“Put it on visual, Lieutenant,” Dobbins ordered.
The three-dimensional visual changed from a field of stars to that of a starship, one that Dobbins remembered seeing in the history books as a child: a large dome-like structure sitting atop seven or eight decks of a rectangular base. An intense blue glow steadily emerged from the ship’s main engines.
“Mr. Skylar, bring us to within shuttle range of the Lethe and match her speed and course. Lieutenant Sawyer, thoroughly scan that ship. I want to know exactly what the status is on every one of her systems. Lieutenant Marquél, open a channel to the Lethe.”
The crew sprang into action. Dobbins punched the intercom button on his command console. “Commander Ella to the bridge, please.”
“Channel to the Lethe open, Captain,” Marquél announced.
“EGS Lethe,” Dobbins said, trying to sound calm in spite of his excitement, “this is Captain Christopher Dobbins of the Earth ship Hyperion. We’ve come to offer you assistance on your journey to Elysion.”
He waited for what seemed to be an interminable time. Only silence answered him. “Lethe,” Dobbins began again, “this is the Hyperion, are you receiving us?”Again, silence alone answered him.
“Sawyer, what’s the status of the Lethe’s communication systems?”
“Almost have it, sir. Give me a second….” A few random beeps came from Sawyer’s console as she made took some final readings and analyzed the results. “I have it, sir. The hyperwave transmitter and receiver are both off-line.”
“Damaged?”
“No, sir. They appear to be physically intact, just off-line.”
“Why would someone disable the hyperwave?” asked Marquél.
“Because they don’t want to talk to anyone, obviously, sheesh,” Skylar said sarcastically.
“Not on the bridge, Mr. Skylar,” Dobbins snapped at Skylar, “not even in jest. There will be decorum on this bridge.”
“Aye, sir. Sorry, sir,” Skylar said, sounding as if he was only halfway repentant.
“The system may not have been intentionally disabled, Captain,” said Brackers, the first officer. “Perhaps there was an internal power grid malfunction, or a computer system glitch.”
“Good point, Mr. Brackers,” Dobbins responded. “Let’s not jump to conclusions until we’re sure that there’s a problem. I’d like to talk with the Lethe’s captain before I try to send a team over. Lieutenant Marquél, is there any way other than hyperwave that we could contact the Lethe?”
Marquél thought for a minute. “Once we get close enough, I could cut into the Lethe’s internal communication system and connect you to the ship’s control center that way.”
“Do it.” Dobbins ordered.
Marquél got to work. Within two minutes, the Hyperion was close enough, and Maruél was ready to patch into the Lethe’s internal communications system. Just as she completed the connection, Commander Ella arrived on the bridge.
After a brief pause, there came a click, followed by a female voice. “Mayor’s Office. This is Marlene, how can I help you?”
Dobbins glanced at Marquél with surprise before answering, “This is Captain Christopher Dobbins of the Earth Ship Hyperion. We’re here to offer you any assistance that you may require. Could I speak with Captain Loman?”
“Earth Ship Hyperion? Captain Loman?” asked Marlene. “Is this some sort of joke? Billy, is that you, again? How many times have I told you not to make prank calls on the comm system?”
“No, ma’am,” Dobbins replied, “this is Captain Dobbins. We’ve been sent from Fleet Com to help you reach your destination in any way possible. That’s really why I need to speak with Captain William Loman as soon as possible.”
“Billy, this isn’t funny,” Marlene persisted. “You know that Mayor Loman’s father has been gone for several years. Now, get off this line right away, young man. If you don’t, I’m going to disconnect you and report you to your parents.”
Dobbins made one last attempt. “Marlene, let me be clear. I need to speak to Captain Loman immediately. It’s an urgent matter.”
“All right, Billy, I’ve heard enough. I have work to do, and I can’t have your shenanigans keeping me from the Mayor’s business.”
“Wait, you’re not listening to me, Marlene,” Dobbins began, only to be interrupted by a click. Marlene had closed the channel.
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