"Yeah. I used up all my fuel. Fifteen minutes of maximum thrust then, silence."

"How long did you drift?" Captain Cook asked as she followed him around the winding hallways.

"A long time. I had enough food, water and air to last me years. It was a lonely existence, but I survived on the chance that Earth might be able to launch a rescue attempt. After the first year I realized I'd never be rescued. Ah, here we are." He opened a door and waved toward a room.

The room was filled with computers. Seven rows of them, each row had 10 computers. Each computer was turned on. "I wasn't sure what your computers looked like, I'm sure they don't use the old monitor, keyboard and mouse configuration, but it's the only way I know so I asked the Handlers to build them like this. I hope you don't mind."

"What is this for?" Marjorie asked.

"Oh, I assumed you would want to some research, so I asked them to set up a research station for your crew. Is this okay?"

Marjorie turned to talk to the Professor but found him in front of a computer monitor, staring at the screen. "Primitive, but useful."

"Do you want a tutor on how to use it?"

"No," he said. "You two may leave. Captain, I would like Doctor Lipton down here with me."

"You know how to use the communicator," She said. "Ask the Commander to escort her here."

He just made an annoyed noise and pulled out his communicator. Marjorie turned to the Captain. He had his arm out and smile. "I hope this is still a friendly gesture a man makes when he wants to take a woman for a walk?"

Marjorie could not help but smile as she took his arm. It seemed his nervousness was slowly ebbing away. Maybe underneath the awkwardness he was that charming man who invited the Arwen to his home.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but I hope they can wait until we get something to eat."

"Eat?" Marjorie replied. She still had her arm wrapped around his as she escorted her down the hallway.

"I haven't eaten all day so I was hoping you'd join me."

"Sure, I'd love too." She replied. "I have to say, you seem more relaxed now than when we first met."

"It's all coming back to me. It's been a while since I've had the chance to talk to another human. I normally talk to the Handlers."

"Did they rescue you?"

"I-I don't know," he stammered.

They stopped in front of a door and he opened it. Inside was a table and two chairs. The floor was a strange black which reflected light from a source Marjorie wasn't able to see. The room looked familiar, there was something in the back of her mind telling her this. She hesitated before taking a step.

"Is there a problem?"

"Um, no." Marjorie said wavering. "Can we just take a longer walk?"

He looked down at her, then at the table, then back at her. "Sure, let's go. I have so much to show you."

They continued to walk down the hallway, this time at a respectable distance from each other. Marjorie started the conversation, the one she had meant to start when they sat at the table. "How did you end up here?"

"I didn't think I could get away without you asking that." He took a deep breath and as he talked, he looked down the hallway as if talking to the spaces between the walls. "Like I said, I waited a year before realizing I wasn't going to be rescued. However, I still had hope. I kept thinking, well; it would take them a few months to build a ship fast enough to get out here, then a few months for the ship to get here. I knew we had some ships that were able to go faster than mine. They were probes but hey, what if they sent a probe that I could board, then have it take me home. I never gave up until I decided to take a space walk. Not sure why, I was just needed to get out of that capsule for a few hours." He paused, reliving the memory. "I told myself I was just going to check the radio antenna, see if was pointing in the right direction. When I went out there to look, I couldn't find Earth."

"What did you see?" Marjorie asked.

"Stars. Millions and millions of stars and you know, I couldn't find the sun. I couldn't find Earth. It was then that I finally realized I wasn't going back home and I never would. If I couldn't find Earth, what were the odds of Earth finding me?"

"What did you do then?"

"I remember dying," Newman said. "I remember looking back at the stars. I remember thinking, well if I'm going to die, I'm glad I could see this. I then took my helmet off."

"My god," Marjorie said. "That must have been horrible."

"No, not really. It was painful for a few seconds then, nothing."

"So, someone found you and took you here?"

"I guess, I don't know for sure. I just know I died and woke up here. I have no idea how long I drifted in space before being found."

From the corner of her eye, near the edge of the dome, almost out of site, was the Dyson sphere. She walked over to the window. The act of walking brought more of the sphere into her view. It was hard to judge the size since she had nothing to compare it too, but she knew it was large. That kind of size seemed impossible for the mind to grasp and she tried to grasp it in military terms. It would take the firepower of every ship ever made to make a small hole in its skin. They could explode all the nuclear weapons they had, and it would only lightly damage a very small percentage of the sphere. "What about them? Who are they?"

"That's hard to answer," Captain Ruzoto replied walking over to her. "I've only met a few since I've been here. They mostly communicate with me through messages left on my computer."

"Why do they keep you alive?"

"I think that's obvious," he replied. "They want to study me. They want to know where I come from and how I tick. I'm sometimes treated like a lab rat and given tests. Simple things at first, things I hadn't noticed, but it didn't take me long to figure out I was a rat in a maze."

Marjorie turned to face him. "And you do this willingly?"

He shrugged. "Once I figured it out I didn't. See all this? I told them that unless the build me something like this I wouldn't participate. I stopped eating, stayed in my bed for days at a time, and refused to acknowledge any stimulation. I'm sure they found that reaction fascinating, but they needed me so, they did what I asked and I did what they asked."

"Human stubbornness, that'll be a tough lesson for them to learn."

He pointed to the sphere. "Do you want to go over there?"

"I'd love too but how?"

"Come on, I'll show you."

Chapter seventeen.

Professor Ricter figured out the computer pretty quickly. It was an antique with an operating system he had only read about in history books, but it was intuitive enough for him to guess his way through the system to files he wanted to read. He knew The Handlers, whoever they were, would block any relevant information so he wasn't surprised to find only a few files that told him what they already knew.

It also didn't surprise him that the written language was in old Earth English. Luckily, he and his team studied and a learned the language while they were in Wormhole Beta space. It was slow going but he was able to comprehend most of what he was reading.

The door opened and he looked up from the computer screen. Doctor Lipton, along with seven of their science staff, walked in. She sat next to him. "Find anything interesting?"

"Nothing more than we already knew. It tells me we're in the Pleiades, although that's not what they call it obviously. It says that the Dyson Sphere, again not what they call it, was built around a young blue star. I did discover the population of the Sphere is something on the order of two Quadrillions."

"Really?" Doctor Mercury said astonished.

"Yes," Professor Ricter replied. "I guess that would explain why they needed to build the Dyson Sphere. We don't how long it's been here or how it was built."

"Well, it couldn't have been here longer than four hundred years. When we left Earth we could still see the light from this star. I think if it suddenly blinked out someone on Earth would have noticed."

"True," Professor Ricter replied. He leaned back from his chair. "I find it hard to believe a population could get this large in a relatively short amount of time."

"Maybe we'll find more when we get deeper into the system." She looked over at her screen and frowned. "I think I read about computers like this when I was in history class."

"We all have." Professor Ricter said looking back at his screen. "We need to bring someone over who can help network these computers with the Arwen's. Do you know anyone who might be able to help?"

"I think so. Juliet Monrow. She's the sensor officer on the bridge. We had a nice talk one night when she was on duty and I couldn't sleep. She's pretty sharp and might be able to help us."

Commander Pippleton sat in the Captain's chair looking closely at the readings. He had the Sensor officer scan everything she could find. He needed to get as much information as he could. When the Captain returned she would want to know as much as possible.

Something inside him knew they would have to fight their way out. He did not trust Captain Ruzoto and he did not trust the aliens inside the Dyson Sphere. Everyone else seemed content to let things happen, not him.

A light on his screen blinked, it was a call from Professor Ricter. "Yes, Professor?"

"Commander, I was wondering if we could borrow one of your officers. Ensign Monrow, your sensor officer."

The Commander saw his sensor officer turn to face him. She had a strange look on her face. Confusion? It was hard for him to tell sometimes. "What do you need her for?"

"Doctor Lipton thinks she could help us connect the computers we have here with the computers on the Arwen."

The Commander looked down at her. "Do you think you can help?"

"I can try," she replied. "I know our system very well and if I can figure out theirs I'm sure we can do something."

"Okay, fine." The Commander replied. "Get your replacement up here. Professor, will you send someone to meet her and show her where she needs to go?"

"Of course, Doctor Lipton is on her way now. Thank you, Commander. Have you heard anything from the Captain?"

"No, not yet. She should be checking in soon, if I have anything to report I'll contact you." He shut the communication system down and watched as his Sensor officer leave.

Something was amiss; he could feel it. That nagging feeling all Ulliam got before the start of a battle. He felt anxious; he wanted to put on some armor, grab some weapons and head out to guard those inside the base. He wanted to run to Captain Cook and order her back to her ship. Commander Pippleton trusted his instincts. Something bad was going to happen, and he would be damned if he was going to be unprepared. Turning the computer on, he started to write up orders and commands. Once he was done he sent them to the various individuals. Within a few moments, he received replied confirming his orders. His shoulders moved upwards just a hair. A satisfied feeling moved through his body. The warrior in him was happy; he would be ready for the battles to come.

The silver ball floated in front of Marjorie and gave off a strange humming noise. It was large, about the size of a room, and had a smooth surface. It looked like liquid mercury floating in zero gravity. "This is a wormhole," she said reaching out with her had to touch it, fearful of what might happen if she did.

"It sure is," Captain Ruzoto said. "You seemed surprised."

"I am. The only way we know how to create a wormhole is to create a Strangelet and we need to do it in the vacuum of space. If a Strangelet touch anything it turns it into a Strangelet."

"That sound dangerous."

"You have no idea," Marjorie replied remembering the destruction Strangelet missiles caused in her last battle. The battle that killed Kel, the battle where she nearly killed herself. "How do you create it?"

"I don't know," He laughed. "I asked once and they told me I'd never understand the science. I couldn't argue the point. This one leads to the Dyson sphere. Come on, I'll show you."

He walked into the silver sphere and disappeared. Marjorie hesitated. She had never traveled through wormhole space without a ship. How would she breathe if she got stuck? How did she know this wasn't some elaborate trap?

"Silly thoughts," she said to herself. "If they wanted to capture me they would have." She took a deep breath, held it, and then stepped into the silver ball.

The journey was fast, faster than an eye blink. A steam of silver past her like a flashbulb going off and, before she knew it, she was standing in another room. There were some chairs, a computer and monitor on top of what looked like an oak desk. A green rug lay upon the ground, and the walls were painted a soft white. Newman stood in front of a window and waved her over to him.

Marjorie looked out the window to see the most glorious sight she's ever seen. It was like being on the inside of a ball. The sky curved around in all directions. It was a structure composed of billions, maybe trillions, of perfectly carved squares. The sun shined brightly. If not for the polarized glass, she would have been blinded. It was an odd blue color which gave the room she was in a strange indigo hue. She could see thousands of tiny ships, which she was sure were very large but looked small since they were so far away, move around in the space between her and the sun.

The beauty if it made her cry. She looked over at Newman, who just grinned. "I had the same reaction when I saw it."

"You can't honestly tell me you're used to it."

"No, hardly. I still can't wrap my mind around it all. The engineering of it is beyond anything we've ever come up with."

She continued to watch the ships. One of them moved close enough for her to see some more detail. The front of the ship was a massive hole which was sucking up dust. It didn't seem to have ann engine and she wondered if it was merely using the gravity of the sun for propulsion. Newman saw her looking. "They gather the dust and use it to help them build the sphere. I'm pretty sure there were planets here at one point. They used them first and are now just cleaning up."

"I don't think any system with more than a few thousands planets could build something this big."

"No, probably not. The Hander's influence goes beyond this system. I think they gather rouge planets, planets around other star systems, and the dust from the cluster and us for the resources they need."

"I hope there wasn't any life on any of the planets they use."

Newman didn't reply and instead turned Marjorie's attention to something else. He pointed to one of the black squares. "Those are solar panels. They absorb all the sun's output. It's what keeps the Sphere powered and makes it possible for the Handlers to live."

"You know so much about the workings of the sphere, you've had some contact with them, and surely you can tell me something about them."

He looked around nervously. "They'll hear me."

"I gathered that much," Marjorie replied. "I figured they're studying me just like they studied you. I can't really do anything about that but if I could, I'd like to know all there is to know."

He considered this for a moment. "I do know is they live a very long time and reproduce like crazy."

"How long do they live for?"

"They can live forever."

"Forever?"

"Let me show you." Newman walked across the room to the wormhole they had entered. Next to it was a small control panel. After pressing a few buttons he turned back to Marjorie. "Follow me." He stepped through.

Where are you taking me now? Marjorie thought. How far do I trust him? The more wormholes we go through the further away from the Arwen I am. She hesitated for a moment before realizing that if she didn't follow him, if she didn't trust him, she would never see the wonders on the other side of that wormhole.