The Battlestar Glory Ch. 10 by looniestu

(This is not a sexy story. It is a space war thriller.)

Chapter 10: Peace, Love, And Happiness

From the Log of War Admiral Norman North, 12 years and 10 months after Vitalics.

We continue in our search for Monumental artifacts. We have come across a few promising leads but have not found anything substantial yet. We continue along the path set forth by the latest large cargo vessel we found. As I indicated in my earlier entries, the first large cargo ship led to a second one, and now the second one has led to a third one, which we found last year. This too, was filled with supplies and spare parts we sorely needed, and this too, came with a set of another coordinates.

Obviously, our benefactor wants to keep us well supplied. Equally obviously, our benefactor wants to keep us at arm's length. I have not been content with the situation and have been investigating leads to determine the source of these large cargo ships, but it may take one or two more rendezvous with additional cargo ships before I am able to track their source.

The Insects continue to track us, using what we now know is their particle cannon technology to launch new fleets from Alliance space to hunt us down. We try to evade their ships as long as we can before fighting them, knowing that any fleet we destroy is simply replaced by another. But they have so many fleets hunting for us that we have to fight a battle every few months, and slowly but surely that's taking a toll on our ships and crew. That's why it's vital we locate the source of these cargo shipments, and I'm fairly confident of being able to do so within the next shipment or two.

In the meantime, we barely eluded an Insect fleet last week. They're pursuing us, and we have to try and avoid contact as long as possible. To that end, I've launched long range scouts in every direction.

********

"Bank left," said the Ken Pilot. "Now right. Left, left, right."

They tried to copy his maneuvers in their Wildcats, but he was going way too fast for them.

"Aren't Graftonites supposed to lose their reflexes after they've been off-planet for a while?" Took said.

"We do," said the Ken Pilot. "But even my slowed reaction times are still faster than your pitifully slow ones."

Took sighed. Captain Wren had "suggested" that the Ken Pilot attempt to teach them some of his piloting skills, but so far the only thing rubbing off was resentment. What was even worse was the fact that were it not for this little instructional session, Took would be out on point patrol right now. Took knew they were coming up on a system with planetary bodies, their first in over a week. He wished he could have been out there.

********

Captain Chang-Wha of Wildcat "G" checked his sensors. "You getting that, Baker?"

Baker, his wingman, nodded. "Habitable planet. We should check it out for monuments."

The thought of homesteading no longer even occurred to them, or anyone else in the fleet. Their experience with the Insect "farming community" had convinced them all of that.

They orbited the planet. "Looks habitable," said Chang-Wha. "I'm reading vegetation, lower level animal life, but no-"

Suddenly, a powerful feeling gripped him. Baker felt it too.

"I think we should check out the planet," said Chang-Wha slowly. "Let's go down."

********

"Captain?"

"Yes Colonel?" said Captain Wren.

"Patrol 4 is overdue," said Colonel Dey.

"What was their last report?"

"They were closing in on system S-12897, had found a habitable planet, and were going to check it out," said Dey.

Wren bit her lip, wondering if this was worth bothering the War Admiral about. They were so short-handed now that she was forced to take one watch in three, running two other watches with relatively inexperienced officers--Half Commander Fletcher and Half Commander Kearse. The War Admiral didn't take a watch, but instead popped in on all three watch periods, observing and occasionally making helpful comments. Biting her lip, she made a decision. "War Admiral?" she said, pressing the comm.

The War Admiral emerged from his office. Wren filled him in on the situation.

"So they were either intercepted in space, or something happened to them on the planet," said the War Admiral. "Are there any signs of other ships in the sector?"

"None," said Wren. "But they could be hiding behind that planet in S-12897. And we're heading in that direction."

"Hm," said the War Admiral. He pressed the comm. "Fleet command, this is War Admiral North. All stop." He turned to Wren. "Deploy a rescue shuttle. Send a squadron of fighters to back them up."

"Do you want me to send Wildcat "A"?" said Wren. "They're still in training."

The War Admiral considered. "Who's on standby right now?"

"Ben Hunter with Wildcat "B"."

"That will do fine," said the War Admiral.

********

"Where are they going?" Took grumbled, watching the squadron take off as it escorted the shuttle. He was still in his Wildcat, on maneuvers with the Ken Pilot.

A low powered laser burst exploded near his ship.

"Hey!" Took yelled.

"Don't let yourself be distracted," said the Ken Pilot. "Now, are you going to even attempt to copy the maneuver I just performed, or need I show it to you yet again?"

********

"Closing on the planet," came the shuttle pilot. "No sign of debris."

"This is Hunter in Wildcat 1," came a different voice. "We've circled around the planet. There's no sign of the enemy. I don't think our pilots had any problem in space."

"My sensors are picking up their ships on the planet," said the shuttle pilot.

"Descend," came Colonel Dey's voice from theGlory. "Hunter, have your squadron take up position in orbit."

"Roger that," said Captain Hunter.

"Patch me through to the shuttle commander," said the War Admiral.

Lieutenant Shishman nodded, and pushed a button.

"Kirby, this is the War Admiral," said North.

"Sir."

"I want you to wear a surveillance helmet when you land," said the War Admiral. "I want to see everything you do."

"Yes sir."

In the shuttle, Kirby put on the helmet with the camera built into it.

The shuttle touched down near the two parked Wildcats. On theGlorythey watched the image on the main bridge holoprojector. It was expanded to maximum size, so whatever Kirby was seeing twenty feet in front of him also appeared in full three-dimensional color on the main bridge.

The image jerked slightly as Kirby walked in the field towards the Wildcats. When he and his squad of marines got there he reported, "Their ships are empty, sir. There's no sign of the pilots."

"Are there any signs of where they may have gone?" said the War Admiral.

Kirby looked down. "I see footprints leading down into that valley yonder. Squad! Form up!"

They walked down a moderate incline into a beautiful valley. It was filled with flowers and trees and bushes and plants. Beautiful birds chirped from the trees. A small stream winded its way through the lush natural surroundings.

They found the two pilots sitting in the grass.

********

"Chang-Wha! Baker!" Kirby yelled, while keeping his eyes open for an ambush.

Chang-Wha and Baker just sat there, oblivious to the approaching marines. Their eyes were open, but it was as if they were asleep. They were clearly gazing into the distance, with goofy smiles on their faces.

"They seem to be drugged or hypnotized, sir," said Kirby. He put an arm on Chang-Wha's shoulder and shook him; Chang-Wha's expression didn't change in the slightest.

"Get them out of there and withdraw," the War Admiral snapped. Something definitely wasn't right here.

"Don't be in such a hurry," said a soft, feminine voice.

Kirby, and the camera on his helmet, turned to see a woman in a green gown. The woman was slim, attractive, with long brown hair flowing off her shoulders.

"Who... are... you...." said Kirby, finding his voice slowing down.

"That's bet-ter," said the woman, smiling directly into the holocamera.

"Get out of there, now!" said the War Admiral.

Through the camera they could only see two of the marines, but they were on their knees, and they were smiling.

"Kirby, get out of there!" said the War Admiral again, with greater intensity.

"Nice...." they heard Kirby say. And then he must have laid down on the ground, because the holocamera was showing the sky.

The War Admiral turned to Colonel Dey. "Get the squadron out of there now!"

Rey turned to his sensors. "Squadron leader, Wildcat B, withdraw, repeat, withdraw."

"They're not in orbit around the planet anymore," said Lieutenant Shishman, checking the sensors.

"They're going in for a landing," Dey confirmed. "I can't reach them."

"Or maybe you can, but they're just not responding," said the War Admiral, a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Why all this unhappiness?" said the sweet voice.

They turned back to the holoimage, which was still projecting the clouds and the sky.

And now also a face, looking down at the camera, the face of the young woman. "Pretty pretty," she smiled.

"Who are you? What do you want?" said the War Admiral.

The woman smiled at the War Admiral, and he felt a chill run down his spine. "I want to bring you joy and happiness." She reached out an arm, and on the bridge her holographic arm reached out as well. The War Admiral was too far back to be touched, but Shishman wasn't, and she actually reached beyond the edge of the holographic field to touch him. Shishman sighed, gave a goofy grin, and slumped in his chair.

"Terminate transmission!" the War Admiral barked.

Wren pressed a button, but it had no effect. "We can't!" Wren shouted, jamming the key repeatedly.

The holograph of the woman reached out to another officer, touched him, and he sighed and slumped to the ground.

The War Admiral pulled a blaster out of a marine guard's holster. Wren wondered if he were going to shoot the hologram. But the War Admiral aimed and fired at the holographic projector instead. The image of the woman flickered for a moment, and then disappeared.

"Red alert!" said the War Admiral. "Turn the fleet around, full reverse! And get Doctor Farb and additional security up here, on the double!"

Wren scrambled to keep up with the War Admiral's orders. "What about the men on the planet? The marines, the entire squadron-"

"They're lost," said the War Admiral. "And if we don't get out of here quickly, we will be too."

********

It was only two hours later, when the fleet was turned away and heading in the opposite direction, and there was no sign of pursuit, that the War Admiral allowed himself to breathe a little more easily. He and Captain Wren sat in the war room, watching a holographic projection of Doctor Farb from sickbay.

"We've had no luck in waking Lieutenant Shishman and Ensign Opeg," said Doctor Farb. "I say "waking" but they're not really sleeping. They're in some kind of deep dream state, but it's not like any kind of dreaming condition I've never seen."

"Explain, doctor."

"When the body is normally asleep, certain parts of the brain are active in certain ways. These same parts of the brain are active in the same way, but incredibly active. Hyperactive. Whatever they're dreaming about, it's very vivid to them."

"From the looks on their faces, it looks like they are happy dreams," said the War Admiral dryly.

"Yes," said Doctor Farb. "And you said a hologram did this? One originating from millions of miles away?"

"Yes, doctor," said the War Admiral. "Keep evaluating their situation. Try to work out a course of treatment to wake them. My hope is that once we get far enough away from that planet, that they'll wake up on their own. North out." He touched the terminate button.

"Those beings must be very potent, to affect us over such a distance," said the War Admiral. He looked at Wren, who seemed to be lost in thought. "Stacy?"

"Huh?" she said. "Sorry, I was lost there, for a moment."

"Are you all right?"

"Of course," said Wren. "I was just thinking about the planet."

"What about it?"

"It seemed like such a nice place...it's a pity we can't visit there."

The War Admiral frowned. "That nice planet just sucked up over 20 of our finest marines and pilots, as well as two bridge officers."

"Yes, yes, of course," said Wren. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Neither was I, but I know why you were thinking it," said the War Admiral. He touched a button. "Commander Fletcher!"

"Sir," came the voice from the bridge.

"You are taking over the rest of Captain Wren's shift. I'm going to get some sleep and join Half Commander Kearse on his shift."

"Yes sir."

"Really, that's not necessary," said Wren.

The War Admiral pressed another button. "Doctor Farb?"

"Yes, War Admiral?"

"I'm sending Commander Wren down to see you. I want you to give her a thorough checkup."

"What am I looking for?"

"Signs that others of the crew may be infected with... whatever this is."

"Yes sir. Farb out."

Wren looked up at North. "What are you making a big deal about? I'm all right, I tell you."

"Of course you are," said the War Admiral. "It's just a precaution. Now, I'm going off-duty myself; why don't I walk you to sickbay?"

********

North yawned. It had been a long day. Hopefully he could grab a few hours of sleep before the next shift. He would have to keep a careful eye on Kearse to make sure he was unaffected too. It was just a precaution; probably they were already out of the influence of that planet.

The War Admiral let himself be lulled into a sense of security as he went to bed. Something told him that everything was going to be all right. In fact, he was so complacent, that he forgot to set his alarm and dropped right off to sleep.

********

War Admiral Norman North awoke with a jerk, as if breaking out of a spell. He checked the chrono. Over ten hours had passed. They were well into Half Commander Kearse's shift by now.

Quickly he dressed and made his way to the bridge. The corridors were emptier than usual, but he didn't notice anything wrong.

It wasn't until he reached the bridge that he discovered the truth. There, on the viewscreen, loomed the planet large before them. They were in orbit!

"What's going on here?" The War Admiral barked.

"Sir?" said Half Commander Kearse.

"What are we doing in orbit around this planet?" the War Admiral demanded.

"Sir, I'm just following the same course you left for Commander Fletcher when you went off-duty."

The War Admiral touched the comm. "Commander Fletcher, Commander Wren, get to the bridge, on the double."

Kearse looked puzzled.

"We shouldn't be here!" said the War Admiral, glaring at him.

"Why not, sir?" said Kearse.

And then the War Admiral noticed it. The first sign that something was wrong with him. Kearse spoke a little slowly, as if he were in a daze. Kearse recognized him, and could hear what the War Admiral was saying, but couldn't quite connect the dots.

Fletcher and Wren appeared on the bridge.

"What's going on here?" said the War Admiral. He turned to Fletcher. "I told you to head away from this planet!"

"Sir?" said Fletcher, confused. "That's what I did."

"Then why are we in orbit around it?"

Fletcher frowned. "I don't know, sir."

North went forward to Lieutenant Shishman's station and checked the logs. "It says here that the change in course occurred on your watch. Are you going to tell me you didn't know-" and then North stopped, in midsentence. It was all clear now. All so clear.

The alien had been manipulating their minds. It didn't matter what Fletcher said, the alien had controlled him, and made him change course. In fact, the alien had probably controlled North too, making him suddenly sleepy, taking him out of play during the time in which the fleet were heading for the planet.

"Well, let's try it again," said the War Admiral. He set the controls himself, not trusting anyone else. Then he hit the comm. "Fleet command, this is the War Admiral. Adjust your course to follow us."

He set the engage button... and nothing happened.

"Engineering, what's going on?" said the War Admiral. He checked the settings.

His heart skipped a beat.

The engines had been shut down.

********

The War Admiral entered engineering accompanied by a squad of marines. Chief Engineer Arkasian was standing there in a daze. So were his men. The War Admiral didn't bother to demand an explanation. He simply went to the instrument panels and attempted to restart the engines

He started the series of actions required to restart. Press here, turn there, calibrate there... it became more and more difficult to think. What was he doing? What should he press next? The War Admiral looked around. Engineering was so dark! They should have more lighting.

The War Admiral looked around again. What was he doing here? He looked at the consoles. He had been doing something with the consoles, but what? He stared at them, but just could not figure it out. The marine guards stared curiously at him.

The War Admiral took a few steps away from the console. His mind started to clear. He took a few steps more, and then some more, and finally, at the very entrance to engineering, he remembered. He was there to restart the engines.

Bracing himself, he took a few steps back into engineering. Must restart engines. Must restart engines.

But by the time he got to the console again he was lost. What was he doing here? It was as if he had come there for some purpose, but couldn't figure it out now.

When the War Admiral stepped out of engineering, he figured out what had happened. He marched down the corridor, seeing crewmen standing there in a daze, smiling like idiots. They were obviously overmatched here, dealing with something they couldn't fight. Not with conventional weapons, anyway. And then a thought struck him. He called several crewmembers on his wristcomm, and told them to meet him in sickbay.

Doctor Farb was a little foggy, but wasn't totally zoned out, much to the War Admiral's relief.

"It's some sort of mental attack, of course," said Doctor Farb, jerking to alertness when the War Admiral questioned him. "The entire crew is coming down with it. The most severely affected ones fall into that dream state I was telling you about. The less severely affected become dazed, or dim-witted."

"I know in the psionics war we developed mental shields," said the War Admiral. "Do we have any of those aboard?"

Doctor Farb nodded. "A few. Let me get them."

"See if you can find five," said the War Admiral.

The Ken Pilot and Iday Took showed up while the Doctor was searching.

"War Admiral, what's going on?" said Took. "Why is everyone acting so funny?"

The War Admiral should have known that Took would be one of the last to be affected. He held up his hand for a pause as he watched Farb search for the shield helmets. Periodically the doctor would sort of freeze up, and the War Admiral would have to yell "Doc!" to get him moving again. Finally he got the helmets, and the War Admiral grabbed them out of his slow-witted hands.

"Put these on," he said.

The War Admiral strapped one on. He didn't feel any different, but then, he didn't feel affected, except when he had been in main engineering. "Where's Captain Wren?" said the War Admiral. He had called her too, but she hadn't come.

Took shrugged. "I didn't see her on the way here. You want us to look for her?"

"No," said the War Admiral. "You'll come with me" He turned to Doctor Farb. "Doctor, how many more helmets do we have?"

"That's all," said Farb.

"Then put this one on," said the War Admiral, fitting it on Farb's head.

The Battlestar Glory Ch. 10

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