Collision Course Read online

  It was during their stay with the Keldans that Heather finally managed to get AJ to see her as a woman and not just another member of the crew. When they first met, her hair had been kept very short. Now that she held a desk job in her father’s company, she’d let it grow out. When the Star Pulse finally arrived back on Earth, Heather’s father created a position in his company that suited AJ’s talents. Captain Arnold J. Zak became Trans-Stellar’s efficiency inspector. Heather, having gained some real-life experience as a laborer, was placed in charge of the newly formed Keldan sales department.

  “I have no idea,” Heather said. “Dad normally doesn’t keep any secrets from me, but this time he refused to say why he wanted me to meet him here.”

  “There’s no secret,” a voice carried through the open door. A man dressed in a light gray business suit appeared in the doorway. “I just didn’t want to have to explain things twice.”

  AJ stood up and headed around the desk as another man dressed in a silky black business suit entered the room. A small metal pin on his lapel identified him as an official of the World Government.

  Rafael gave the door a push and watched it until it was closed and latched. “This is Aleksandr Matusik from the extraterrestrial relations department. He’s been the lead negotiator in Earth’s attempt to establish formal relations with the Ba’Rutu. Mr. Matusik, I’d like you to meet Captain Arnold Zak.”

  AJ extended his hand and the two men shook. “Please,” Zak said. “Call me AJ.”

  After waiting for Rafael to introduce his daughter, AJ asked, “Can I offer you something to drink?”

  “Scotch, neat,” Aleksandr replied as he settled into one of the guest chairs.

  Rafael took up a position standing next to Aleksandr. “Bourbon on the rocks.”

  Heather sat down in the remaining guest chair. “The usual, love.”

  AJ headed towards one of the spare chairs set against the wall but changed course when he saw Rafael quickly shake his head. After serving up the drinks, AJ took his seat behind the desk and said, “Heather told me you had some exciting news to tell us.”

  Aleksandr took a sip of his drink, then said, “Before we tell you why I’m here, I’d like to ask you a question first.”

  AJ swished a bit of rum around in his mouth, swallowed, and said, “Fire away.”

  “You were the first human to have had contact with the Ba’Rutu,” Aleksandr began. “What was your first impression of them?”

  AJ shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t like we had a long conversation. But, if you want my honest opinion, I got the impression they didn’t think much of us.”

  “They are an incredibly advanced race. Have you been following the news reports of our efforts to establish diplomatic relations with them?”

  “I’m a starship captain,” AJ replied, shaking his head and smiling. “Not a politician. I know the Ba’Rutu gave us an extensive database of the star systems surrounding Ashnib and it was this database that allowed the Keldans to locate a new planet for them to live on. They also gave us the plans for the hypercom transceivers. Other than that, from what I’ve heard, the Ba’Rutu have shunned all contact with us. We still don’t know what they look like.”

  A huge smile appeared on Rafael’s face causing his cheeks to puff out and the wrinkles under his eyes to become more pronounced. “That’s about to change,” he said.

  Heather turned her head and looked up at Aleksandr. “You’re going to be the new ambassador to the Ba’Rutu, aren’t you?”

  Aleksandr looked to be in his late 50’s but with the advent of life extension drugs he could easily have been 30 years older. His black hair was neatly trimmed and combed as if each individual hair had an assigned position on his head. His suit was meticulously clean and his pink shirt opened at the collar just enough to reveal a few chest hairs sticking out from over the top button. Everything about him spoke of a person who prided himself in his outward appearance. AJ was certain that if Aleksandr held his breath and sat still he could easily be mistaken for a wax figure.

  Despite his robot appearance, the ambassador allowed himself the luxury of a tiny smile. “I am indeed. It has taken three years of …” he paused for a moment while he searched for the correct word, “interesting negotiation. The Ba’Rutu have agreed to the terms of perhaps one of the most unique treaties I’ve ever read. It will become official when we meet their ambassador on Ashnib.”

  “What took so long?” Heather asked.

  “They have not forgotten what happened with the Akuta,” Aleksandr explained. “The Ba’Rutu brought them back from the brink of extinction and shared their technology with them. The Akuta repaid them by starting a centuries-long war. The Ba’Rutu have vowed never to allow that to happen again.”

  “What’s so unique about this treaty?” AJ asked, setting his half empty glass down on the desk. “Are we so inferior to them that they want to study us for archeological research?”

  Aleksandr swirled the remains of his scotch then downed it in a single swallow. “It didn’t take long for us to learn that there is very little we can offer the Ba’Rutu. The treaty is more of an agreement of mutual respect between our two peoples. They will be sending an ambassador to Earth and we will be sending one to their homeworld of Ba. All transfer of technology, no matter how insignificant, that has not been explicitly agreed upon in the treaty must be approved by their ambassador. I’m afraid the details of that agreement must remain confidential until it becomes official.”

  AJ had the distinct feeling that Rafael had only told them part of the exciting news. “Why tell us?” he asked. “Granted, we did make first contact with the Ba’Rutu, but that’s no reason for you to come all the way here from New York to give us this news. There’s something you’re not telling us.”

  Aleksandr looked at Rafael. “I told you he was sharp,” Rafael said.

  “The first meeting with the Ba’Rutu will take place on Ashnib. They have specified that you and Heather are to be there.”

  “Us?” AJ asked. Picking up his rum, he drained the glass and carefully set it down on the desk. “Why would they want us to be there?”

  “Apparently,” Aleksandr replied, “because you’re the ones who established first contact with them and because of how you interacted with the Keldans during your stay on Ashnib. You’re very lucky I’m a skilled negotiator. It took a considerable amount of persuasion to convince them that you would not have made a good ambassador.”

  “Ambassador! I hate politics. Are you saying the Ba’Rutu wanted me to be our ambassador to them?”

  “Precisely,” Aleksandr replied, a tiny smile appearing on his otherwise immobile face. “I suspect that’s why Goeglict was chosen as the Keldan ambassador.”

  “I want to know why?” Heather asked.

  Aleksandr peered into his glass for a moment as if doing so might make more scotch materialize. “As with many aspects of our negotiations with the Ba’Rutu, they have never been inclined to provide an explanation.”

  “How do they know how I interacted with the Keldans?” AJ asked.

  “Because they asked for the report you filed as well as any and all data we or the Keldans have concerning the event.” Aleksandr stood up and walked over to the mini-bar. “That’s the least of the odd things they’ve asked for over the years,” he added, pouring himself another drink.

  “What do they look like?” Heather asked. “We never saw them during our first contact.”

  Aleksandr leaned back against the mini-bar. “We don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been negotiating with the Ba’Rutu for the last three years and I’ve never seen their face. Neither have the other races involved in the negotiations.”

  “So we’re not the only ones talking to them?” AJ asked. “Will they be coming to Ashnib as well?”

  “The Ba’Rutu insisted on negotiating with all the known races. A single ambassador from each will be attending the initial meeting. If all goes well, we will be returning to the Ba’Rutu homew
orld to serve as representatives of our respective cultures. A single Ba’Rutu ambassador will also be dispatched to the homeworlds of the other species.”

  “Why won’t they show themselves?” Heather asked. “Are they hideous?”

  Aleksandr shrugged his shoulders, downed his drink, set his glass on the bar, and started walking back to his chair. Along the way, he replied, “As I’ve said before, the Ba’Rutu are not known for explaining their actions and we have learned not to ask.”

  “Sort of reminds me of an old science fiction book I once read,” Rafael said. “Aliens came to Earth to observe our final days before a transformation of our species resulted in our extinction as corporeal life. They didn’t reveal themselves for at least 50 years and when they did we discovered they looked like the devil himself.”

  “I doubt that’s true,” Aleksandr replied, plopping down in the chair hard enough to cause the thick leather-covered cushion to let out a whoosh of air.

  “What else did the Ba’Rutu ask to see?” AJ asked.

  “Historical files covering pretty much the complete history of every culture on Earth. I’ve been told they asked for the same from the other races as well. They also asked for samples of fictional works, music, poetry, and pictures of artwork from many periods.”

  “Sounds like they’re just trying to understand who we are as a people,” Heather said.

  “The good news though is that they’ve finally agreed to meet with us in person and open formal relations with our cultures.”

  Rafael rolled his empty glass between the palms of his hands. Looking at AJ, he said, “As luck would have it, your old ship—the Star Pulse—is in orbit being loaded with cargo destined for Keldanon. I’ve already told the captain he’ll be making a side trip to Ashnib and to make room for the three of you. The ship leaves in three days.

  “The Star Pulse is about due for an efficiency inspection,” AJ said.

  Rafael nodded his head. “Then this will be a working trip for you. Ambassador Matusik is already packed. If he returns with the Ba’Rutu, he’ll be gone for at least a standard year. You two won’t be gone as long but you should still make arrangements for someone to handle your affairs here for a couple of months.”

  “I haven’t been on Ashnib since we made contact with the Keldans,” AJ said.

  Aleksandr and Heather both stood up together.

  “You’re in for a shock,” Heather said, tipping her glass of gin back so she could finish it off. “It’s amazing how fast you can alter an entire planet’s ecosystem when you’re stripping it of all resources without regard to the environment.”

  “I’ll try not to let it depress me,” AJ replied, standing up and coming around to the front of the desk.

  “What’s to be depressed about,” Rafael said. “The entire planet is going to be destroyed in a few decades anyway. Keldanon, however, is a completely different story. When they’re finished, the Keldan’s new homeworld will be the closest thing to paradise that you will find anywhere in the galaxy.”

  “We haven’t seen the Ba’Rutu homeworld yet,” Aleksandr said. “Imagine what one can do with technology 5,000 years more advanced than we have now. I’m looking forward to seeing it with my own eyes.”

  AJ glanced at the clock. “Is anyone else hungry? Heather and I usually eat in the dining room downstairs but this calls for something far better. Sylvestro’s is just around the block.”

  Rafael started for the door. “Funny you should suggest that,” he said. “I made reservations for the four of us earlier today. I’ll pick up the tab.”

  “On the contrary,” Aleksandr replied. “This is a government-sponsored trip and all your expenses until you arrive back home will be paid for by the World Government. I’ll be paying the bill.”

  Rafael held the door open as the others filed out of the room. “You won’t get any argument from me.”

  Chapter 3

  =======================

  Hyperjump detected. The chance of a second ship randomly arriving in this area is statistically zero. It must be from the same race as the first. They will be looking for the signal from the beacon I captured. TAFCS’s request to perform pulse-scan is denied. The scan could give away my presence. I have decided to wait to see what this new arrival does.

  =======================

  Captain Mingyu Hao stepped through the open hatch leading into the bridge. “Anything?” she asked.

  “Nothing yet,” Frank Stone replied from his position in front of the helm. “We’ve checked and double-checked our position. We’re about as close to where the Kilimanjaro said they were as we can get. I still don’t think we’re going to find anything.”

  The Captain set her steaming cup of green tea into the holder built into the captain’s chair. Ten hours ago, they had arrived at the location where the Kilimanjaro reported discovering an apparently abandoned vessel. So far, they’d found nothing. Even the beacon they had left behind was silent.

  Captain Mingyu settled into her chair. Turning it slightly, she looked at the woman sitting at the science station. “Melissa, what do you think?”

  “We’ve been talking about it while you were having dinner,” the short, redhead replied. “The data from the Kilimanjaro does seem to indicate they had a random encounter with a Ba’Rutu ship. Frank might just be right.”

  The Captain took a slurping sip of her hot tea. “The ship was electromagnetically and thermally dead when they first detected it. If it was a Ba’Rutu ship, it would have been radiating something. I don’t care how advanced their technology is, you can’t change physics.”

  “It scanned them,” Melissa replied. “I’m familiar with every bit of information we have on the Ba’Rutu. The Kilimanjaro was scanned by a highly sophisticated broadband pulse of electromagnetic energy. The phasing, polarization, and modulation of the components of that signal is designed to allow the sender to extract as much information about the target as possible. It closely matches the type of signal recorded by the Star Pulse when Captain Zak first encountered the Ba’Rutu. I’m sorry Captain, but I have to agree with Frank. The Kilimanjaro came upon a Ba’Rutu ship and they just played dead to see what we would do.”

  “Are you also suggesting they took the beacon with them when they left?” the Captain asked.

  “Maybe they wanted to have a close look at our technology,” Frank chimed in.

  “That would be more along the lines of archaeological research,” Melissa said.

  The Captain leaned back in her chair and ran a hand through her dark hair. “Keep searching. The company paid us to look for something and we’re not going to return unless we’ve searched every kilometer of this area.”

  “We anticipated that,” Melissa said. “Because Ba’Rutu ships are so hard to detect, I’ve narrowed all four of our radar beams down to make them as tight as possible and running them at full power. The computer’s been programmed to scan the entire area and will halt if it picks up even the tiniest return. Scanning everything around us though with such a tight beam is going to take a long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Well, just to make sure we don’t miss anything, I’d like to do at least three full sweeps. That will take about five days.”

  “Set it running and then go get yourself something to eat.”

  “Yes Ma’am!”

  “You too Frank. I’ll keep an eye on the bridge.”

  Melissa tapped a few more keys then slid her chair back. “It’s been running for about an hour already. The computer will chime if it finds anything.”

  The Rutherford was a relatively small ship but was packed with the most advanced scientific analysis equipment known. It was an exploration vessel built for long-duration voyages and crewed by nine people psychologically matched to work well together over long periods of time. In addition to the captain, the crew consisted of two navigators, three engineers, and three science advisers.

  Captain Mingyu relaxed and sipped her tea. She enjoyed being
in space. It was quiet and relaxing and filled with wonders that had to be seen to be believed. Over the faint hiss of the ventilation, the bridge hummed and clicked, the displays silently drew their multicolored graphs, and tiny lights winked on and off. It was mesmerizing to just sit and watch and listen.

  An hour later, the crew returned. They found their captain reading a novel on one of her screens.

  Melissa glanced over Mingyu’s shoulder to see what she was reading. “Another romance novel? Don’t you get tired of those?”

  The Captain stood up and stretched. “Not at all. You should read one.”

  “I’d rather read a good book on multi-dimensional physics than a romance novel.”

  “That’s why you’re still single,” Frank said. “Who wants to go out with a brainiac?”

  Melissa sat down in her chair and spun it around to face Frank. “I don’t see a ring on your finger,” she fired back. “Your problem is you have too many choices and you’re afraid to commit to one of them.”

  Frank raised his hands in the air. “Guilty as charged. I can’t help it if I’m popular with the women. Why settle for one when I’m having so much fun?”

  This was another version of a conversation Captain Mingyu had heard several times since the current crew had been formed two years ago. Frank had been trying to get Melissa in the sack since their first mission and Melissa had been politely putting him off. Everyone knew she preferred the company of other women but had not yet found the person she wanted to settle down with.

  “I’ll be in my cabin if you find anything,” Captain Mingyu announced.

  * * * * *

  Three days later, the computer emitted a pleasant-sounding chime. Melissa and Frank were playing a game of Go while Captain Mingyu read another of her romance novels. Melissa swung her chair around and stared at the display. “Intermittent contact bearing 211 Mark 37, distance 93,200 kilometers.”