Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel by Mars Dorian Page A
Authors: Mars Dorian
Tags: Science-Fiction, Space Opera, Military, Sci-Fi, Genetic engineering, Alien, first contact, Galactic Empire, Space Fleet, galactic
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and evoke hostility for years to come. We must avoid any form of provocation on our side."
Sounded like a textbook example from the school of diplomacy, which made Bellrock wonder which side the doc was really on.
Well, it didn't matter as much as the ship's lack of armor.
Its hull-plating wasn't made for orbital warfare, which meant a single, well-targeted rocket could destroy the ship and wipe out its two-men crew. But apparently, no one at NASA seemed to mind, not even the international crew inside the astroport. They drooled at the sight of the stained freighter.
An announcement voiced by a female came through the bridge's intercom. Bellrock detected a German accent.
"Attention. Astronauts Captain Bellrock and Dr. Rao, please prepare for the boarding process of the Pilgrim Type-II in the main hangar bay. The launch protocol and pre-flight checklist will be updated on your commlinks. Please ensure that your EVAs are 100% cleared before boarding the vessel."
Dr. Rao flicked a glance at the captain.
"This is it. Are you ready?"
"I was ready the second that ugly-ass alien showed up on my newsfeed."
It never did, because there was no footage of the life form itself, but an organism that destroyed a civilian ship and its crew must have been ugly.
Uranus kind of ugly.
The doc sighed, he probably expected an answer with less attitude. Tough luck with Bellrock, he was 150% attitude and twice as much horsepower pressed into humanoid form.
"Let's motor," the captain said and acted the part.
The duo walked into the preparation room which harbored the EVA suits for their interplanetary trip. The EVA was an updated spacesuit version that replaced the ancient and bulky EMUs—Extravehicular Mobility Units, which paradoxically, restricted the mobility of a human manifold.
Dark old times.
Everything inside the locker room smelled like metal with bubblegum flavor, but that was the least of Bellrock's worries. With the help of the international crew, consisting of men, women and 'liquids' hailing from South Korea, Russia, Germany and Italy, they put on the suits in no time. Checked the oxygenators and thrusters on their back and put two thumbs up. Bellrock shook inside his suit, because now came the part he dreaded the most.
Close quarters sleep.
He dreaded it so much he looked at Dr. Rao walking up the ramp with rising anxiety. He squeezed out words with unusual hesitation.
"Can't I supervise the flight with you? You know I have a STEM degree as well."
"Do you know the schematics of a Pilgrim Type-II freighter?"
Bellrock shrugged.
"No, but I'm a fast learner."
"I'm sorry, sir, but don't worry. Mars is only millions of miles away. No FTL, which means it will be a quickie, so to speak."
Well, that was one quickie Bellrock would have loved to ditch.
19
Meanwhile, many, many millions of kilometers away.
An array of orbital stations floated in the cosmic soup. Each section was connected to the network to rule all networks: the central ringstation, named the Ares Nexus, looked like a giant, white halo piercing through the darkness of the void.
Giving light to explorers and searchers from across the sector.
Hundreds of manned ships and droids left the docking bays of the ringstation and eclipsed around the Martian orbit before entering. Inside the Ares Nexus halo throned a hall section with capsules protruding from the walls like cylinder-shaped thorns.
Glowing, flickering, vibrating.
Magic was happening here.
A Newtype unit walked into the hall and approached pod number SO2001. A holo-warning flickered on the surface's hull.
"Do not intervene—printing in process."
He looked through the transparent pod shell and watched as three robotic arms reconstructed a human figure from its nanoprinted wireframe design. Well, it wasn't entirely human, at least according to the brutes back on Earth.
Special additions were made to the humanoid body: anti-dirt, water-resistant bioplastic skin with an upgrade to
Sounded like a textbook example from the school of diplomacy, which made Bellrock wonder which side the doc was really on.
Well, it didn't matter as much as the ship's lack of armor.
Its hull-plating wasn't made for orbital warfare, which meant a single, well-targeted rocket could destroy the ship and wipe out its two-men crew. But apparently, no one at NASA seemed to mind, not even the international crew inside the astroport. They drooled at the sight of the stained freighter.
An announcement voiced by a female came through the bridge's intercom. Bellrock detected a German accent.
"Attention. Astronauts Captain Bellrock and Dr. Rao, please prepare for the boarding process of the Pilgrim Type-II in the main hangar bay. The launch protocol and pre-flight checklist will be updated on your commlinks. Please ensure that your EVAs are 100% cleared before boarding the vessel."
Dr. Rao flicked a glance at the captain.
"This is it. Are you ready?"
"I was ready the second that ugly-ass alien showed up on my newsfeed."
It never did, because there was no footage of the life form itself, but an organism that destroyed a civilian ship and its crew must have been ugly.
Uranus kind of ugly.
The doc sighed, he probably expected an answer with less attitude. Tough luck with Bellrock, he was 150% attitude and twice as much horsepower pressed into humanoid form.
"Let's motor," the captain said and acted the part.
The duo walked into the preparation room which harbored the EVA suits for their interplanetary trip. The EVA was an updated spacesuit version that replaced the ancient and bulky EMUs—Extravehicular Mobility Units, which paradoxically, restricted the mobility of a human manifold.
Dark old times.
Everything inside the locker room smelled like metal with bubblegum flavor, but that was the least of Bellrock's worries. With the help of the international crew, consisting of men, women and 'liquids' hailing from South Korea, Russia, Germany and Italy, they put on the suits in no time. Checked the oxygenators and thrusters on their back and put two thumbs up. Bellrock shook inside his suit, because now came the part he dreaded the most.
Close quarters sleep.
He dreaded it so much he looked at Dr. Rao walking up the ramp with rising anxiety. He squeezed out words with unusual hesitation.
"Can't I supervise the flight with you? You know I have a STEM degree as well."
"Do you know the schematics of a Pilgrim Type-II freighter?"
Bellrock shrugged.
"No, but I'm a fast learner."
"I'm sorry, sir, but don't worry. Mars is only millions of miles away. No FTL, which means it will be a quickie, so to speak."
Well, that was one quickie Bellrock would have loved to ditch.
19
Meanwhile, many, many millions of kilometers away.
An array of orbital stations floated in the cosmic soup. Each section was connected to the network to rule all networks: the central ringstation, named the Ares Nexus, looked like a giant, white halo piercing through the darkness of the void.
Giving light to explorers and searchers from across the sector.
Hundreds of manned ships and droids left the docking bays of the ringstation and eclipsed around the Martian orbit before entering. Inside the Ares Nexus halo throned a hall section with capsules protruding from the walls like cylinder-shaped thorns.
Glowing, flickering, vibrating.
Magic was happening here.
A Newtype unit walked into the hall and approached pod number SO2001. A holo-warning flickered on the surface's hull.
"Do not intervene—printing in process."
He looked through the transparent pod shell and watched as three robotic arms reconstructed a human figure from its nanoprinted wireframe design. Well, it wasn't entirely human, at least according to the brutes back on Earth.
Special additions were made to the humanoid body: anti-dirt, water-resistant bioplastic skin with an upgrade to
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