Gabatrix: The First Peace

"New Olympia reports they see the exit aperture forming at the right coordinates," the navigation officer reported. "All status green. Wormhole formation at 51%."

Kane continued to peer at the opening in front of the Gabatrix. The swirling was more significant than it was, and he could see a swirling black void in the center. In some ways, the wormhole almost appeared to look like a black hole, but you could see swirling energy in the center. Occasionally you could see what looked like blue lightning erupt. In many aspects, the view was beautiful but partially frightening. His vision was transfixed at the event.

"Wormhole formation at 89%."

The concept of folding space was a beautiful one. It would take a little bit of time to create one, and yet it seems non-climatic when you fly through it. It was what pushed mankind to reach new homes to spread itself out and survive. It was humanity's only known method of traveling from point A to point B while beating the speed of light. Finally, Kane watched as the wormhole gave a light flash. The swirling particles were at its peak. The blue lightning had turned into blue streaks. If you could look through it carefully, you could see the other side of it, but it was sometimes a trick of the light.

"Wormhole formation complete," the navigation officer said. "New Olympia reports exit aperture is stable. We are ready."

"Take us through," the captain commanded.

"Aye."

Kane held on to the chair. Now was the time to leap through. A light blue alarm light lit on to tell the crew to hold on. The Gabatrix's rear engines ignited a little bit. It gave a slight kick as the ship jostled forward. The viewscreen showed as the wormhole gate got bigger and bigger. The ambassador could feel the light acceleration, but it was nothing terrible. The crew even watched the scene a little bit as they kept an eye on their consoles.

The Gabatrix's nose hit the center of the open aperture. It almost looked like the array was eating the ship up on one side. It was virtually two dimensional as well. Slowly the Gabatrix completely flew into it.

Kane watched as the ship went straight into the hole. The moment that they did, he could feel an odd moment of being in two places at once. It was very short. You would momentarily see a tunnel of pure blue light as the ship was literally flying through a folded plain of space. The process was in the course of at least one second, but for some, it would feel like ten seconds had passed.

Suddenly, the Gabatrix emerged through the exit aperture as quickly as they flew into it. The process was quick and instant. Kane watched as he could see a new scene before him.

"Jump complete," the navigator said. "We have cleared the exit aperture."

The wormhole was still functional. Kane always wondered how they shut off a wormhole, and the process was amazingly simple. He knew the gate arrays could simply deactivate and shut down the wormhole. With gate probes, it was done in a slightly different way.

"Go ahead and detonate the probes," the captain ordered.

"Aye....signal sent."

The gate probe array ring that was near Titan received the scuttle command. All of the probes simultaneously exploded into a small shower of debris. The wormhole suddenly fell apart and collapsed with a slight flash of light. Kane watched from his end as the exit aperture gave a slight flicker of light and collapsed. The gate that took a while to complete was gone almost instantly.

The sight was something to behold of where they were located. The UHN Gabatrix had leaped twelve light-years from its location. There was a faint red light coming from the red dwarf star in the distance. A planet was nearby along with the activity that was apparent.

"New Olympia reports that it has almost powered up its gate array," the navigator said. "It will take five minutes to have the wormhole to MJJ-12 opened up."

"Make sure they check those coordinates three times if necessary," the captain said. "This is as far as we ever gone before. I don't want us jumping into a planet or at the wrong location entirely. Go ahead and position ourselves to their gate array."

The navigator nodded her head. "Aye....."

Kane watched the live feed from the cameras. There was a small screen that depicted where the Gabatrix was located on the system map. The star system that was initially called Gliese 1061 was a little red dwarf star. These small stars were the most common stars in the galaxy and could last trillions of years. The stars on Cebravis and Sol would be long dead by the time these stars even flinched in age. They had advantages but disadvantages at the same time. The problems to these stars were that they were so small and dim that they were difficult to track even with modern-day equipment. They produced less heat and less illumination. Radiation was thick even though the Gabatrix was rated to handle such radiation.

The most significant advantages to red dwarfs were its lasting age. These small stars allowed exoplanets to form or be captured and held in its orbits far longer than the stars like Sol ever did. Despite the radiation soup mix, it was still possible to find many planets teeming with life or resources. Kane even knew some people that came from Batrice, where mineral wealth was extravagant. There was one catch to these planets though that even the ambassador was fully aware of as well. Red dwarf planets are so close to their star that they are tidally locked. Much like Jupiter and Saturn that hold its moons so tightly, their moons cannot spin properly. New Olympia, much like the two other planets, was locked in this position. One side was forever facing the side of the star while the other side was in the absolute dark. These planets would always have solid days nonstop, depending on where you were located.

"I am going to need to contact my cousin again soon..." he remarked to himself almost quietly.

Planet C in Gliese 1061 was the planet chosen by a long ancient religious cult to be named New Olympia. Kane knew very little of the history except what his cousin had told him. The radiation was thick on the surface, and the New Olympians had chosen to live underground. The surface was red and barren or at least the side that was facing the light. Yet his cousin was well. He would always shake his head at the thought of this almost lifeless planet that had a perpetual paradise underneath the surface. His cousin had two wives that still had Kane scratching his head. The original religious cult had practiced polygamy regularly, and it seemed that there were always more women on the planet than men, at least according to his cousin's comments.

Kane's thoughts wondered about the mystery of New Olympia as he could feel the ship's thrusters turn it to the left. He could feel his body be pushed back a little bit. The careful adjustments to the vessel ensured that people were not being flung around. The Gabatrix was heading towards its destination.

The captain was looking at the display screen that depicted the fleet of warships that was in orbit. The New Olympians had the most powerful known fleet in existence that even Kane couldn't comprehend. All he knew was what he saw on display. The large white ships looked like moving cigars. Instead of having a centripetal ring like the other UHN ships, the New Olympian warships had spheres in its place. The vessel had a massive dual cannon on a swivel turret mounted in the bow section. It seemed as if the entire ship was dedicated to this supergun of theirs. Arrays were installed in a ring-like formation near the gun. Massive thrusters were in the bow and aft. Even Kane could remember the news when New Olympia decided not to send their ships to the other colonies. People were furious. These ships look like they could decimate an Itrean fleet with ease, and apparently they did......twice.

The other two things that Kane could see was the ship in the center of the formation of white vessels. He had only heard rumors of this famous ship. It was the former Lunaran Ark that his cousin had mentioned to him. This was the massive ship that moved the Lunarans to New Olympia. It looked similar to the other white ships, but it had two large centripetal rings, almost as if it had two spinning drums. The front bow was like a giant hangar bay. Apparently, the Ark had become some sort of command ship, but nobody really knew. Kane had no idea, and it seemed that even the UHN didn't know as well.

"So many mysteries.....it's as if they godlike or something," he said almost to himself. He shook his head of those thoughts. His cousin would have told him something about all that by now. Since nothing was said, then maybe the New Olympians weren't as mystical as he thought. Perhaps they wanted to just wow the outside worlds of their constructive capabilities. Then again....he felt some attraction at the idea of what his cousin had to offer. Maybe if the war went badly, he would try to escape to this world. Maybe there were plenty of other women there that were looking for a suitor.

"Heh....." he chuckled a little bit. "I guess it is too late to think of those thoughts now. Besides....., it sounds like escapism."

Kane watched the captain as the Gabatrix was hovering closer and closer to the jump gate. The New Olympian jump gate looked rather interesting. Kane remembered the gate array over Cebravis, and it didn't look like anything impressive. Cebravis was mostly a giant metal ring with rotating centripetal habitats on it. It had a couple of guns on it, but nothing else really remarkable about it.

The New Olympian gate array looked utterly different altogether. It looked like a giant white metal ring and had two spheres on either side of the ring. It seemed simple but elegant. The ships stood near it like they were protecting it.

"We are about one minute from the gate array," the navigation officer announced to the captain. "New Olympia says that wormhole formation is proceeding at 10% and climbing. They wish us luck, sir."

"Too bad they aren't coming...." William said. "One of those ships would be all that we needed. Damn....."

Kane got more of a hint about the New Olympians. Why did they keep this powerful fleet here? Why don't they send them to help the other colonies when they got attacked by the Itreans? The ambassador would always remember the news about the two Itrean fleets that got destroyed in this system. He remembered the politicians that would continue to question the New Olympian delegates on their choices. The New Olympians would simply smile and wave them off. Others feared that pressuring them too much would cause the New Olympians to leave the UWA entirely and that would only make things worse. Perhaps it was fortunate that the New Olympians at least allowed ships like the Gabatrix to make their journey to MJJ-12 without hindrance. In the end, Kane wouldn't have much time to think about it.

"Gate formation is at 60%," the navigator said.

The Gabatrix was nearing the white ring array of New Olympia. Not far was one of the massive white ships. It seemed to keep formation like a giant man peering down at a child. Kane would watch as he looked at New Olympia, then the vessel, and then the gate array. He could see the same wormhole begin to form the gate array. This time, the ship was going to make the longest jump in human history.

"Too bad our longest jump ever in human history is going to be virtually mute since this is a secret diplomatic mission," Kane said.

There was a small ping sound that came from his left hand. Kane knew immediately what that was, but it would have to wait till things settled down. It was another email message through the UWAN. He would have to check it later. Perhaps it was good timing he got the message. The United World Alliance Galactic Network was an amazing piece of technology, but even that was still limited in certain ranges. Once they make this jump, it was possible they wouldn't be receiving any messages from home. Ordinary transmissions would take forever for it to reach back home. He would have to ask more about this later.

"Gate formation at full," the navigator said.

The large circular white ring had a fully functional wormhole. Once again, Kane could see the gate that would lead them to the great unknown. He felt a sense of nervousness.

"If only Gabatrix could have seen this," Kane remarked to himself. "Too bad, he passed away over ten years ago...."

The UHN Gabatrix reached position. It pointed its bow at the opening. Its vectoring thrusters positioned it correctly as it faced the aperture that would lead them to the farthest corners of explored human space.

"Take us through....," the captain said.

"Aye...." The navigator said. Kane could notice the tension in her voice.

The ship's rear thrusters activated for a brief amount. This gave a slight kick for the ship as it moved lurched forward to the opening. Finally, the vessel flew into the wormhole.

It was quick and brief. The vessel was inside the wormhole for less than a second as it flashed. The sudden feel of being in two places happened once again. Kane began to shake it off as the ship emerged from the exit aperture.

"We have arrived.....," the navigator said.

"Confirm that instead of just telling me that, petty officer," the captain told her.

"Right sir.....," she checked her display. "Activating forward thrusters to stop."

The ship's forward thrusters activated as Kane felt the kick forward. The vessel came to a slow stop as the thrusters ceased. The exit aperture was still there. It remained on for a little while.

"We are at a full stop, sir. Checking our position......"

"Take your time. The New Olympians will keep the gate open in case we missed it."

Kane realized that it made sense when he thought about it. He didn't know how long the wormholes could be generated from gate arrays, but it seemed it could be held on long enough that if a mistake was made, the ship could simply fly back in reverse and come back from where it came. She seemed to be checking her instruments for awhile. There was changing data that was being depicted on her screen. Kane could see the black void of space and distant stars on display. It seemed like they were in the middle of nowhere. There was no star system. It was simply just nothing.

"We have arrived at our destination. We are off by our intended jump by about 50,000 kilometers. We are 197.5 light-years from New Olympia and 200 light-years from Sol."

The captain's brow peaked. "That isn't bad. Well....I know the New Olympians can't hold that gate open forever. After this, we are in UWAN silence. We are alone. Tell the New Olympians we have arrived."

Kane knew enough about the gates and how UWAN could be interconnected with it. Once the wormhole closed, they were sealed off from it. He felt a twist in his stomach as he knew what that meant.

Outside the Gabatrix, the ship was still. The centripetal ring continued to spin as you could see the exit aperture closed. If you could get further and further away from the Gabatrix, you could see only the stars around it. Some stars were bright, and others were very dim. The center of the Milky Way Galaxy could be seen in the vast, vast distance. This was sector MJJ-12.

Chapter 3: The Meeting

A two hundred light-year jump seemed to be significant but in fact, it was absolutely tiny. The Milky Way Galaxy was so large that it could be measured in over 52,000 light-years from one side to the other. Understand that this is the method in which light is traveling in one year to reach. One of the quickest known ways of movement takes that long to reach from one side of the galaxy to the other. It seemed as if humanity was cursed by how far away things were, but thankfully the ability to fold space was available. It was the only way such great distances could ever be achieved.

Kane sat on his seat, staring at the screen that showed a slightly closer look at the Galactic Core. It was beautiful in all aspects. The color of red, blue, and purple, along with the dots of stars, glowed. The core of the galaxy was a place that seemed pretty but was, in all respects, a place to avoid. Located near the center of the galactic core was the devourer that was known as Sagittarius A. The ambassador had enough knowledge that the center of galaxies was nothing more than massive giant stars that exploded in flicker life spans when compared to the smaller stars around the galaxy. These stars radiated vast amounts of light and radiation, and when they died, they would create supernovas that span in astronomical ranges. It is expected that life or whatever is there could be harmed from a 10 to even 100 light-year span distances.

The advantage, though, is that Sagittarius A was what was also keeping the galaxy alive. Caught in a perpetual trapped orbit, the super black hole has all the millions and billions of stars in its utterly gigantic accretion disk. The black hole had an event horizon that spanned over 24 million kilometers in diameter. This would make the event horizon bigger than the diameter range of Sol to Mars. Sagittarius A was the master of the Milky Way. Perhaps it wasn't the only black hole in the galactic core. Thankfully Mars and Cebravis were way out of range of this devourer, and Sagittarius A was not precisely the hungry beast as we made it out to be.

Kane was shaken out of his thoughts at the view screen when he heard the navigator speak.

"The gate is closed, sir," the navigator said.

"Ambassador...." The captain called out to Kane. "Do you have a specific time when the T'rintar are coming?"

Kane lifted his left hand and opened it up. He activated the projected interface as he keyed in the buttons to show him the time. The numbers all showed up, and he responded to the captain.

"Anytime from now to the next two hours," Kane said as he closed up his hand.

"It is time to wait..." William responded. "I don't see anything on our sensor screen. Do you see anything on yours petty officer?"

"None, sir," she replied.

The captain unbuckled his restraints and stood out of his seat as his magnetic boots clicked to the deck. "Notify me when the T'rintar shows up," he said as his eyes looked at Kane. "Ambassador, I would like to have a word with you in my office."

Kane nodded his head as he watched the captain walk towards the elevator. Kane stood up as his shoes clicked on. He could feel the weightless environment, but he was used to it. He walked behind the captain as they stepped into the elevator.

The doors closed behind them as the captain pressed his thumb on the panel. There was a light tug on their bodies. The magnetic clips held them on the deck as they went down a level. Kane remained calm as the elevator stopped. The doors opened up, and they walked out to a small passageway that was a deck above the center main deck. Not far from the elevator was the CO's office. He stepped next to the door as it opened up and let them inside. The doors closed behind them.

The office was nothing extravagant, but there were computer displays that showed the various cameras from the ship. This room had a wooden mounted desk and red vinyl chair to it. Famous portraits depicted the UHN Gabatrix as they were mounted into the wall. Besides that, there was nothing else spectacular about the room.

The captain walked up to his chair as he sat down on the seat. He had a grip on the armrests to keep his body steady in the weightless environment. He looked at the ambassador as he stood looking back at him.

"Ambassador, I want to talk to you to make sure we are on the same grounds of what is going to happen here. Do you understand?"

"I do captain," Kane said.

"We have had little time to get ready for this meeting if everything is going to happen according to plan. The T'rintar gave us little time to get ready."