A Ghost Arises (Part one)

The Captain stared at his food processor. All he wanted was a snack. A scuttler salad, maybe. Or, right now, a simple protein bar. Instead he was looking at an ominous warning label. He was familiar with it, but this meant more than he was going to be hungry. This meant that he had missed something important, something that could ruin a Captain and condemn the entire ship. His Human was bored. The unexpected engineering was a symptom, the tip of the sort of icebergs that his human had described to him. The ones that can sink the unsinkable.

The Noctema was a lucky ship, blessed with a good crew and a decent Captain, spending it’s time mapping the outer edges of Galactic space. It had been named for some author, alongside its sisters Tolkien and Journo. Together they had been sent out to find new peoples, new ideas and new resources for the endless community of life that flashed and spun amongst the worlds. The galaxy was relatively peaceful right now and resources for such expeditions were plentiful and the work well rewarded.

The Captain returned hungry to his office and summoned his Second. First find out just how bad it was, then work out a solution. If his Engineer had been looking at the vending machines, she must have run out of ideas. A brief fear made him check every console in his office, just in case she’d been in his cabin. No, at least nothing here. He relaxed a little.

The Second hurried to the Captain. Unusually for a small ship like this, he was the same species as his Captain. They both had the mottled skin, sharp faces and powerful back legs and tail that were the products of evolution as hunters on a galactic standard world. They didn’t generally work well together, not when mature. But he liked his Captain. Also, they didn’t tend to spend that much time face-to-face.

He rose outside the captain's quarters, trying to think what would demand such a meeting, reviewing everything that was currently happening on the ship. He couldn’t think of anything, in fact the work had become a dull, mechanical routine. Boring, even. Then the thought crept across his mind, the warning whispered by every Xeno that dealt with Humans. Oh Shit. He hadn’t even thought to check on the human once. Quickly he entered the cabin, his face showing that he had realised his mistake.

The Captain was busy noting all the Engineering reports that had quietly been filed. So far, he counted fifteen systems, all minor, that the Engineer had ‘Inspected’. He had simply skimmed the headers before. Sanitisers, personal power suppliers, translators, some minor AI improvements. He stopped at that one. Humans liked turning things into people. While he had no major problems with this incessant urge to talk to damn near anything, he would prefer not to argue with his ship. His Second arrived, and from the flush on his skin, he had realised the same thing as he had. ‘ Captain, I just realised…’ he started to explain, before the Captain raised his claws, ‘Peace. Read the reports, then we’ll find the human something to do. Are there any planets nearby? Someone due a contact, some unexplained broadcasts we can investigate? ‘ The Second, relieved that this wasn’t yet a disaster, thought through his updates. He hesitated, ‘ There is a system, a few light-years back. Obvious signs of life, nothing much in space, just a few satellites. Too early for contact, according to the guidelines.’ The Captain grinned, flashing sharp teeth,’ Well, they are only guidelines. Turn us back, tell the Engineer to prepare for first contact, hopefully that will be enough. And then ask her to explain what she did to my food processor, it refused to tell me.’

Engineer Tay was rearranging her tools. She didn’t really need too, but short of checking the light bulbs, everything that could be done, had been done. She was cursed with a careful and attentive crew that didn’t break anything, that quickly advised her of any minor problems and didn’t buy second grade equipment. It was a nightmare. All they had left her was paperwork, the bastards. She was relieved when the alert sounded, that they were moving to first contact and she was required to begin monitoring the technology levels of the new species. She grinned as she finally got to do what she had come into space to do. All the boredom fell away as she began preparing the probes that would tell her everything she needed to know.

The Second, after sending the update, decided that a personal visit might be a good idea. Just in case. He already felt stupid enough, to have left such a problem grow on his watch, without now making sure the Engineer was fully occupied. She didn’t even look around when he stepped into the Engineering Bay. He watched the small figure moving quickly between silos that dwarfed her, watched her pick up parts and tools that he would struggle with, even with help.

He knew her to be a good officer, but as to engineering? He didn’t bother to have an opinion. The few times he had asked her about it, he couldn’t understand the answer. Such an odd species, friendly creatures, not even truly predators, but holding utter mastery on a deathworld. A mind sharpened by the sort of competition that left only one survivor. His people had learned the hard way, long ago, that humans were best as allies. They had noticed that those species that had chosen a different path were now pets, or at best, under human protection in case the humans accidentally killed them all. He continued to watch quietly until he was absolutely certain, then decided to report to the Captain. He realised he knew nothing about the planet they were about to engage. Perhaps the boredom had got to everyone.

Tay watched as the Second quietly left. She thought he had been going to interrupt her, instead he had just stayed out of her way, trusting she knew what she was doing. Strange species, the Fay. Pure apex-predators, complete with the teeth and claws and yet they valued poetry more than sports, indifferent to each other after childhood, but welded to community service, serving on any and every ship they could. After a false start, they were now highly regarded by humans. Also they liked cats, for some reason. Time to get the probes out, she decided. The ship couldn’t make a plan without her information. She lost herself in the work, all traces of discontent forgotten.

The probes were sleek, clever little beasties, she thought, as they launched. She had designed them herself. She could scale them up as necessary, depending on how good the native tech was. They might wonder at some lights in the sky, but nothing worse than a few falling stars would create. It would be a few hours before they entered the broadcast shell of the planet, that would play out the languages and history of this new world for them. Time enough for a cup of tea. Hopefully, the food processor would get it right this time, she didn’t want to have to reprogram it again.

The hours passed comfortably, until tea in hand, she started to get the data. It would take a while for the language to be interpreted but she didn’t need to wait. Slamming the cup down, forgotten, she ran to cut the engines, then find the Captain.

‘Captain, we need to speak. Now and in private.’ The Captain was startled by his Engineer, arriving abruptly at his shoulder, moving at a speed that would surprise anyone unaware of humans and their strange sports. ‘ Engineer? Why are we stopped? Is there a problem with the ship.?’ Tay tried to calm herself down. There must be a simple explanation to what she had seen, she just needed time to find it. Nothing was at risk, she had simply got a fright. She took a deep breath, ‘Captain, the ship is fine. I need to speak to you right now. I stopped the ship, sorry. We’re not going anywhere near that planet, at least not yet. Please, Sir’

The cabin felt tense, as the Captain took his seat. Tay was acting erratically, and had killed his engines without orders. If this wasn’t good, perhaps it was time for another engineer. ‘Well Engineer, I believe your job includes keeping the engines working. Mine are the minor details of stop and go. Can you explain why we seem to have switched places?’ Tay took the rebuke, barely showing how deeply it hurt to have disappointed her Captain, ‘Sir, my deepest apologies. My probes have just begun their descent through the broadcast shell of the planet…’She hesitated. This would be impossible to explain to a Xeno. Still she had to try. She stood straight,’ Sir I must report that I needed no help to translate that language, nor understand the video. It is all late Anthropocene, just prior to humans taking to space. It's a human planet, Sir, and it shouldn’t be here.’

The Captain was confused, ‘ Why is that important? Your people have many planets! Perhaps this one got lost? Perhaps some disaster, some event left them out here in the dark. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to rejoin you. I can see that this came as a surprise, but, really, it's something to be celebrated, surely?’ Tay felt wretched to be the one to find this damned planet. Her own people were not going to be happy about this kind of human history becoming common knowledge. It went against the brand, as it were. ‘ Sir, Humanity is not a solid thing, it’s a mix of interests, a cauldon of ideas, some good, some bad. But all backed by the science and skill of all. Knowledge is free on Earth, anyone can know anything. Anything can be bought or sold, or built. Sometimes that ends badly. The broadcast shell of that planet is the propaganda of a regime that was extinguished, by brutal force and at heavy cost. If they are here, reborn in some way, Mankind will seek them out. Sir, we can be irrational. If I call home right now, humanity will send a fleet to burn this world to bedrock’

The Captain was even more concerned, even more worried about the erratic behavior of his human. ‘ Engineer, your people don’t even have a fleet. They have never raised a hand, except in self-defense. Why do you imagine such things?’

She had neaty trapped herself, she thought bitterly,’ Sir, Mankind has fleets. More than would believe. I served on one. It is not something we discuss or show, but please, believe me when I say they will come.’

A sudden thought struck the Captain. Of course these people had fleets, of course they kept them hidden. They had people on every ship, on every world. Famous for engineering. Of course they had their own ships, nothing bred on that deathworld would dare not too. Yet they didn’t want them seen, or discussed. What horrors had the humans faced before that would scare them so much? The answer was suddenly in front of him. Themselves.

‘What would drive your people to such a thing? You are not my first human crew, or even human friend, if I may. What scares you so?’ His concern was genuine, the fear of some hidden darkness engulfing his small ship, was real. Humans as enemies were, as his people had learned, not a pleasant thought. The Engineer stood silent, unwilling to put words on her fear, on her knowledge that mankind had stood on a pile of corpses to reach the stars. That the will to peace was another silent human war. That it was a war that could be lost, in a moment.

The Captain realised he was getting nothing more. Time to trust his Engineer or not, time to find out what, exactly, was on his ship. ‘ Well, Tay, perhaps we truly have swapped places. I will wait for your decision on what happens next. Put your plan together, think about this. We are in no rush, no need to call in hidden fleets of homicidal humans just yet. We will wait here. Go, study your probes. I will not move the ship until you allow it.’ The Engineer sagged in relief, she hadn’t realised how high the tension had risen. ‘Sir, I will report as soon as possible. Perhaps I am making much of nothing. Just give me time to uncover this mystery.’

As she left, the Captain reflected that, until she decided to let him, the ship wasn’t going anywhere anyway. She had already shown him that much already, at least.

Tay made her way back to the Engineering bay, winching under the thought that she would have to call Earth and tell them the worst. She hadn’t lied to the Captain. Humanity had rendered these bastards back to bedrock before, and would do it again, in a heartbeat. Would she really be the one to tell them that Australia was back?