The Legend of Earth

Chapter 23



Once away from the planet Kaylor initiated a full gravity well and six hours later they were leaving the Juirean stellar system. The space around them was full of all kinds of spacecraft, but very few with the gravity signatures of Klin ships. The vast majority were Juireans, or other species, still fleeing the area after the Kracori invasion. There were literally thousands of them, and the mass of gravity signatures helped to mask that of Adam’s ship from the pursuers he was sure had been alerted.

After seven hours – and easily a dozen or more attempts by the surface to contact the ship – the team began to relax, believing they had actually gotten away clean. They tried to celebrate as best they could, but then were hit with the reminder that if they couldn’t reach the fleet in time, their homeworld would be turned into a radioactive wasteland.

As she had done on too many occasions in the past, Sherri found the ship’s sickbay and patched Adam up as best she could. She didn’t think his ribs were broken, just badly bruised. Either way, it really hurt for him to breathe. There were medicines onboard, but none of those onboard could read Kracori to know what they were for, so they didn’t risk it.

Once he was bandaged up, Adam returned to the bridge. “So Jym, how soon can we attempt to make contact?”

“It’s not as simple as that,” the tiny alien stated. “We are in a Klin-designed ship –”

“As is the fleet,” Adam interjected.

“That will help,” Jym conceded, “but we have no idea what frequencies they may be monitoring and what relays might be compatible with Klin wormhole technology.”

“What did he just say?” John Tindal asked from a seat at the other side of the bridge. Although the Petty Officer First Class had been traipsing through space for over a year, he had never bothered to inquire into the technology that made communication over light years even possible. As long as it worked, he was happy not knowing. But wormhole technology, that was something new.

Adam ignored him. “Can we send out a broad spectrum broadcast, or send the same thing out over multiple frequencies?

“Yes we can. If you make a recording, I can have it sent out over a million frequencies if you wish. There is still no guarantee that any of them would be picked up and relayed throughout the network. And if any were, they would be in the open and able to be heard by anyone.”

“Good point, Jym. Then I will have to send it in a code of some kind, but not so much that it would be lost to anyone on the fleet who might be listening.”

He thought for a moment, and then the answer became obvious. We’re Humans. Not too many people out here know anything about us.

“Okay, Jym, start recording.” Jym pressed a few buttons and then signaled for Adam to start. “Team Leader to Commander SEAL Team Six. Team Leader to Commander SEAL Team Six. This is A.C., please respond on this frequency. Urgent – I repeat urgent – message to follow. Please respond ST6 Commander.” He nodded for Jym to cut the recording.

“Send that out on as many frequencies as you can in the direction you believe the fleet will be located. Loop it; keep it going until we hear something back.”

“The message will go out, Adam. Whether anyone will be listening within your fleet is an unknown.”

Adam sneered. “I always love your positive attitude, Jym. It always brightens my day.”