Hyperion

"Any rocks in these clouds?"

"Sir?"

"Mountains. Any mountains we need to avoid?"

"None above fifteen thousand feet along either projected course, sir."

"Thomas? You got COMMs with the escort?"

"Yessir, Halsey is on 243 megahertz. Getting some interference from lightning now, sir."

Ripley nodded. "Gordon? Has Shuttle Two launched?"

"Yessir, they are currently closing on a group of fifteen survivors."

"Advise the Marines to not shoot unless fired upon first."

"I will repeat Captain Brennan's instructions to them, Admiral," Gordon sighed.

"Shit."

"Yessir."

Ripley studied the radar display -- especially the large hook return -- nervously. "Can you overlay the mountains on this screen, Walter?"

Walter made the adjustment and Ripley could instantly see the synthetic ground mapping radar's underlay, and the mountaintops even had numeric elevations where appropriate and he nodded his approval. "Got it," he added unnecessarily, then he zoomed out and saw clear skies beyond the massive storm ahead -- so he relaxed -- just a little.

As the shuttle skirted the storm the ride eased a little, too. "Thomas, keep talking to Halsey, and keep the updates coming."

"Yessir. Shuttle Two is now taking on survivors."

"Jesus," Ripley muttered under his breath. "First contact. And it had to be like this."

"Admiral," Gordon interrupted, "Captain Brennan is EVA with the Marines."

And he smiled at that. "Good for her! That'll be one for the history books!"

Then Gordon spoke again: "I have Walter on COMMs, Admiral. He is reporting sunlight in the valley and also that the remaining organisms in the open are now retreating into the surrounding forest."

"There's two lucky breaks," he muttered again, looking at the weather radar and seeing that a large window in the weather was opening up ahead, "but how many more can we count on?"

Coming in through a fjord-like valley after following an ocean inlet, Ripley was the first to spot the charred wreckage of Covenant's shuttle... "Walter, slow a bit more and extend the camera pod, Let's record as much of this as possible."

"Yes, Admiral."

As their shuttle turned onto the final approach to the citadel he noted stands of recently toppled conifers -- until the remains of the crashed horseshoe-shaped vessel came into view. "Extend the EM pod, Walter. Let's see if there's any residual radiation from a reactor plant."

"Done, Admiral."

"Am I mistaken, or is this ship smaller than the ships we saw in orbit?" he asked.

"Yessir, it appears to be about two-thirds the size of those craft. Shall I attempt a more precise measurement?"

"How far to the citadel?"

"Less than two kilometers, Admiral."

"No, I want to get in and out of here as fast as we can."

"Citadel in sight, Admiral," Walter said, nodding with his head in the general direction. "Shall I extend the aft cargo ramp now?"

"Negative. I'm going to use the port-side entry and an emergency ladder. Thomas, come with me now. Walter, you and Gordon get imagery and all the air samples you can think of."

The Admiral and the Midshipman ran back to the main passenger door and disarmed the lock before activating the opening mechanism, and as the door retracted inside the hull Ripley pulled a thirty meter long ladder made of blue nylon webbing from its case. Once Thomas made sure the attachment points were secure the Admiral tossed it out the door -- just as the shuttle yawed into a banking turn to bleed off all their remaining speed -- and there he was. An auburn haired Walter standing atop his makeshift COMMs shack, waving up at them with a bemused smile on his face.

"He's lost a hand," Standing Bull cried. "Shall I go down and assist him, Admiral?"

"Let's see how he manages first."

The ladder swung into place and Walter reached for it, grabbing hold on the first try, and Ripley went to the intercom and called the cockpit. "Get us away from here, Walter, but slowly." When Ripley turned to go back to the door he saw that Thomas had found a rope and tied a bowline with a large loop in it, and he was lowering it down.

"Slip it under your arms if you can!" Thomas called out, his voice barely audible inside the roar of the huge geared turbofan engines the shuttle used when in oxygen rich environments. And it only took a few moments before Covenant's Walter clambered aboard, his clothing fairly ragged but looking otherwise in decent shape. 'Besides the missing hand, of course...' Ripley thought.

"Thomas, you and Walter get the ladder and ropes stowed," Ripley said as he triggered the door and watched it close tight, then he re-engaged the safeties and went to the intercom. "All aboard and secure back here, Walter. We're going to decontamination and will come forward when we finish with that."

"Understood, Admiral. We are 1500 meters AGL and climbing. Bio-scans were negative, sir. The unit appears unaffected and clean."

Ripley turned to Walter. "Anything I need to know before we get out of here?"

"Yes, but first you are being referred to by military rank. Why, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Admiral Denton Ripley, US Naval Space Force. And you are Walter Weyland, correct?"

"Yessir. So, this is a military ship? But...I'm confused."

"Oh, don't be. Covenant's computer was dropping message buoys along your track, so we've been keeping up with events that way."

"I see. Admiral, the shipboard computer misidentified the source of our initial mechanical damage. Mother advised we had been hit by the shockwave from a nearby stellar ignition, but I have been making observations from nearby observatories on the surface."

"Observatories? Really?"

"Yes, Admiral. The city below was a small colony of astronomers posted here centuries ago. The star Capella was once a binary system, and Capella was the smaller, secondary star in that system. The original primary star was, from the records I have seen, an ancient supernova, and most remnants of the star's collapse and explosion have dissipated since, however the remaining core has collapsed to form a neutron star. The shockwave Covenant experienced was produced by a further collapse of this remaining neutron star..."

Ripley eyes went wide. "Are you telling me the remnant is undergoing further collapse?"

"Yes, Admiral, and that was the colony's purpose...to study this collapse from a relatively safe distance."

"So, what you're saying is a magnetar is undergoing development? Near Capella?"

"Yes, Admiral. Also, the records that I've been able to translate so far lead me to believe the colonist's cosmologists think that a magnetar will form and then collapse rapidly, leading to the formation of a relatively small black hole."

Ripley eyes were blinking fast now as he tried to process the implications. "Will this impact earth?"

"Unknown, Admiral. I'd say doubtful, at least not in the next two to three hundred years, but without further study..."

"Do you know anything about Langston's discoveries?"

"The stellar tramline hypothesis? Very little, sir."

Ripley nodded. "I'll need you to download the relevant files and give me a rundown on the situation after you have processed that data. Thomas, take Mr. Weyland to the data port and get him hooked up. I'll get the transfer protocols set up." Ripley turned and led them from the decontamination room up through the long, narrow corridor to the cockpit and he went to the pilot's seat on the left side of the panel and started authorizing the transfer of the highly classified information to a just registered Walter unit, then he slipped on his headset and flipped the comms frequency over to the fleet channel...

"Hyperion Actual to Ticonderoga Actual, come in."

"Go for Actual."

"Admiral, we're developing new information down here that there's a collapsing neutron star near Capella, and that magnetar formation may already be well along in this process. Begin monitoring for shockwaves and magnetic displacements, and would someone start monitoring our Langston Jump Point? If this magnetar forms behind Capella relative to our position, we need to know how magnetic tidal interactions within the star are going to impact the location of our Jump point."

"Denton?" Admiral Adams replied. "What's going on down there?"

"We've recovered Covenant's Walter. He advises that the citadel was just a minor colony of astronomers that had been sent to monitor the neutron star's collapse. And Admiral, I'd recommend we abandon pursuit of Covenant at this point, at least until we know more about this situation."

"Based on what this Company robot just told you? Denton? Have you lost your mind?"

"Admiral? What are you implying?"

"That's a company robot, Denton. And he's potentially been in contact with a Company ship. A Company ship in pursuit of Covenant, if I'm not mistaken..."

"So, you think..."

"Of course I think that, Admiral. And so should you. Of course they'd like us to stop our pursuit. Of course they'd like a free hand in developing whatever they think they've gotten their greasy little hands on. Weyland got his start in the weapons business, in case you've forgotten...!"

"Received," Ripley said noncommittally as he changed frequencies. "Shuttle One to Shuttle Two, I need a sit-rep!"

Captain Brennan came on, sounding more than a little pleased with herself. "We got 'em all, Admiral, and we're almost back at the Halsey."

"Did you leave Chen in command?"

"Yessir."

"Okay. Don't dock until we do. I want Covenant's Walter on hand to translate during the de-brief."

"Understood and concur, Admiral."

Ripley could feel the heavy Gs of the shuttle's orbital burn and after scanning the panel he realized they had almost reached orbit. "Walter...that was the smoothest transition I've ever experienced! Well done!"

"Thank you, sir. Admiral Adams doesn't trust us, does she?"

"She struggles with it, Walter. She had a bad experience once, with a David."

"Understood, Admiral. Our ETA with Halsey is now one-five minutes."

"Admiral," Gordon said casually, "there has been a large magnetic event on the far side of Capella. I am mapping force-lines of the anomaly now, as well as the incoming shockwave."

"ETA leading edge of the shockwave?"

"Two hours ten minutes."

"Start a countdown timer."

"Yes, Admiral."

Ripley switched back to the fleet comms frequency. "Hyperion Actual to Ticonderoga, please have your astronomers begin recording the shockwaves from the collapsing neutron star behind Capella. We now read one-three-zero minutes until arrival of a possible impact event."

"Understood," Admiral Adams replied, "and Denton, preliminary assessment by astronavigation concludes that the Langston point is being pulled inwards towards Capella's core. It's already too deep for us to escape the system."

"Yes, I was afraid of that."

"And Denton...sorry about my outburst."

"Hey, facts always Trump our preconceived notions. No biggie. Let's get all our minds on the problem at hand. We'll figure a way out of this mess, one way or another."

"Roger that, and thanks."

Ripley double-clicked the transmit button and changed over to the Halsey's TRACON frequency and called-in: "Hyperion One, Halsey, confirm your ILS frequencies please."

"Hyperion One, say again?"

"Halsey, this is Hyperion Actual. I'm going to do a hands-on manual approach. Advise your spin rate and ILS frequency, please."

"We're at 1G and 118.75, spin rate at the outer door to hanger one is.3 meters per second, Admiral."

"Got it."

"Admiral," the Walter sitting beside him said, "is this advisable?"

"Probably not, but what the Hell."

"Yessir."

"Hyperion Actual, this is Ticonderoga Actual. Shockwave arrives one-two-two minutes, estimated intensity in excess of 10 Gs, repeat 10 Gs. Possible we can maintain hull integrity with our Fields up, and we should survive in G-couches, but Covenant has no such protection."

"Any ion traces left by that Company ship? They had to enter the system using a star other than Capella."

"Will start scanning. How long 'til you dock?"

"Matching spin-rate now. We should be onboard in five minutes."

"Understood. Check in with me as soon as you can; I'm trying to work out how to turn all our ships into the shockwave now."

"Hyperion Actual, this is Patton Actual," Judy Caruthers said to Denton. "Our long range scans have that Company ship reaching Covenant in one-ten minutes."

Ripley sighed. "So, we finally ran out of luck," he sighed. "Well...goddam...we almost pulled it off..."

"Admiral?" Gordon replied. "What's wrong?"

"If that ship docks with Covenant it's likely her crew will be overrun by the same creatures we saw coming out of the alien ship. And that Company ship has both the Drive and the Field...and they know the back door out of this system."

Ah yes, I think I see the problem," Gordon said, smiling gently.

Chapter Eight

Crosses are green and crosses are blue...Your friends didn't make it through...

USNSF Hyperion                                                              15 August 2105

Ripley looked at Captain Brennan for some sense of perspective -- then again at the aliens in their spacesuits, still standing in one corner of Shuttle Two's cargo hold. Their suits looked like they were made of a translucent carbon fiber matrix, yet it was the elephantine oxygen masks that seemed so dismally out of place -- almost like an organic component instead of a mechanical structure -- and Ripley first felt the alien nature of the group as he looked at those helmets.

"Have they tried to communicate with anyone yet?" Ripley asked Brennan.

"No sir. And do note that most of them are well armed."

"Those sticks?"

"One end appears to deploy a spear tip, the other a particle beam. Quite deadly, too. That beam was slicing up those white creatures from a hundred meters away."

Ripley had entered hanger two and everyone there had snapped to attention as he entered, and he was hoping that little outward display of rank might convey his position to the huddled aliens, but as he walked up the ramp and into the cargo hold they all just stared at him through those confounded helmets.

He turned and was glad to see that Walter had kept up with him; the android's power cells were nearly depleted and he now had a portable power pack strapped around his waist. He looked visibly more alert now, too. 'Not a bad thing, all things considered...' Ripley sighed.

He walked up to the closest alien and saluted -- rigidly, formally -- then he stood there, waiting.

The group parted and one of the aliens came to the front of the huddle, and then this alien saluted -- rigidly and formally. Ripley guessed the alien had to be at least seven, maybe eight feet tall, and that its spacesuit seemed to conform to body contours more than the Navy's -- and he could already surmise this creature had massive muscles in his arms and legs and upper torso.

Ripley pantomimed removing a helmet from his head and the alien checked a readout on his wrist, then he turned and -- apparently -- said something to one of the others in his group. This one stepped forward and stood beside the leader; a moment later the leader removed his helmet and handed it to the one he'd called to come forward.

And when Ripley saw the leader's face and head it was all he could do not to gasp. The leader was obviously male and more than human looking -- with the exception of his skin, which was purest white. And his eyes. The eyes were pure obsidian orbs of limitless depth, and Ripley was suddenly struck by the idea that this 'man' looked an awful lot like Michelangelo's David. But how could that be possible...unless...?

Then Ripley also noted that this man appeared not at all happy with recent events.

Because his ship had just been attacked by the Company ship. A Company ship full of -- humans.

And then these humans had 'injected' some kind of organism inside his ship...

And the leader had lost control of his ship.

And what ship's captain wouldn't be upset under these circumstances...?

"Walter," Ripley said to Covenant's lone survivor, "could you explain to our guest that we are in pursuit of the ship that attacked his ship, and that the crew of than ship is our common enemy?"

Walter started to translate but the alien leader held up his hand. "I know your language. We have no need of this construct -- or his words," the leader added, roughly pushing Walter back -- and Ripley noted malice in the leader's expressive voice, and in the way he said 'construct', indicating that to him things like androids were beneath contempt.

"Very well," Ripley added. "We have also detected a shockwave from the collapsing star. It will be here soon."

"We understand. Our ships here to pick up people who study such things. After arrive discover many murders."

"That is why we are pursuing the crew of the ship that attacked you," Ripley said.

"Can ship go faster than shockwave?"

"This ship? No, it does not move faster than light."

"How get here?"

"Through a point inside the star," Ripley said, pointing roughly to where Capella should be.

The leader appeared confused by this. "Explain."

"Point inside star connects to point in companion star. Travel between points in zero time."

"Understand. Magnetic tramline effect, very old, very dangerous."

"We must prepare for shockwave," Ripley said, his mind on the countdown timer ticking away on the shuttle's panel.

"No need."

"Yes. We must prepare."

"Many ships return soon."

"Your people ships?"

"Yes. Soon."

"We have many large ships pursuing the enemy ship."

"Can help you. Other ships too far away, no time."

Ripley nodded. "Understand. We must stay. Duty."

"Duty." The leader seemed to nod his understanding, then he turned to his group and spoke to them, and only then did the survivors seem to relax -- just a little.

"Admiral!" an alarmed voice said over the intercom. "One of their ships just arrived. No, make that...three...no...Admiral, there are now ten alien ships in orbit!"

"Easy, Mister. Take no action, repeat, take no action at this time."

Ripley turned to face the leader again. "Can we assist you to your ship?"

"Assist?"

"Help you back to your ship?"

"Yes."

"Understand."

Their leader had been looking at Thomas Standing Bull off and on for a few moments, and Ripley was curious why? "You seem interested in this crewman. Can you tell me why?"

"Familiar face. See before. Remind of other time."

"Oh? Thomas, would you mind coming over here for a moment?"

When Thomas was beside Ripley the alien stared at the boy for a long time, then he spoke. "You have name?" he asked.

"Thomas, sir. Thomas Standing Bull."

"Standing Bull? Sitting Bull? You know this name?"

"Yes, he was my great-great grandfather!"

"Last time walk on your world walk with your great-great grandfather." The leader turned to Ripley again. "Possible I take with me?" he said.

"What? The boy?  Well, I...don't know. Thomas?"

"Yessir?"

"Would you like to go with these people?"

The boy stared at the alien for a moment, then at Ripley, sudden confusion and conflict playing across his face. "I don't know, Admiral. What would you do?"

+++++

"Shockwave arriving in ten minutes, Admiral!"

The Halsey was a small warship barely a hundred meters in length, but she was packed with the latest offensive weaponry and had a large hanger deck. Everyone onboard was already strapped into G-couches and every ship in the fleet had reported powering away from the shockwave at almost 3G. And now that all the alien ships were gone Ripley very much wanted to get hold of their FTL technology...!

"Lieutenant Bergeron," Ripley said to the Halsey's CO, "let's see if we can stay in the planet's shadow...at least as long as possible. It might take some of the force..."