Saxon Andrew: Searcher

“Congratulations Captain Gardner, come with me and let’s get you ready for your ship.”

Matt had a huge smile on his face as he walked toward the entry port of the small, silver colored ship. As he approached the entry port Matt saw Angel entering the ship next to his and she smiled at him and disappeared into her ship.

“Searcher, we must do three things to prepare the ship for you. First, you need to place your hand in the indentation on one of the command chair arms.”

Matt sat down and placed his left hand into a hand sized depression on the left arm of the chair. His hand was immediately surrounded by an almost liquid material that shaped itself to the shape of his fingers and palm.

The Commander watched as the material shaped itself to Matt’s hand, “Now press the rose colored button on the other arm.” Matt reached over with his right hand and pressed the rose colored button and immediately felt a shock. “Don’t get excited, the ship is reading your neural pathways and is linking its systems to them.” The commander waited for five minutes and then said, “Now you must name your ship. I want you to say the ship’s name and think it simultaneously.”

Matt said and thought, “Aladdin.”

The lights on the control panel surrounding the command chair immediately illuminated and Matt could feel the ship around him. It was just like the instructors described in imprinting class.

“Searcher, I want you to take the next hour and just sit here and get a feel for your new friend. I’m sure you know but I’m going to tell you one last time about how your ship was built. The Stars Realm does not possess the technology to produce this kind of vessel. We can operate them because we possess psychic abilities that allow us to mentally link to the ships systems but the technology used to build them is not something we can produce. This small ship is actually one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. The Stars Realm Navy is built by the Algeans with the assistance of the two Alfont ships. The energy generator left by the captors when they left our universe combined with the power cell skin of the ancient Stars Realm Megaships from more than twelve hundred years ago created a weapons system that is truly formidable. The Alfont provided the technology that allows our pilots to link mentally to their ship’s computer and other systems. You ship’s computer is the most advanced technology we possess. It has all of the knowledge ever gained in the Realm for your use if you need it. The ship’s building facilities are located on planets that the Algeans had originally destroyed when they were at war with the Realm centuries ago. No home planet where the Algeans live has any trace of technology. Their main form of travel is through teleporting. Ships can only land briefly on their home worlds. They are doing this to make sure that when the Eight Legs do invade our universe that their worlds will appear to have no intelligent life, only plant life. They should be ignored once the invasion starts. The ship building facilities are on worlds that are barren with the main construction centers more than five miles under the surface. The Algeans have become the creators of our highest technology and we depend on them to provide the ships of our navy. During your initial training assignment you will be assigned an Algean Adolescent as an observer.” Matt flinched at that information. The Commander looked at an electronic clip board, “He will arrive within four weeks from now.” The Commander raised his eye brows and said, “It appears that your observer is a seed from the Leader of the Algeans.”

Matt looked at the Commander and asked, “What am I supposed to do with the Algean?”

“Why take him on your searches and answer any questions he might have.”

Matt thought about having one of the high powered Algeans on his ship and felt concerned about what would happen. He didn’t want a spectator if he made a mistake. Then the Commander said, “You are cleared for liftoff exactly fifty three minutes from now.

“Thank you, Commander.”

Matt settled into his seat and closed his eyes and felt the ship copying his brain patterns. He turned on his sensor array and immediately saw every ship in the solar system and even those on the other side of the sun. “Quite a view isn’t it, Magic.”

Matt flinched, “Hi, Angel, yes it is. When are you lifting off?”

“In fifty two minutes.”

“So am I. Would you like to take a trip together?”

“Where would you like to go?”

“I thought that Earth’s old solar system would be a good place to start. There is so much history that happened there. I want to see the star that Jupiter became in the Captor War.”

Matt waited for a moment and then heard, “Let’s also try and find the remnants of the moon that Earth left behind.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Matt jerked his attention back to his sensor systems. Someone had fired on his ship as it passed through a system. He backtracked and found the system where the energy beam had been directed at his ship. He energized his weapon systems and extended his sensors. Whoever had fired the weapon had extremely advanced sensors. He had been in the system less than a second and he had been detected and fired on in that brief moment. As a searcher, he was concerned because who ever fired did not have time to determine whether or not he was a threat or a friend which led him to believe that any ship that entered this system was attacked. Matt looked around the system and looked for the source of the attack. The system did not have intelligent life so whoever fired must be from another world.

“They must think I can’t see them.” Matt saw twenty four ships on his sensors hiding behind the moons circling the ninth planet in the system. So far they had not fired on him again. He looked back at Aladdin’s sensor record and saw that the beam that was used in the earlier attack was strong but wasn’t a real threat.

“I don’t want to have to attack you,” he thought at the twenty ships. “However, I would like an explanation as to why you fired on my ship.” He waited and heard nothing. “Looks like they need a little help in their communication skills.” Matt jumped Aladdin to within a mile of the largest ship. The large ship immediately fired all of its energy beams and launched fifty missiles at him. Matt ignored the energy beams and used his needles to destroy all fifty missiles before they could move a half a mile from the ship that fired them. He tried to communicate with them again but the large ship kept firing and was soon joined by the other twenty three ships. He didn’t want to destroy these ships because they were not attacking anyone else but him. He had a fleeting thought, “Well Aladdin, how am I going to get them to talk?”

“I would suggest a display of power,” a voice said in his head.

“Who are you,” Matt jumped up from his chair and asked quickly?

““I am your ship’s computer. I’ve been wondering when you were going to start communicating with me.”

“What, what, what.”

“I only answer questions you direct at me; that was the first time you actually asked me a question. Surly you were told at the Academy that your ship had an advanced cybernetic computer.”

“Yes, but I thought it would only connect me to the ship’s various systems.”

“Didn’t they also tell you it had all the information of everything ever learned in the Realm?”

“Yessss. Are you alive?”

“Actually, no; I am a replica of your brain engrams impressed on the total ships systems. You might say that I am you in computer form. The imprinting process took your neural pathways and produced the program that made me.”

Matt was stunned. “I think you and I have some catching up to do but I need to handle the current situation first. What did you mean by using a display of power?”