Progenitor

Chapter 20

Day 3 0800

Amy felt much better after a good nights sleep and without the stress of worrying as much about the alien ship. She had taken a long hot shower, eaten a really big breakfast, and was now ready to deal with the ship.  After everyone had arrived, she called the meeting to order.

"AL has provided a more in depth report on the alien ship. It is a pre-colonization ship, it's function is to setup the minimal facilities to support colonization of a planet. This includes the placement of a biosphere to house the first settlers, starting a mining site, and setting up a factory of sorts to produce the needed materials. The crew of this type ship is composed of mostly what we call engineers. It is usually about a year before the real settlers arrive at the new planet, with a year defined as one rotation around the sun of that system."

"Now, since that is out of the way; I want to hear the report of the fly by from the pilot himself. We need as much information as we can get before we decide whether or not to try and board this ship or just blow it up while it is still outside this solar system. Kate, would you send for the pilot please. While we are waiting for him, I need to hear your thoughts on this matter. We will start with John." Amy said.

"Most of the machinery on this type ship is semi-automated, about the only time the crew has to do much is if the machine runs into something that wasn't planned for in advance. Otherwise, once the crew has laid out the rough plan, it just does whatever it's programming tells it to accomplish. It appears very efficient. I think we could make use of this ship and it's cargo. I would say board her." John replied.

"Okay, thank you John. Now, Ted" Amy remarked.

"I haven't had a chance to review all the data yet. But, based on what you and John have said, I think we should seriously consider boarding and trying to use what we can find." Ted replied.

About that time the second pilot showed up. Once he was introduced, he gave his report of what he observed during the fly by.

"On approach I noted many small holes covering the hull of the ship. The biggest one was about a foot in diameter according to my scanners. There was minor damage to the aft portion of the ship in what appeared to be a landing area. It was here that I first started receiving that transmission. After recording the transmission, I flew completely around the ship at not more than 500 meters. There was not any type of response what so ever from anywhere on or about the ship. I did not see or note any type of venting or leakage from the hull." the pilot reported.

After thanking him, Amy dismissed him. Turning to Jake, she asked his opinion.

"I've looked at the scans and the 'video' from the fly by. Assuming that the engines aren't damaged, we should be able to board, gain control, and either redirect the ship, put it in orbit around some planet, or use it's equipment for our own needs. Granted I'm not sure what some of the equipment is for or how to operate it; but, with AL's help we should be able to figure it out. I would say board her also." Jake said.

"Ivan, has there been any type of indication that our exercises yesterday were noticed by the folks back home?" Amy asked.

"I would say no. The only thing that was even of minor interest was when the ground forces reported from the helo crash sites. They were quite confused as to the cause of the crashes. It seems that even after all this time most of the electronics were still inoperable and there were reports of pieces of metal still sticking to the fuselages." Ivan reported with a slight smile.

"Does anyone else have anything to add? If not, then I favor the boarding and attempt at gaining control of the alien ship. To do so will require that we go there in this ship. But before we do that we will need about fifty more crew and I really think we should give our ship a name. I suggest that we put it to our current crew to come up with a proper name; unless someone has a really good right now." Amy said.

When nobody said anything, Amy continued "Jake what is the status of the updates? When should we be able to lift off with minimal risk?"

"The engines should be ready for initial testing in about three days, we will probably need another day to correct any problems in that area if they show up. I will have a droid go out and do a close inspection of our hull later today. I would really like about six more days before we try and lift off. I think we will probably want to make sure the cloaking for this ship is working; or else we will cause major concern on Earth when we do leave. Now I've spoken with AL and if we can get to the new ship in time and the majority of the equipment is functional. I think we should think about setting up a real base here on the moon. That way we will still be close to Earth and can continue with the recruitments." Jake replied.

"Something worth thinking about. Any other comments or suggestions?" Amy asked.

There weren't any more suggestions or comments so the meeting was over. Amy asked Ted and Sam to remain. She asked both of them for an update on the recruitment effort. Both of them said that is was going to be close to get all the people they needed in such a short time. Amy told them do the best that they could and to send Tasha back down also.

Day 7 1000

Jake was ready to test the engines, again. The first test had been a disaster; the whole ship felt like it was going to shake apart. Just because someone forgot to reconnect the dampers after working in that area. And it didn't help that Jake hadn't allowed for the change in power and almost blew the engines apart with too much power. Jake crossed his fingers as he made one last check that everything was ready. He initiated the startup sequence and was rewarded with green lights across the board. It would take about 30 minutes for the engines to "warm up" and balance out, but everything was good so far.

Nobody on the ship even knew that the engines had started, except the engineering section. At 1030 Amy called Jake and asked when he was going to test the engines. She just smiled when told they had been running for 30 minutes already. After receiving that bit of news she looked over the list of the latest recruits. Most of them had just disappeared from the face of the Earth, literally. They had not been able to get all 50, but did have 30 more crew than 6 days ago. Most of them were in engineering, but a few had gone to security. Ted, Sam, and Tasha were once again down on the planet trying to get more people. Amy was surprised when Ted called with a strange question, "Could we handle 10 pilots and 2 RIOs without compromising security?". Now that got Amy's attention. She asked Ted to call the special number so she could talk with him without raising any suspicions. It was a few seconds later when Ted's voice came over the computer's speaker.

"Morning Captain; I'm here at that installation we talked about and have some volunteers, 10 Pilots, 2 RIOs, and 3 navigators, that would like to go to work using their skills from the military. They are all no more than 10 days from discharge. But they want to hear the offer from the boss. With your permission Captain, I would like to put you on speaker" Ted said.

Amy had been prepared for this eventuality and pushed a button that would deepen her voice when heard on the other end.

"Morning Commander, and gentlemen. This is Captain Ward aboard the Interloper, I would like to extend a personal invitation for you to join our little group. As Commander Smith has explained we are seeking very qualified people to fill some positions that have recently been opened up. As I'm sure the Commander has explained, this job is highly classified and will involve hazardous duty. If you are married, we are not able to invite your family to join you at this time. And there can be no communication back home for at least a year. If you have any specific questions I will endeavor to provide an answer." Amy said.

There were the usual questions about pay and travel arrangements. Finally, Ted said they had all agreed to join up. But there was a small problem; they all wanted to leave today, before the military had a chance to mess things up. This would not be a problem. Amy gave Ted a set of coordinates for him and his recruits to meet their transportation. Before she could disconnect, Amy heard Ted telling them that the only things they would need would be their Kit Bags. As soon as Amy was off-line, she sent another shuttle to meet Ted and help transport the new people.

It was well after lunch before Amy had a chance to meet the new arrivals. She went to Med Bay, as they were all still there, to greet them. She was surprised that instead of the 15 she expected, she found 20! Ted was standing just inside the door when she entered so she looked at him with raised eyebrows. It seemed that there were a few late arrivals after she disconnected. Since it was crowded here she told Ted to bring all of them to the Mess Hall and she would greet them there. With that she left.

1500

Once everyone had arrived in the Mess Hall, and most of them had wondered what a young girl was doing there, Ted walked up to Amy and spoke with her quietly for a few seconds. Then turning around, Ted called the room to attention with "Captain on the deck". Everyone of them snapped to attention. Amy stood up, and Ted introduced her. They both could see the questions in the eyes of the recruits. Amy gave her standard welcoming speech and then opened the floor for questions. As there weren't very many, she then asked Ted to introduce each of the recruits and where each would be assigned. She met the pilots, navigators, RIOs, and four aircraft mechanics. That left one person, this last person was introduced as TSgt Green of the USAF. Green was an ex-ATC on an AWAC. Amy asked Green if he thought he could operate as head controller for the ship, Green said he would be glad to try, once he learned the system.

Just then there was a slight tremor felt throughout the ship. Before Amy could say a thing Jake called her and told her they were no longer grounded. They were about 30 meters above the surface and holding very easily. Jake said they would hold this position for a short while to test the engines out more. This was a pleasant surprise for Amy. Amy congratulated Jake on his success, but asked for no more sudden surprises and to warn her before they sat back down.

1800

All of the senior staff were together; Sam and Tasha had brought back five more recruits and they were all put in Security section. Everyone was patting Jake on the back for getting the ship ready to fly again. Jake finally told them that he needed to double check the cloaking in the morning, but if there were no problems they should be ready to lift off for a real test flight by 0800. He suggested that Amy not allow anyone to go recruiting in the morning. Amy agreed.