Date: Sat, 06 Oct 2001 04:09:32 -0400
From: W.B. Harrell <wbharrell@hotmail.com>
Subject: tal 2

The Tal Continium
Chapter 2
By: W.B. Harrell

Disclaimer: Same as usual, but if you're reading this now, chances are,
you're already doing something illegal if you are underage.

Info:  There has been some confusion so here are the definition of some
acronyms.  GN= Galactic Navy. UPE= United Planet Earth.  PEVA= Personal
Electronic Video Agent.  CO=commanding officer, NAE Naval Academy at Earth
(ex: UCB: University of California at Berkly) .  Sorry my spelling sucked in
the last chapter. I don't know what was wrong with my spell chec...I mean
me.

Chapter 2:  Opening the Door



Delta Serpentis Sector
07:00 hours
The Year of Earth 326/ 2980 AD



	Tal gulped as every eye in the room trained on him.  Even the computer
seemed to pause in amazement.  "Did I hear you correctly Lieutenant
Da'Bargo?" asked the CO, "Are you up to it?"
	"I...yes," said Tal, quite a bit unsure of himself, "I am."  Tal ran the
details of the mission through his head.  "I would, however," he continued,
"need time to go over my notes."
	The CO paused, then pressed a button on his PEVA.  "Every bit of available
information has been sent to your PEVA, you may have as long as you need to
review the information and to make your assignment final," said the CO.
	Tal nodded and made a verbal note to his PEVA to set aside a half-hour of
his schedule to study of the given information.  The CO heard him and
laughed.  "That means that you are hearby relieved of your patrolling duties
and fighter obligations until further notice," he said.
	Tal lept up.  "You are taking Dragon Wing away from me?" he asked in a rare
outburst.  The CO grinned then exploded into a fit of deep belly laughter.
The other officers joined in.  "In a way, yes," said the CO and held up his
hand when Tal began to protest, "but ONLY until you've completed the mission
at hand; think of it as a vacation."
	Tal didn't think of it as a vacation, he thought of it as being stripped of
his command and being given a menial assignment.  He sank down into his
chair and had his PEVA record his new...schedule, if one could call it that.

				***

	Tal leaned away from his worktable and admired his handiwork.  He had just
finished customizing his PEVA, giving it a less monotone voice, a hint of
personality and a memory expansion that would have put the PEVA of an
Admiral to shame.  He strapped on the small, yet powerful computer and sat
back, staring at it's polished silver sheen.
	"PEVA," he said, "review mission information and material."  Tal sat back
and watched as the computer's improved holographic imaging driver (his
handiwork, or course) flared into action.
	The computer's slightly feminine voice began to speak.  "Welcome to the
mission briefing for the...." then the voice cut off.  Suddenly, the
holographic projector flared and a disembodied head floated in the middle of
the room.  A harsh masculine voice took over the briefing.
	"Your skills are admirable Lietenant," said the voice, "High Command was
hoping that you would select to be the pilot for this assignment."
	Tal raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall, interested in what was
going on.  "Do make yourself comfortable," the head said as it gestured in a
way only a bodyless head could, "and feel free to ask questions as this is
an interactive breifing."
	Tal shook his head.  The head continued.  "This mission is of the utmost
importance, Lieutenant, as it may very well define our attacks against the
Vespian threat.  As you know, all of our capital ships are equipped with a
cyberspace drive, a powerful supercomputer holding every bit of every
possibly convievable information about a ship: it's mass, volume, capacity,
along with DNA maps of the entire crew on board.  Whenever the ship is
commanded to make a lengthy voyage, that ship is broken down based on the
information and is converted into light and is transported across our vast
satellite network to the nearest point of that ship's destination.  Overall,
this is a very tedious and difficult task, taking hours to calculate and
depending on the distance, possibly even days to actually reach the
destination.  Researchers on Earth have discovered a possible solution to
our problems.  Enter: the Singularity Drill."
	A digital blueprint flashed before Tal's eyes giving important data and
useful facts.
	"This engine uses beams of theta radiation to actually bore through
space/time and put a ship directly at it's destination with minimal
movement.  This engine has failed 6 out of 10 times in lab trials and the
other successes have been limited.  It is imperitve that UPE Intelligence
have a field success before funneling more funding into a possibly moot
project.  Obviously, the pilot would have to be very skilled at the least
and your name was mentioned many times. (there was a bit of a tone of
bitterness)  Your...family had a few words to say about it and the
assignment was given to the Athena with the perception that you would accept
it."
	Tal smiled ruefully and silently complemented the machine on it's
bitterness for the Da'Bargos.
	"Your assignment will be to pilot a Banshee class fighter equipped with a
Singularity Drill. According to plans, the drill will be operational within
fifteen minutes of flight.  It will be remote controlled should you choose
to...ahhh...abandon your mission," said the machine coyly, "If this machine
works, you will be promoted to directly to battleship captain and given your
choice of vessels and you will be able to hand-pick your crew."
	"When do I go?" asked Tal, sensing that there was more to this mission than
met the eye.
	"Right...now" said the Head and disappeared.  Tal stared at his hands in
horror as they faded and became such as light.  He felt himself fading away,
and for an instant, he ceased to exist as a whole, he was spread across the
room.  In a moment, he was gathered together and was gone.

				***

	Tal stood in a humongous hangar on an unknown ship somewhere.  He stared
out the forcefield that seperated the hangar from the vacuum of space.  He
knew he shouldn't, but he began to think about Kel.  It had nearly been a
year since his love had gone.  Tal wondered where they would be now if Kel
had survived.
	He watched as the forcefield rippled and wandered off into his own
imagination...
	"Dad!" yelled the voice of a child.  "Yes?" answered he and someone else at
the same time.  He turned instinctively to his side and smiled as he saw Kel
open his arms.  A child with white hair ran into Kel's toned arms and threw
*his* pudgy little arms around Kel's broad shoulders.  "Where's my hug?"
asked Tal jokingly.  The child turned to him and grinned and hugged him
tightly and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
	Kel looked at him with pure love in his eyes.  He leaned over to Tal's ear
and whispered, "Lieutenant, it's ready."  Tal leaned back in shock.

				***

	"Say what?" asked Tal as he snapped back to reality.  He shivered, still
recovering from his transition through cyberspace.  It was freaky enough
being on a ship that did a c-space jump, but actually DOING it in the flesh
were two different stories.  It was downright creepy.
	"I said that your ship is ready," said the young ensign.  Tal nodded and
headed toward the only ship in the hangar.
	There was a slight buzzing in his wrist and he looked down.  He had an
incoming comm message.  Sender:  High Command.  He immediatly punched in his
access code.
	A woman with peircing eyes and dark hair stared at him ambivalantly.
	"You do not know me," she said, "but my name is Carolena Grehorio
Da'bargo."
	"Oh, I know you all right," said Tal bitterly, "you are my so-called
matriarch."
	The woman laughed, showing off a set of perfect white teeth.  "I suppose
you have a right to be bitter towards your family," she said, "after what
your all your father did and said."
	"From what I remember," said Tal, "this FAMILY of yours didn't even bother
paying attention until I graduated VD of the NAE and didn't start claiming
me until after the Prometheus incident."
	"Do you realize how many bastards are born among the ranks of the dilute
blooded Da'bargos?" asked the woman bitterly "do you know of how they would
use their name to furthur their ends?  The only reason we recognize you
amongst our ranks is the fact that you earned your name, and as cold and
calculating as it may sound, THAT is the only reason that you are accepted
by the Da'bargo clan."
	Tal was highly pissed.  It regularly happened, so he didn't quite know how
to deal with it.  "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" he yelled into
his PEVA, "You listen and you listen good: you can keep your recomendations
and you can keep your acceptance and you can GODDAMNED WELL KEEP YOUR
FUCKING "CLAN" TO YOURSELF!"
	Every eye in the hangar was staring at him.  "Just what the FUCK DO YOU
THINK YOU ARE LOOKING AT?" he screamed.  Everyone looked away.
	"Let's do this," he said in a calmer tone of voice as he promptly cut off
Carolena Grehorio Da'bargo's communique and blocked all further
transmissions fromt that particular channel.  It took a while as it had
level Gamma security clearance.
	Within an hour, Tal was suited up and in his newly outfitted ship.  "This
is for you, Kel," he said as he activated the lateral thrusters and took off
into the black of space...

To be continued in chapter 3