.”

  Choback was alternately clenching then relaxing his fist, each time dragging his claws across the surface of the table. “So you’re telling me we can’t use anything from the planet-killer to improve the security of this base?”

  “That’s not quite true,” Zathkra joined the conversation. “All of the ship’s point defense guns have been test fired and are now being installed at strategic locations on the surface. We’re in the process of pulling the rest of the fusion reactors out of the ship and installing them in the base to power these guns. The reactors are self-contained units requiring little interface with external systems to make them work.”

  “And the ship’s other armament?” Choback demanded.

  “The only other weapon system is the matter converter,” Masthuma said. “This is another weapon we’ve been unable to understand. One of the individual units is set up on the surface along with a power source. I plan on test firing it tomorrow morning.”

  “Doesn’t a weapon like that violate the laws of conservation of energy?” Zathkra asked.

  “Actually, no,” Masthuma replied. “Both matter and antimatter are a form of energy. Antimatter is basically a mirror-image of matter.”

  “So how does the weapon work?” Choback asked.

  “As I said earlier Commander, we don’t know. Since matter and antimatter are mirror images of each other, there have been wild theories proposed to create a hyperdimensional mirror to flip one to the other. As far as I know, none of them are practical. I’m not a theoretical physicist and I’m far from an expert on hyperdimensional field theory. This is way beyond my skill level.”

  Choback stood up and began walking around the table. “So let me make sure I have this straight. We have in our possession one of the most technologically advanced warships ever to have been built. We have no idea how its two main weapon systems work, one of which we’ll never be able to fire and the other is still being experimented on. The main reactor is a complete mystery. We have at least managed to learn something from the shield generator even though we can’t use it to our advantage at this time. The only parts of the Kyrra ship we’re able to use are the small point defense modules and the fusion reactors. Is this all correct?”

  Masthuma and Zathkra both nodded.

  “I’m not pleased with these results,” Choback announced. “I’d hoped to strengthen the defenses of this base using the technologies learned from an analysis of the Kyrra warship.”

  “Our defenses have been improved Commander,” Zathkra argued. “The point defense guns are quite powerful and we’ll soon have all 16 of them in place. The way we have deployed our existing shield generators can also be improved. At the moment, we’re using the two generators from VT-113 in an expanded field configuration to provide coverage for the central part of the base and the housing section. I’m looking into using the Kyrra generator to protect the core of the base and then redeploying the two current generators to provide reduced coverage for other sections. The smaller shield diameter will give us a stronger shield.”

  The Commander looked down at the floor in thought. “I like your line of reasoning Base Commander,” he said after a moment. “I’ve been worried for some time about how well prepared we are if we’re discovered. Even if the shields held, we would eventually run out of supplies and consumables. We are isolated without any hope for reinforcements.”

  “We can only hope that our scientists back home will find a way to break through the barrier,” Zathkra said. “If we can remain undetected until then, we’ll be able to provide them with the knowledge we’ve learned from the Kyrra warship and our engineers can then design a fleet of warships capable of defeating anyone in the known universe.”

  “I am satisfied,” Choback said after a moment of reflection. “For now. Chief Masthuma, I am disappointed with the results you have achieved so far. I expected more from someone with your background in engineering. Dismissed!”

  * * * * *

  Masthuma was hunched over a large display surface showing the details of the internals of the Kyrra main energy cannon. Although he was trying to concentrate, his mind kept returning to the meeting with Choback.

  Trink came up from behind and peered over his shoulder. “Any luck?” he asked.

  Masthuma tapped on the screen a little harder than necessary causing a section to expand. “What do you make of this?”

  Trink bent down to get a closer look. “You’re looking at the energy cannon right?”

  Masthuma nodded his head but remained silent.

  “Then why do I get the impression I’m looking at a model of a stardrive? At least that’s what it looks like, except the emitter junctions are all pointing in the wrong direction.”

  Masthuma rapidly stood up, causing the back of the chair to hit Trink in the stomach. His shoulder narrowly missed colliding with Trink’s jaw. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said, gesturing at the display. “It looks like the Kyrra grabbed bits and pieces of incompatible technology, threw them into a bag, gave it a few shakes, then poured the mixture into a mold resembling an energy cannon. This thing can’t possibly work, yet I know it does.”

  Trink sat down in the unoccupied chair. Touching the display, he panned the image around, stopping at random points. “Have you figured out how to fire it?”

  “I’m not sure. It was designed to be fired and controlled by the ship’s AI and since we have no idea how the computer talked to the weapon we don’t know how to initiate the firing sequence.”

  “What about the test panel we found?” Trink asked.

  “If it really is a test panel,” Masthuma pulled up a second chair and fell into it. “We’ll soon learn if our theory is correct though when we try to test fire the converter.”

  Trink looked around the makeshift workshop. They had gutted a section of the Spirondak then cut it loose from the ship and grounded it near the base. Bits and pieces of the Kyrra warship were laid out on hastily assembled tables making the room look more like a junkyard than a scientific research area.

  Several technicians were gathered around a large machine on the other side of the room discussing how best to disassemble the complex device. All of them were out of earshot.

  Moving closer to Masthuma and lowering his voice, Trink said, “The test setup you asked me to build is done. I’ll install it on the converter tonight. Do you really think it’s going to work?”

  “I hope so,” Masthuma glanced around the room as well. “If it doesn’t, then Varku’s hopes of getting this energy cannon operational will be smashed.”

  “Let’s hope we don’t blow a new crater in this planetoid in the morning,” Trink replied.

  “Tomorrow’s test is crucial to our plans. If we get a successful test fire of the converter and the results of our unauthorized test are positive then we might be able to fuel the energy cannon if we can figure out how to trigger the firing sequence.”

  * * * * *

  An hour later, Masthuma was engaged in a private conversation with Captains Varku and Gritharg. Masthuma had had sporadic, discrete, and very brief conversations with both of them over the past few weeks. This was the first time he actually sat down to talk to them at the same time. The topic of the discussion made him exceedingly nervous.

  “Most of my crew will support you,” Gritharg told Varku.

  “You’re certain?” Varku asked.

  “My contacts among the crew are completely reliable. What of yours?”

  “The same,” Varku replied. “But I believe those who are not in agreement will accept the change in leadership once we announce our intentions.”

  Varku looked at Masthuma, “How long will it take to make the modifications to our ships?”

  “Trink and I can do the shield modifications in about two days,” Masthuma replied. “The changes to the stardrives are more extensive. If I put two crews on each
and work around the clock we should be able to finish in just under five days.”

  “And the energy cannon?” Gritharg asked.

  “The collector is finished,” Masthuma replied. “I’ll be testing it tomorrow morning when we try to fire the matter converter. If we can’t get the converter to fire, we’ll never be able to make the cannon work. There are a lot of things we’re counting on that have not been tested. I cannot offer any guarantees.”

  “Unlike Choback, we understand the issues you’re having,” Varku replied. “Tomorrow’s test is crucial to our plans because without that cannon we may as well keep hiding like a bunch of cowards.”

  “Let us know how the test goes tomorrow,” Gritharg instructed.

  “I will. May I ask when you’re planning on taking command?” Masthuma asked.

  Varku looked at Gritharg then turned back to Masthuma, “It’s best you don’t know,” he said. “It’s been difficult enough for you to keep your discoveries from the Commander. If he learns of your deception he will not hesitate to kill you.”

  Masthuma nodded his head, “After he forces me to tell him everything I’ve learned.”

  “We would not allow that to happen,” Varku said, the tone of his voice emphasizing his seriousness.

  “Just make sure he doesn’t find out,” Gritharg added.

  “You’ve been out of sight for too long already,” Varku said. “Let’s hope your test goes well tomorrow morning.”

  “I’ll be in touch,” Masthuma replied.

  Chapter 18

  Following the declaration and legal recording of gragrakch, Lashpa and Tom, walking side-by-side, led the way to an expansive courtyard. GRAGRAKCH! The assembled crowd yelled so loud that Tom nearly backed into Kirth.

  Putting his mouth near Lashpa’s ear, he said, “Now I know why the parking lot was so full. You didn’t tell me this was going to be a public celebration.”

  “Everyone should celebrate in a declaration of gragrakch. All this,” she said, waving her hand around the room, “is provided by the city.”