Jeremy was in their quarters waiting for Kelsey to finish putting Jason to bed. He had arranged for a candlelight dinner just for the two of them. One of the ship’s stewards had just finished delivering the food while Kelsey was busy with Jason.
Kelsey came back into the dining room and her face lit up with a smile when she saw the food. On her plate was a steak cooked just as she liked it as well as a fresh salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. A steaming basket of rolls was there as well.
“Buttering me up for later,” she said coyly as she sat down.
Jeremy grinned as he buttered a role. “Maybe. This might be our last night together for a few weeks.”
Kelsey poured some salad dressing over her salad and took a bite of a tomato. “These taste wonderful. Where did they come from?”
“We have a small hydroponics compartment on the Avenger where one of our cooks grows fresh vegetables. I asked for the tomatoes and cucumbers. He was more than happy to provide them.”
Kelsey nodded as she continued eating. She was surprised by how hungry she was. For the next twenty minutes she enjoyed her meal, stopping occasionally to talk to Jeremy about Jason and the other kids.
“I don’t think their education is going to be a problem. No matter how much they learn they’re still just children,” commented Jeremy. “To me they are still acting like children and I suspect no matter what they learn that’s not going to change.”
Kelsey knew Jeremy was right. After they finished eating Kelsey cleaned up the dishes and then took a long, hot shower. She put a little perfume in all the right places and then joined Jeremy in bed. If they were going to be separated for a few weeks she was going to take advantage of tonight. She settled into Jeremy’s arms as he turned and kissed her. A few moments later they were lost in each other’s bodies and weren’t the least bit concerned about the passage of time.
Chapter Nine
The New Horizon dropped out of hyperspace in the outer region of the K-2 Class star system they were going to scan. A K-type main-sequence star had a long and stable lifespan making it ideal for life to develop on its planets, especially if there were suitable planets in the Goldilocks Zone. This particular star was a light orange in color with a mass slightly less than the star in Earth’s solar system.
“Status?” asked Rear Admiral Barnes as the ship came to a halt and its sensors began reaching out across the system for a detailed scan. They had already performed long-range scans so they knew there were planets in the system.
“All systems are operational,” replied Clarissa.
“Ship is at Condition Two,” reported Kelsey.
“Initiating scans,” added Captain Reynolds.
“The Avenger and the rest of our support fleet?”
“Just outside the system,” replied Kelsey. The heavily armed ships were staying just outside the system so as not to spook any possible inhabitants.
-
For several long minutes the ship scanned the entire system in detail. Asteroids, comets, moons, planets, and even the icy proto-planets on the periphery of the star system.
When the scans were finished Captain Reynolds turned with a disappointed look toward Rear Admiral Barnes. “All scans are negative for intelligent life or active power systems. However, there seems to be considerable wreckage in orbit around the third and fourth planets of the system. It appears to be artificial in nature.”
“Can you clarify that?” asked Kathryn, growing a little concerned.
“The wreckage is what would be expected of destroyed spacecraft, satellites, and possibly a space station or two,” reported Camlin as she studied the sensor readings. “We would have to move the ship closer for confirmation.”
A chill passed over Kathryn. What had they just stumbled into?
“If we’re entering a war zone we should call in the Avenger,” suggested Kelsey, feeling very uneasy about the situation. “Remember, we have children on board.”
“And our weapons are even more powerful than the Avengers,” replied Kathryn. “However, you’re right. This appears to be a military situation. We’ll send a message to Fleet Admiral Strong requesting he jump his support ships to our location and then we’ll proceed deeper into the system. If someone destroyed this system I want to know who it was and what exactly happened here.”
“I don’t believe we’ll be in any danger,” said Clarissa, who was standing directly behind Kelsey. “We’ve detected no active power readings. Whatever happened in this system could be recent or it may have occurred hundreds of years ago.”
“Never-the-less we’ll contact Fleet Admiral Strong just to be on the safe side,” answered Kathryn. Her eyes turned to the tactical display, which was beginning to show numerous wrecks around the two planets. Her eyes widened at seeing how many there were. It looked as if a major battle had been fought in this system.
-
Jeremy listened as Lieutenant Lantz relayed the message from the New Horizon.
“That’s just great!” muttered Kevin, shaking his head. “Have we jumped into the middle of another war?”
“Clarissa thinks whatever happened here may have occurred a long time ago,” replied Jeremy. “Lieutenant Striker, take the task group into hyperspace and put us next to the New Horizon. From there we’ll all move further into the system.”
Aaliss turned toward Jeremy. “I have analyzed some of the data the New Horizon sent of their scans of the wreckage. I have to agree with Clarissa. It appears to me what we have found is an old battleground.”
“I suggest we go to Condition Two just as a precaution,” said Ariel who was standing next to Jeremy. “There may still be some active weapons systems in some of those wrecks.”
Jeremy nodded. “We’ll go to Condition Two as soon as we exit hyperspace near the New Horizon. Then we’ll proceed deeper into the system on our regular sublight drives. I don’t want anything to take us by surprise.”
“May I suggest once we arrive at the New Horizon’s location we send several of our battlecruisers ahead to ensure there is no danger,” said Aaliss. “While there may not be any active power systems registering there may be dormant defenses in the system which might activate upon detecting our ships.”
Jeremy thought about this and then agreed. “Yes, we don’t know what we’re going into. I want to take as many precautions as possible.”
“Ready to enter hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Striker.
“Take us in,” ordered Jeremy, turning his attention to the large viewscreen that surrounded them.
In front of the Avenger and the other ships of the fleet a swirling blue-white vortex formed. The fleet surged forward, vanishing, to appear only a few minutes later at the location of the New Horizon.
Jeremy breathed out a sigh of relief seeing the large super exploration dreadnought appear on the viewscreen. Now it was time to talk to Rear Admiral Barnes and decide on their next move. Something disastrous had occurred in this system sometime in the past and Jeremy was determined to find out just what that had been. Was the battle which occurred here an isolated case or was it an indication of something much larger? Jeremy wanted to do some investigating and then he would contact the other exploration task groups to see what they had found. Jeremy hoped what was in front of them was an isolated incident.
Lieutenant Striker, take us in toward the inner planets at 60 percent sublight,” ordered Jeremy. “I want continuous scans, particularly for any active power systems which might indicate some type of defense network might still be intact. I’m also sending two battlecruisers ahead of the fleet to ensure we don’t fly into any traps.”
“Sensors are active,” replied Kevin. “Recording data.”
“Lieutenant Lantz, inform the New Horizon to follow us in at a safe distance.”
A few moments later the ten dreadnoughts and twenty battlecruisers accelerated and began heading toward the inner planets of the system. The New Horizon followed shadowing the fleet by twenty thousand kilometers. Two of the battlecruisers pulled
ahead of the fleet to operate as an advance scouting mission to ensure the fleet wasn’t heading into danger.
-
“I wonder what happened here,” said Katie as she stared at the viewscreen showing the wreckage in front of the fleet. “There must be hundreds of destroyed ships in front of us.”
“Scans indicate over one thousand destroyed vessels,” Clarissa informed her. “However, they all seem to be of the same type. Whoever did this, the wreckage from their vessels seems to be missing.”
“Unless we’re looking at an internal conflict,” suggested Camlin. “We could be looking at the end result of a war between the third and fourth planets.”
Kelsey looked at the main viewscreen. The ships were all between three hundred to seven hundred meters in length. They were roughly cylindrically shaped with a flared bow and engine compartment. Most of the wrecks were covered with weapon turrets and what appeared to be missile tubes. They all showed major damage. Some were little more than twisted hulks of metal. Others were relatively intact with massive tears in the hulls where compartments had been ripped open and exposed to space.
“It’s like a graveyard,” commented Angela in a subdued voice. “Who could have done this?”
“The damage to the ships was caused by some type of high intensity energy beam,” reported Clarissa as she studied the data coming in from the sensor scans. “There are also indications of explosives such as antimatter being used.”
Kelsey looked over at Rear Admiral Barnes who was watching the viewscreens with a look of concern on her face. “What do you think, Admiral?”
Kathryn shook her head. “This isn’t good. The odds of the first system we explore being full of wreckage from a major space battle is frightening. We need to find out what happened here before we move on.”
“Perhaps we can find out from their computer systems,” suggested Mikow from her computer console. “Surely with as many wrecks as we are observing there have to be some intact computer records.”
Kathryn leaned back in her command chair and let out a deep sigh. “That means we’ll have to board some of those wrecks. As old as those ships might be and as much damage as they’ve suffered it will be dangerous.”
“Let the Originator AIs handle the boarding,” suggested Camlin. “I’ll lead them. We can also take a few of the new combat robots to help clear wreckage if needed. They’re very strong and versatile.”
Kathryn thought about the suggestion, realizing it was a good one and possibly the quickest way to find out what happened here. “Let me speak to Fleet Admiral Strong and see what he thinks. I suspect he will be agreeable.”
-
Jeremy listened as Kathryn explained what Mikow and Camlin had suggested. “Let me get back with you. I want to check out a few things first before I okay such a mission.”
Jeremy leaned back in his command chair. It would still be another hour before they reached the larger wreckage around the third planet. While he understood Kathryn wanting to use her people to explore one of the unknown ships this was still a military matter since a battle had been fought here.
“Major Weir, contact Major Caulder on the New Horizon. I’m going to need a squad of his Marines as well as six combat robots for a mission.” The New Horizon had the largest Marine complement. It was something Jeremy had insisted on to increase the security of the ship, particularly since children were on board.
“Do you think it’s safe to board one of those vessels?” asked Kevin. He had changed the main viewscreen to show a large warship with minimal damage. The ship was nearly seven hundred meters in length with several large hull ruptures. There were numerous burn marks across its hull.
“I think so,” replied Jeremy. “We’re not detecting any power signatures. Those ships have been dead probably for quite sometime. We may also find some interesting technology on board. Have you completed the scans on the planets?”
Kevin nodded. “Yes, and it’s not good. The third and fourth planets were inhabited at one time. However, there are signs of massive antimatter explosions across the surface of both worlds. There are also indications of detonations on some of the moons and the larger asteroids. Whoever did this pretty much wanted to kill this system and everyone in it.”
“Kevin’s correct,” said Aaliss. “I’ve analyzed what I could of the wreckage. We’re looking at 892 warships of various sizes, another 414 passenger and cargo ships of different types, as well as four large space stations which are now nothing more than drifting wreckage around the two planets. This was a very robust civilization and it was totally destroyed.”
Jeremy let out a deep sigh. “We need to explore the surface of the planets as well as the asteroids and moons.” Jeremy wanted as much information as possible to find out exactly what had happened here. Was this an isolated incident or galaxy wide?
“I would suggest we use AIs and combat robots,” said Aaliss. “We don’t know if there might be some dangerous pathogens in the air on the planets. Whoever did this might have used viruses to eliminate the entire population.”
“Germ warfare,” said Kevin with disgust. “I hope we don’t find that.”
“We have Alton environmental suits on board,” Jeremy responded. “They should keep out any contaminants.”
“I would suggest we go ahead and form teams to explore the wrecks, planets, moons, and asteroids,” said Ariel. “There’s a lot here that needs investigating.”
“Very well,” replied Jeremy. “We’ll keep the fleet at Condition Two until we’re satisfied there’s no danger and then drop our readiness level down to Condition Three.”
“Should we call the other exploration fleets in?” asked Aaliss.
Jeremy shook his head. “No, we need to see what they find. Is this destruction isolated or does it apply to more than one star system?” Jeremy was greatly concerned about what they had found so far. They had come to this small galaxy seeking allies; had they instead found another enemy, one perhaps just as dangerous as the Eternals?
-
Several hours later Kathryn watched as shuttles left the New Horizon. Two were bound for the large wrecked warship and others were heading for the planet. On the main viewscreen, she saw a number of shuttles leave the Avenger heading toward the planet. In the background, the other dreadnoughts and battlecruisers of the small fleet were waiting. So far everything had remained quiet.
“What do you think they’ll find?” asked Angela. There was a lot of communication and speculation across the fleet. She had been listening to it over her comm station.
Kelsey blinked her eyes. “Who knows? We’ll have to figure out their language and learn some of their history before we know for sure what happened here.”
“That won’t be a problem,” said Arian. “Unless the language is of a type we’ve never encountered we have translation software that should be able to break down their language into something we can understand. I just hope enough has survived over time to give us an adequate base to reconstruct their language.”
“Shuttles are nearing their target,” reported Captain Reynolds. “They’ve located a large open hatch which might be a landing bay.”
“Tell them to be careful,” warned Kathryn. “We don’t know what the inside of that ship is like.”
-
Camlin was in the cockpit of the shuttle watching expectantly as it edged into what they believed was a landing bay in the wreck. The shuttle’s large floodlights switched on, lighting up the bay. The inside was in shambles. Several small spacecraft were crumpled on the deck leaving just enough room for the two shuttles from the New Horizon to land.
“We’ve been instructed to stay inside the shuttle until Captain Barkley has disembarked with his Marines and combat robots,” reported the pilot who was another AI.
Camlin nodded. While she was an AI and not that worried about being harmed she did prefer to take all the necessary precautions.
Looking out the large cockpit window, she watched as the hatch in th
e other shuttle opened and six heavily armed combat robots exited the vessel. They stopped at the foot of the exit ramp and fanned out in a semicircle. Behind them came six Marines led by Captain Barkley. The Marines were wearing self-contained light armor for protection. Captain Barkley spent a few minutes sending Marines and combat robots to different sections of the landing bay confirming it was safe for Camlin and the other AIs to come out.
“It’s safe,” the pilot said, turning toward Camlin.
Camlin nodded. Even though it wasn’t necessary she would be wearing a nearly skintight environmental suit. It would allow her easier communication with Captain Barkley as well as to examine anything of interest.
“Let’s go,” Camlin said as she stepped into the passenger compartment where four other AIs were waiting. One of the AIs was Jolban who had helped design and update the New Horizon. It was felt his expertise would be useful in examining the interior of the wreck.
The hatch slid open with a hissing sound and the five AIs stepped out to find Captain Barkley waiting for them.
“The landing bay is secure,” he reported. “I’m going to leave two combat robots and a pair of my Marines here for security. The rest will be coming with us.”
“We should go that way,” said Jolban, pointing to a sealed hatch on one side of the bay. “It’s a large hatch and should lead toward the front of the ship. We want to find the Command Center and see if any computers are intact. Once we’ve done that I would like to examine the engineering section to see what type of power system they were using and to examine their space drives.”
The group headed out with two Marines and three of the combat robots in the lead with the final combat robot and Marine bringing up the rear. The robots were equipped with bright lights on their shoulders, which illuminated the space around the group.
Captain Barkley was walking next to Camlin and Jolban. “Everything seems to be dead. So far we haven’t even found any bodies.” They were going down a long corridor strewn with wreckage. Ceiling panels and wiring hung down where it had been knocked loose. In some areas the walls were buckled in.
The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 12
