Prologue
The 300.000 years between the time when the various human species started traveling among the stars and the time when the humans in our group of galaxies organized themselves into a single pacific and civil order, are usually defined by historians as the Intermediate Period.
Mostly owing to a literature of dubious quality describing fierce battles between fleets of starships, and the epic feats of adventurers hailing from quarrelsome kingdoms and empires, the general public thinks it was a barbaric and romantic time. This picture is mostly false and people living in those times enjoyed long periods of peace and stability. A number of confederations were started in the different galaxies, which eventually evolved into the present civil society. Even the Qhrun crisis, without doubt the worst disaster to happen in that period, was not as universal as many think, and many human species were affected only to a limited extent.
Many epic tales and novels dealing with that crisis are based on the character of Admiral Thomas Taylor, a mysterious figure most serious historians think never existed. In many legends he plays the role of a ruthless adventurer, barbaric warrior or romantic knight. The last of these traditions, mostly originating in the fifth sector of the Milky Way, the sector many say he came from, sometimes even endow him with magical powers.
Academic debates about Admiral Taylor were revived in the last ten years by the well-known Centauri Finding. As everyone knows by now, a rescue ship attempting to find an automatic freighter, lost en route between the Sun and Gliese 442, spotted a large mass adrift at the extreme outskirts of the Alpha Centauri system. It was only thanks to the captains great skill and extreme care that the wreck could be recovered and identified as an ancient cargo ship, adrift for hundreds of thousands of years.
When it was transported to the Ancient History Museum on Laraki, archeologists realized that it was the most important discovery in the last several thousand years. Notwithstanding the damage the ship had suffered from the accidental explosion of its engines and hundreds of thousands of years of inactivity, her wreck yielded a great deal of information about the technology and life in those remote times.
The most important findings were those by a group of paleoinformatics specialists who, from the faint traces still existing in the hardware of the ships computer, painstakingly reconstructed the contents of its memory. With these, and many other pieces of information about space navigation and life on board, they managed to piece together what appears to be a reliable account of the Qhrun crisis and of Admiral Taylors role in it.
The most important aspect of the finding is that archeologists think the ship was abandoned no more than three centuries after the crisis, and this is therefore the most ancient version of the story. Moreover, the system where the freighter was found is close to that of the Sun, an area from which most of these legends seem to come.
The result of this reconstruction work is here offered to modern readers, without any changes except translation into modern language. The author of this reconstruction warns the reader not to attribute any great historical value to a text that is generally thought to be just an epic tale.
Blockade
Fifteen minutes to re-entry, Admiral. The voice of star cruiser CH-23426 was calm and slightly bored, as usual. The screens were completely dark, but soon they would fill with stars.
Thank you, Twenty-six. Have sensors ready and ensure all shields are at full power on re-entry. Admiral Taylor wished he didnt have to waste time monitoring such routine navigation tasks: this mission had delicate diplomatic implications, but it did, of course, also include routine navigation and military operations.
Of course, Sir, answered the ships computer.
Like any good captain, Taylor thought he could understand the smallest nuances of his ships behavior. The more CH-23426 identified herself as the flagship, the more conceitedly she dealt with everyone, he thought to himself. A self-aware star cruiser was a danger that was not to be underestimated. Twenty-six must be put in her place , he thought with a smile. After all, she was just a machine.
Star cruiser CH-23426 was one of the oldest ships in the Confederation Starfleet, and one of the few survivors of the battles fought twelve thousand years earlier, during the Civil War in the seventh sector. Actually CH-23426 had fought on the wrong side: she claimed to have fought at the battle of Teryygil, where the secessionists were finally defeated, but her claim was unlikely, because all their ships were destroyed in that battle. Still, without official documents, lost a long time ago, Taylor felt it unnecessary to contradict her on the matter. If she really believed her version, it was better not to risk trouble with the ships logic units.
Five minutes to re-entering normal space, all crew at their stations.
Susan, just after re-entry, set the fastest course to the third planet, to be on target three hours after dawn, local time. At last the ship was coming to life again, after almost three days of inactivity in hyperspace, the time needed to travel 450 parsecs from Qhraar base to the Suns system.
The computer dimmed the lights on the bridge, and the stars duly appeared on the screens. Then, the instant the computer was aware of the signals from its sensors, warning lights flashed and loud alarms started ringing.
Three unidentified ships at close range. The computer sounded puzzled. Unidentified ship on collision course.
Zoom in on the forward screen. Taylor was surprised too: no incursion in the Solar System was expected for at least two weeks and the Qhruns couldnt know about his mission.
A Qhrun intruder filled the forward screen. The other two ships were standing by a short distance away. A quick glance was enough to see it was a perfect blockade, leaving little space for maneuver.
Emergency deceleration, all available power to the engines. The cruiser was ready to start the only maneuver she had been trained to perform.
Negative, Twenty-six. Maintain speed. Collision trajectory to the center of the nearest ship. Forward shields only, batteries ready. Instruct torpedoes one to thirty to home on target straight ahead. Get ready to lower the shield and fire straight ahead with all batteries on my order.
Order canceled, Sir. The chances the enemy will withdraw are nil and the maneuver exceeds the safety envelope and cannot be authorized. The ship was refusing to obey an order that conflicted with its safety protocol.
Ashkahan, all safety controls off. Everybody ready for manual control.
I must ask for confirmation of the last order, Sir. The first mates voice was uncertain. She didnt like the idea of taking manual control.
I remind you that manual shutoff of safety controls cannot be authorized and This was the computer again.
Twenty-six, this is a formal order. The previous order is confirmed and, if not obeyed, all logical functions of the computer will be shut off, Taylor interrupted dryly. He couldnt allow the bureaucratic attitude of the ship and its crew to waste precious time.
