The Winter War

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘I think the robot has an antimatter blaster built in,’ Aneka commented.

  Ella nodded, then she tapped a silver armband which was still in place around the body’s right humerus. Aneka had seen the same thing on a Herosian before. The colours indicated something about status, but this one had glyphs on it. ‘Ashad Hithor,’ Ella said. ‘Death’s Head in Herosian. He belonged to the mercenary unit Winter thought came here.’

  ‘You read Herosian, I take it?’

  ‘Adequately. Speaking it makes my tongue hurt. Lots of sibilants. It comes in useful at conferences.’

  Aneka laughed. ‘Yeah, I bet. So… They locked the thing in the cage to contain it, but when it powered up it just broke free and killed this guy. The door there gave them time to seal the breach…’

  ‘But then it started hammering on it and they thought it was going to get out.’

  ‘They panicked and ran…’

  ‘And it eventually ran out of power and dropped where it stood. Just shows that you should send archaeologists to dig up a wreck like this rather than mercenaries. We should go on.’

  The ship had clearly been out of control when it crashed. Well, in-control ships did not crash, as a rule, but this one had been going backward when it slammed into the ground. The reason for the lack of control seemed obvious when they got to the bow and discovered that the control room, and the computer that would have been above it, was more or less entirely gone.

  ‘A nuke,’ Ella said as they looked through the door at a wall of sand. ‘The only thing I can think of that could do damage like this is a nuke. They must have got too close to an explosion during the war.’

  ‘No radiation,’ Aneka said, checking her sensor unit, ‘but I guess it’s had a while to cool off. I tell you, these ships are accident prone.’

  ‘The Agroa Gar was almost certainly sabotaged,’ Ella pointed out.

  ‘True.’ She turned away, moving around to the lab behind the control room, and grimaced.

  The lab was just like the one on the Agroa Gar, complete with the X-shaped examination table which she knew rather too intimately. Here, however, there was a pile of bones lying under it. They looked odd to Aneka, almost as though they had come from fake medical skeletons, and not Human ones.

  ‘They’re Xinti,’ Ella said, examining her scanner. ‘They used a synthetic material like adanymax to form the skeleton of their general-use bodies.’ Settling onto her haunches, she sifted through the pile. ‘And all the skulls are missing. I think the mercs brought all the crew bodies they could find in here, and they took the skulls for the processor units inside them.’

  ‘That’s… sick,’ Aneka said. She had no real love for the Xinti, but these had once been people and they had been treated as spare parts.

  ‘They were obviously here looking for tech they could pilfer.’

  ‘Yeah, so what else did they get?’

  The answer became obvious when they found one of the rooms on the starboard side empty aside from various severed cables.

  ‘This was where the stealth shield system was located,’ Al said, though he was only confirming what Aneka already knew.

  Apparently Ella remembered the layout that well too. ‘The stealth system,’ she said. ‘They took out the whole stealth system.’

  ‘Uh-huh. And these terrorist-pirate ships that have been attacking our ships, they have the same sort of stealth system.’

  Ella turned and looked at her. ‘You’re saying that the Herosians are behind the attacks.’ She sounded like she wanted Aneka to deny it, but knew she would not.

  ‘It’s a little circumstantial, but if they got this unit, and they never told anyone else about it…’

  ‘But Herosian ships have been attacked…’

  ‘According to the Herosians.’ Aneka shrugged. ‘Maybe they have. Maybe they attacked a few of their own ships to make it look good. Maybe they really aren’t responsible, or maybe these mercs are the ones doing it without the knowledge of the Herosian leadership, but…’

  ‘That sounds like so much gopi.’

  ‘Yeah, pretty much.’ She turned. ‘We should check the drive bays, see if they ripped anything else out, then…’

  ‘I’d like to send the survey microbots around this place before we go. I think we should fully document it. It’s a valuable archaeological site, aside from anything else, but those things may spot something we missed.’

  Aneka nodded. It was a good plan, even if it delayed their departure by a day. ‘Okay, but let’s finish our own survey first. You know, I have a feeling this is just going to confirm what Winter thought.’

  Ella looked around the empty bay again and then followed Aneka out. ‘I’m pretty sure you’re right, and I really wish you were wrong.’

  ‘Uh-huh. If there isn’t a way to sort this out quietly, it’s going to get really messy.’

  ‘It’s going to mean a war,’ Ella stated flatly. ‘The one thing the Federation was supposed to stop. The stupid, fafung gowdeyinjing!’

  Aneka just nodded. She could not have put it better herself.

  Part Five: Winter

  FScV Pegasus, 3.8.527 FSC.

  ‘Federal Science Vessel Pegasus to New Earth Control,’ Aneka said to the cockpit comms system. ‘Requesting clearance through to Station One for docking.’

  There was a pause as the flight controller checked their transponder and located them on radar, and then, ‘Pegasus, this is New Earth Control. Clearance granted through to…’ The voice stopped again, the woman sounding slightly confused when she continued. ‘Pegasus, we have a redirect. Please proceed to Corax high orbit and contact control there for further instructions.’

  Aneka frowned. ‘New Earth Control, please confirm that redirection.’

  ‘Pegasus, instructions confirmed. Authorisation is from the Federal Security Agency.’

  Aneka looked at the nav display; Al had already instructed the flight computer to plot a course to Corax. ‘New Earth Control from Pegasus, setting course for Corax. Out.’

  ‘Is there a problem?’ Ella’s voice came from the speakers.

  ‘Don’t know. We’ve been directed to Corax. FSA instructions.’

  ‘Winter protecting her assets?’

  ‘If she wanted to do that she should have got us into the station and out of the way.’ She reached out and activated the Pegasus’ electronic countermeasures suite. If they were attacked, that alone was not going to save them, but it might make the difference between survival and a cold, unpleasant death. ‘Ella, put your suit on. Just in case.’

  ~~~

  Corax was the largest moon of Joval VII, over half the size of New Earth it even had an atmosphere, even if it was mostly nitrogen and carbon dioxide at a temperature which could freeze you solid in a second. The misty air obscured the planet’s surface at the best of times; from high orbit the small world was one, grey cloud.

  ‘FNf Delta Brigantia to Pegasus.’ Aneka smiled as she recognised the voice of Captain Anderson over the radio.

  ‘Pegasus here. Nice to hear you, Anderson.’

  ‘Mutual. We’re just here to be a bridge. We have a shuttle docked to port ready to take you through to New Earth. Can you swing in to the starboard airlock?’

  Aneka reached for the controls, checking the sensor display for positioning. ‘Be there in… forty-five seconds.’

  ‘Just don’t scratch the paintwork, I just had her re-sprayed. Orders are to leave everything aboard. We’ll make sure your luggage and equipment get down. Winter wants you down on the surface as soon as possible.’

  ‘So why did she have us come out here?’

  ‘Military base? Don’t know, to be honest. Ours is not to reason why.’

  Aneka glided the Pegasus in alongside the larger ship, aligning the airlocks. ‘We’re in position, Brigantia.’ A few seconds later there was a series of thunks as the transfer tube locked in place and then a bleep from the console indicating they had a solid seal. ‘We have a good connection,’ Aneka said. �
��Transferring flight controls over to you.’

  ‘See you shortly,’ Anderson said, and the connection went dead.

  Marilyn Anderson was a tall, moderately attractive blonde with a muscled frame hidden under a standard, Navy issue, green shipsuit. It did not really do anything for her. ‘Aneka,’ Anderson said as the couple appeared in the airlock, ‘and this must be Ella. I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  ‘From Aneka?’ Ella asked.

  ‘No. Well, yes, but also from Chance and Shari. Word is you almost wore them both out.’

  Ella blushed. ‘I had help.’

  ‘They fought valiantly,’ Aneka said, ‘but no one can withstand the force of a horny redhead.’

  Anderson laughed. ‘Come on, we’d better get you through to the shuttle. Don’t want to keep the head of the FSA waiting too long.’

  She turned and led the way through the ship’s crosswalk passageway to the airlock on the other side.

  ‘Kind of a short visit,’ Aneka said. ‘Still nice to know this thing’s still flying.’

  Anderson nodded as they walked into the airlock. ‘It’ll take more than an exploding hyper-dense star to kill the Brigantia. Fair winds, you two.’ And the airlock door closed behind them.

  Shuttle B96921, En Route to New Earth.

  Apparently, the DuCar class of shuttles was named after a famous runner from the last century. Twin antimatter torch engines gave them a lot of power, but they were small and that meant they lacked internal gravity. And despite the modern mono-crystalline hull, it felt to Aneka like they were sitting in a paper aeroplane.

  Ella seemed nervous too. ‘This feels kind of… wrong,’ she said as the ship powered toward New Earth as fast as its engines could push it. She had her helmet in her lap, clutching it like it was a safety line.

  They were alone in the six-person passenger compartment, separated from the cockpit with its single pilot by a short corridor and a bank of equipment. ‘This isn’t what I’d describe as a logical plan,’ Aneka agreed.

  The pilot’s voice came over the cabin speakers. ‘We’ve hit the halfway point. We’ll have you there in another… forty minutes, give or take.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Aneka replied. The ship was already at top speed and the engines had been cut back to a low roar. The acceleration when they had left Corax had been around two gravities, uncomfortable but not painful. Now they would have been floating if they were not strapped in.

  ‘My pleasure,’ came the answer. Then, ‘What the fuck?!’ The ship’s axis shifted suddenly and the main engines cut back in, slamming them back into their seats.

  ‘The ship’s sensors have registered a gamma-ray beam passing close by the hull,’ Al said before the pilot could say anything. ‘The vessel firing was not apparent to the sensors prior to the attack.’

  ‘Shit!’ Aneka exclaimed. ‘Ella, get your helmet on. Now!’

  ‘We’re under attack,’ the pilot said, almost over the top of her. ‘I’m trying to evade, but… It came out of nowhere, right ahead of us. If we’re lucky our speed will take us past it before it can get a solid lock.’

  Ella was too busy forcing her head forward to get her helmet into place to worry about anything too much, yet. The pilot was shifting trajectory madly as beams lanced past the hull, Al indicating each miss along with the relative movements of the two ships. As far as Aneka could see, they were well matched, and the frigate-sized vessel was closing the distance quite effectively.

  Aneka gripped the arms of her chair as the shuttle twisted around on its longitudinal axis, and then there was a blinding flash of light from the front of the ship as the pilot’s efforts finally failed.

  ‘Control systems entirely disabled,’ Al said, his voice calm. ‘I doubt the pilot survived that.’

  ‘Aneka!’ Ella screamed, the sound carrying even through her helmet.

  ‘Stay calm,’ Aneka said as soon as Al indicated they had a connection between their implants.

  ‘That looked like it took out the whole cockpit,’ Ella replied. ‘How am I supposed to stay calm?’

  ‘Fair, but panicking won’t help…’

  ‘They’re just picking their target now. They’ll fire again…’

  ‘The engines are still on full burn. They’re having to play catch-up. There’s still a chance that we’ll be pushed clear.’

  ‘Right… Right, and the pilot will have sent a distress call.’

  ‘Yeah. So let’s just hang on and…’

  There was a sound like something big and ugly waking up in the back of the ship. Metal under extreme stress was trying very hard to hold itself together and not doing very well. Messages from the shuttle’s damage control system began to flash across Aneka’s vision, and then cut out suddenly. A graser beam had cut through one of the fuel tanks…

  ‘Aneka?’ Ella said. It was almost a whimper.

  ‘Hold on, love,’ Aneka replied. ‘I’m with you. Whatever happens.’

  With a sound like shattering glass, a rupture appeared in the ceiling over their heads. Beside Ella a conduit exploded and electricity arced out, dancing over her suit as though it was trying to find a way in. Another rupture tore through the hull beside Aneka and shards of crystalline metal slashed into her arm. Messages flashed in-vision indicating damage to her dermal layer. The ship gave a groan, as if in agony, and then there was silence.

  ‘Aneka?’

  Aneka undid her straps and pushed herself across to where Ella was sitting, still gripping the arms of her acceleration couch. ‘I’m here, love. A little cut up, but I’ll be fine. That short didn’t hurt you?’

  ‘No. If they decide to check on us…’

  ‘I’m guessing they won’t want to hang around. They’ve destroyed the shuttle. They probably figure everyone in here is dead.’ Al put up a message indicating that the air pressure was dropping. They had lost life support, but then they were lucky they had not been vaporised entirely.

  ‘Aren’t we?’ Ella replied, her voice soft. She was trying to stave off the panic Aneka had warned her against.

  ‘No, we’re not. Your suit has a good twelve hours of air.’

  ‘What about you?’

  Al displayed a figure for her. ‘I can go half that before I’ll start having problems, as long as I don’t do anything. And let’s face it, floating is all I have to do.’ Al displayed another message and Aneka bit her lips. ‘The… the cold might get to me before then. I might go inactive, but it’ll take a while, maybe a long while. We just need to hold on, okay?’

  Fear battled across Ella’s face framed by the padding of her helmet. She was trying hard to keep her breathing steady; losing it now would just use oxygen she might need later. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll be okay. As long as you’re here I’ll be okay.’

  ‘That’s my girl.’

  New Earth, 4.8.527 FSC.

  Diagnostic messages scrolled past on the inside of Aneka’s eyelids. Everything in the green, all optimal. She opened her eyes and sat up, not recognising the room around her, but immediately seeing someone who put a smile on her face.

  ‘You’re okay,’ Ella said, bouncing to her feet and rushing the couple of steps from her chair to hugging range.

  ‘I seem to be…’ She checked the downtime display at the end of the diagnostics. ‘Sixteen hours? I’ve been out for that long? What happened? I remember blacking out when the cold got to me…’

  ‘Aggy happened,’ Ella replied. ‘They only got a partial fix from the distress beacon before it failed. The Brigantia went out from Corax to try to find us, but Aggy got there first. She warped out from New Earth. Didn’t even have a crew aboard. Apparently Drake isn’t sure whether he wants to tell her off or kiss her.’

  ‘Probably both.’

  ‘Uh-huh. Her sensors are better than the Brigantia’s, obviously, and she found the wreckage. I think you still had oxygen, however you store it, but not much. Anyway, the Brigantia got us back to New Earth and I guess your systems decided keeping you out until you were fully re
paired was a good idea.’

  ‘I guess. Where are we?’

  ‘That same facility in the Islands. This is the security bunker. The medical facilities weren’t much use for you, but it seemed like a good place to put you while you recovered.’

  ‘We’re in a bunker?’

  ‘It seemed like a good idea, considering.’ Aneka looked around Ella to see Winter standing in the door of the room. She was not looking happy. ‘No one should have known where you’ve been. No one should have known you were back. Someone, however, put through that order to have you diverted to Corax, and tipped off one of those cloaked frigates that you would be flying from there to New Earth. And the orders did not come from me.’

  ‘You’ve got a mole in the FSA,’ Aneka said.

  ‘Quite. I suspected as much, and tried to negate the issue, but the informant has higher access than I’d have believed possible.’ She frowned. ‘What did you find on Idridia?’

  Aneka swung her legs out of bed. ‘Clothes first, debriefing after that.’

  Winter nodded. ‘I can wait that long,’ she said, and turned to leave the room. She stopped at the sound of a dull thud, turning and frowning back at Aneka. ‘Did that sound like…?’

  ‘An explosion,’ Aneka finished for her, her statement punctuated by two more noises, each louder than the last.

  ‘Get dressed quickly,’ Winter said.

  ‘We’re in a bunker though,’ Ella said, sounding nervous. ‘I mean, they can’t get in, right?’

  Turning again, Winter started out. ‘At the moment I’m not sure anything is secure. That includes the entry codes to this place.’