Finding Darkness

Chapter 20 Frustrations

"Captain, we may have a problem." The young petty officer at the long range scanning station lifted his head from his console and reported to the man seated in the bridge command chair.

"What kind of problem, petty officer Stanton?" The voice that responded was a deep baritone, rich with the wisdom of years and experience of command.

"There appears to be some extra activity among the alien vessels orbiting earth sir. Several have powered up most of their scanners and have begun to sweep this system."

With purposeful strides, the man in the chair stood and walked the twenty yards to the bridge station.

"Have they begun to send any probes, any craft, anything?" He was looking over the young man's shoulder. He knew he should be in his chair. No crew liked being micro managed but he couldn't help it. Just one slip up, one mistake and his world's best hope for salvation could go up in flames.

"Central?"

"Yes Captain?" The voice came from the walls, the ceiling. It even seemed to come from the floor. It should, the voice was that of the ship's brain, its nerve center. Whatever it was, it had been given the name, Central, and it responded to every question he asked, ever command. Thankfully, it had been programmed to.

"Get the Nest ready to move. If they do send anything out this far, I want to be a jump ahead of them. We have no idea how long it takes them to break orbit, so if it comes to that every seconds going to count."

This is Captain Alexander Prey, commanding officer of what was once the USS Space Eagle. The first long range survey vessel in the history of man kind. What it once was is nothing compared to what it is now. Now it is simply called The Nest. A vessel of sure unimaginable size that even earths moon is dwarfed by it.

The crew had parked the ship in non-synchronous orbit behind Mars. They sat in Mars' sensor shadow, hidden from any scans that could be sent their way. Only now Captain Prey had to worry that a maned craft could be sent on a fly by of every planet in the system, and if that happened he knew their cover would be blown.

"Malachi," he grumbled under his breath. Who else could have spooked these aliens into this kind of response?

When his Lieutenant Commander had returned from the planet without his brother, Captain Prey knew no good would come of it? Now this, a full scale upgrade in every single system the visitors possessed.

"Central, where is the Commander now?" Central had told him before he ordered the mission to the surface that he was able to track his every movement. It was the only reason he'd let him go.

"I have no idea, Captain. He has somehow been able to cloak his movements from me."

"You told me you could track him. So now you're telling me we have no idea what he's doing?" He could feel the beginnings of a tension head ache started just above his eyes.

"I am sorry, Captain, but he's gaining more and more control over his suit as time progresses. I wouldn't worry though. I'm sure he's fine." Central's voice came over the bridge in its usual calming tone.

"I'm not worried about him. He can take care of himself, he always has. What I'm concerned about is this ship. Whatever he's doing down there is effecting, and is going to continue to effect what happens up here."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have sent him. You, of all people, know what he's like."

"Yes, driven, focused, at times heartless. Only he was the one person that could have pulled this off, and he did get Lieutenant Commander Prey back in one piece, with all the samples you needed." Captain Prey stopped. "How is that coming, by the way?"