Dark Echoes - Part 4

“What-is-THAT?” Jones gasped wide-eyed. The crew was fixated on the center of the viewscreen. The contact was inching toward the center of the radar.

The shape?. . .The mass. . .? Smith wondered about who made such a ship. Is it a ship? Whatever it was, it was maintaining its position with little or no effort or power. If it was a starship, it had the sleekest shape he had ever seen. And the running lights. . .if it was made by human hands, the manufacturer seemed to have designed it to be as tough as it was nearly invisible, judging by the darkly-colored hull. Or was that extra hull armor? What kind of weapons are those?. . . The only way the crew could see its exterior was because of the sunlight brushing against what he guessed was its dorsal side. “Lifesigns?”

Jones entered the commands for a scan. Ten seconds later, she leaned back and looked left, turning her head, “None. But I am getting a technical reading when I tie-in the targeting sensors,” Are you serious? Are you kidding me? She wondered in silence, rhetorically in the back of her mind as she widely-eyed her screen.

“You-did-what?” Jorgensen asked directly, snapping to his right. Jones turned her head and waved him off. Jorgensen noted the look on her face and turned his attention to the technical activity on her screen.

—Jeez! He gasped.

“Captain!” Jones called out, “That thing’s equipped with some really impressive tech. . .”

Aaen noted the subtle change in her tone as his interest piqued, “And?”

“I’m also getting a transponder signal,” she turned and looked at the viewscreen. Smith looked briefly looked at Jones curiously and then turned to the viewscreen with a more steely look. “U-S-S-C. . .Valiant,”

The crew recognized that name and sharply faced forward in shock and surprise.

“The chronological signature is the same as our hull,” The crew quickly came to the same silent realization: it is a ship—and they came from the same universe as us!

“Is there an atmosphere over there?” Aaen asked quickly.

Jones conducted another scan and nodded, “Yes!”

Alright, let’s see what we’re dealing with here. Aaen made an enthusiastic command decision. “Maintain silent running. Away team: prepare to go aboard.”

*****

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