Other Worlds Than These by Gabe Sluis

Author:Gabe Sluis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gabe sluis

“Sir! I am detecting the launch of Aurora!” Internal Control reported above the bridge commotion.

“Launch of the gunships was not authorized! Who gave the command!?”

“The crew ID code that gave authorization was… all zeros? I don’t know, Sir.”

“Just what in the world is going on! Call that ship back! What the hell is Farris thinking?!” The Captain said.

“Sir, East and West have moved within fifty thousand passus of our position. The Aurora is moving off, heading towards West,” Sensor reported.

“I want to talk to those fools NOW!” The Captain yelled. “This is unacceptable!”

“We are right here, Sir,” a voice said from the back of the room.

Captain Bartlett got up and turned to see Major Ferris, Warrant Officer Lete and a Communications Specialist entering the bridge.

“What is going on? Speak, Ferris!”

“I’m confused, Sir,” Major Ferris said, sounding on the edge of anger himself. “Each of us got redirected to alternate secondary assignments. The three of us got messages to report to sensor array four, on the other side of the ship from Aurora. After a few minuets it made no sense! Our scrolls aren’t working to confirm with IC. So we came here. Is that the Aurora?”

“Sir, I am leaving the bridge. I will link up with the security teams and make sure the Ushas is secured,” Colonel Plash informed his superior. “I won’t let those reptile irrumator take a second ship.”

“Go,” Captain Bartlett turned back toward the main screen. “Why am I still not talking to them!”

“Sir, something is malfunctioning with our systems,” the communications officer said. “Wait! The Aurora is transmitting on all frequencies! I can receive but we can’t transmit. Oh meus deus… I am recording and putting the audio on speakers.”

What came out was not Latin. It was low frequency with high sounds spiking through in places. It sounded like a song with warbles and growls. It was like a language no one on the bridge crew had ever heard. And then it stopped.

“Plash was right, those damn creatures some how took the Auror…”

The Captain was cut off by a reply to the Auroras transmission. This time, the language was much more harsh. It grated on the ears, despite the reasonable volume. Every member of the bridge crew stopped what they were doing and listened with wide eyes.

“Sir, my linguistic analyzers are telling me this is not a human language.”

“That seems pretty obvious to us all, Lieutenant. Thank you,” the Captain snapped.

“But, Sir, the strange thing the computer is reporting a recognizable difference between the quality of the speakers,” the communication officer quickly rattled off. “The program says that the similarity of languages being produced by the speakers is nearly identical, with the only difference in the vocal equipment and modulation of the first speaker being quite different from the second.”

“What are you saying?”

“That the computer believes that the speaker on the Aurora is human, and the respondent is not.”

The implications of this information took a second to sink in.

***

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