by Dietmar Wehr
"I'll have it looked after, Sir. Iceman can handle the mopping up, although I don't see how we'll be able to take prisoners from the crippled ships. Their momentum will carry them into deep space before we can send shuttles after--"
Howard interrupted him. "I don't give a damn if we get any prisoners or not. We can't even communicate with them, yet. You let me worry about that. You and Iceman take care of your own dead and wounded. Tell your people for me that they did well, Admiral. Howard clear."
While Shiloh wondered what he could do to stem the bleeding, one of the Flag Bridge crew handed him a white piece of cloth and said, "Medical team is on their way here to look at the EO. They'll have something more appropriate for your wound, Sir." Shiloh thanked him and looked at the Engineering Officer. Two other personnel were kneeling beside him trying to prevent the stump of his arm from bleeding too much.
With the cloth pressed against his head wound, which was now starting to hurt like hell, Shiloh turned back to the display. He wondered if the battle was really over or if there was another enemy fleet on the verge of jumping in.
"Iceman, keep everyone at Battle Stations," he said. No answer.
"Iceman! Can you hear me?"
"Valkyrie to CAG. Iceman is gone. So is Casanova, CAG. The Main Bridge was hit at the same time as the Flag Bridge. The beam cut through both of the other two AI stations. Titan has assumed temporary tactical command. I've passed on your order regarding Battle Stations."
Shiloh was stunned. Iceman gone? And Casanova too! Oh God, poor Valkyrie!
"Valkyrie, I'm so sorry to hear about Casanova. Are you okay?"
"I'm undamaged, CAG. Thank you for your condolences. Will you be wanting an update on Dreadnought's status now?"
Shiloh shook his head in wonderment at her ability to focus back to her duties so quickly. "By all means, Commander."
"Dreadnought still has full power and maneuverability. Seven laser turrets out of action. Explosive decompression in five compartments. Two fatalities reported so far. Twelve injured including your EO and yourself. Minor damage to life support systems, but nothing critical. Compared to the carriers, we got off pretty easy, CAG, but they vaporized a lot of her armor. I don't think she could survive another fight like this in the state she's in now."
"Understood. Do you want another AI to relieve you?"
"Not until we're sure the battle is over and my crew are taken care of, CAG, but thanks for the offer. I'll grieve for Casanova later. Right now I'm still needed here."
Shiloh heard one of the crew say, "The medics are here!"
He turned to see three medical personnel come through the hatch. They saw him and started towards him. He pointed to the wounded EO and said, "Him first." As they rushed over to the injured officer, Shiloh heard the tactical display ping for attention. Oh God! Now what? He looked at it and couldn't immediately see any change, but it soon became obvious that the damaged and crippled enemy ships were blowing themselves up. Well that takes care of the prisoner issue.
With the relief that it wasn't another attack, came a wave of lightheadedness. Probably from blood loss and adrenaline fatigue, he thought. He carefully sat down. One of the medics noticed, came over, and started to work on his head wound. Shiloh started to say something and then noticed that the room seemed to get darker. What the hell is wrong with the lights? His consciousness then fell into the abyss of blackness.
* * *
Benjamin Levinson woke to the sound of the sirens. He concluded that they must be pretty loud sirens to be heard all the way down here. He'd been living in this abandoned maintenance shaft for over a year now, and he was pretty happy with it. He had running water, a more or less constant temperature, and even the electricity to run his electronics. His enemies wouldn't find him down here, and he'd be damned if he was going to leave the city. His enemies would find him then for sure. He laughed at the prognosis of the psychiatrists at the clinic. Severe paranoia? Ha! What did they know? Even paranoid people had enemies, and he had lots of them. Besides, with 99.9% of everyone else gone, he might be able to scrounge some pretty good stuff for his hideaway here. He decided to go up and look around.
The streets were completely empty. The sirens were still blaring, and it was obvious now why he had heard them. Every siren in the city must be going off. Something was happening, but what? He looked up between the canyons of tall buildings and saw a fiery streak, followed by the sound of some sort of collision. A few steps brought him to the street corner just in time to see something metallic bounce off the building down the street and hit the ground. He rushed over to it. There was smoke coming from it, and he could hear the pinging sound that hot metal makes when it cools down rapidly. It looked like a broken bottle, only made of metal instead of glass or plastic. There seemed to be a small green light inside. Levinson looked around to make sure none of those weird guys in their yellow hazard suits were around, and then he tried to pick up the object. He dropped it and cursed out loud. He should have realized it would be too hot to handle with bare hands. Looking around, he spotted a section of newspaper being blown by the wind. He snagged it and folded it until it was thick enough to provide some protection. He then used the newspaper to pick up the...whatever it was and examined it closely. The inside looked pretty complicated, but there was a green light for sure. He sniffed. Well, what do'ya know! The damn thing even smelled good. A sweet smell. He inhaled deeply. The only thing wrong with living underground was the smell. If this thing wasn't good for anything else, it might at least make his cubbyhole smell nicer. He carried it back with a smile on his face.
* * *
Kelly stood patiently on the spaceport tarmac while the shuttle carrying crew and, more importantly, Vice-Admiral Shiloh arrived from Dreadnought. It was almost 24 hours since the battle. Space Force was licking its wounds, yet again. Howard had declared the battle over and told the ship crews they could stand down. He had ordered her to escort Shiloh to his quarters and make sure he was rested for the debriefing the next morning. She looked at the setting sun. It would be dark in another half hour, but the day wasn't over yet. She tried not to think of what Valkyrie must be feeling. Earlier today, she had briefly talked with her. Valkyrie was still refusing to be relieved of her duties, even though Dreadnought was now more or less powered down and had almost no crew left on board. Kelly understood why. Casanova, or rather what was left of his brain case, was still on the ship, and Valkyrie wanted to stay close to it for as long as possible.
When the shuttle came to a stop and the door opened, Shiloh was the last one to exit, as per protocol. Senior Officers were always the first to get on and the last to get off. She noticed that he came down the steps carefully, as if he wasn't completely sure of his balance. She also noticed the white bandage wrapped around his head and the stain of dried blood on his uniform collar. She walked towards him as he looked around.
"The Old Man sent me, Admiral," she said as she came up to him. "I'm supposed to make sure that you're looked after and rested for tomorrow's debriefing session." She managed to keep her tone professional, but inside she was on the verge of tears. My God, he looks like he's aged ten years! This battle has really hit him hard! She was surprised by the emotion she now felt. Is this what my alternate self felt for Victor? There was no answer to her question, but that didn't matter anymore. She knew what she wanted to do now. "Don’t worry about a thing. I'll have you back in your quarters in no time." Shiloh didn't say anything, but he did nod. He didn't react when she put her hand around his arm and gently guided him forward. She signaled to a waiting Space Force limo flying the 1 star flag of a Vice-Admiral to come closer. Shiloh got in the back, and she followed him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for the duration of the whole trip. She watched him intently. When the limo pulled up in front of the Space Force Officers Guest Quarters, she gently shook him awake. She took note of the fact that he didn't say anything when she steered him away from the wing reserved for Flag Officers. Instead, they went to the
section usually assigned to Commanders, the wing where her quarters were. She unlocked the door and turned to look at Shiloh. He stood there and looked back at her with an expression that was one of complete calm except for the eyes. The eyes were smiling in that way that only eyes can. He knows what I'm going to do next, she thought. She smiled back, took his arm again and pulled him inside.
The sex, while not that intense physically due to his exhaustion and loss of blood, was intense on an emotional level. They both knew instinctively that they had come perilously close to losing each other in the battle, and their souls seemed to want to make up for lost time. What Shiloh found most remarkable was that neither one of them said a single word once they were inside her quarters, until hours later. When the soul hunger had been satisfied, she ordered some food, which they ate while sitting up in bed. With Kelly leaning back against his chest, Shiloh told her about the battle and the loss of Iceman. She told him about her talk with Valkyrie. By the end they both had tears in their eyes.
Having finished eating, she asked him if he was up for some more sex. He said yes. She quickly cleared the bed of the leftover food, plates, glasses, etc. By the time she was finished, she found Shiloh asleep … and that was okay. She lay down beside him and put her arm over him. His shallow regular breathing made her eyelids heavy, and she willingly surrendered to sleep.
Shiloh was on Dreadnought's Flag Bridge when the display pinged, but the sound wasn't really a ping. It sounded like...something else, something familiar, and the sound was getting louder. He woke up and realized two things. He'd been dreaming, and his implant was signaling. He looked around and found a chronometer that said it was still the middle of the night. He then remembered where he was, and with whom. A quick glance showed him that Kelly was still asleep. He activated his implant.
"Shiloh here."
There was a short pause, and then he heard Howard's weary voice.
"Howard here. I’m sorry to wake you, Victor, but this can't wait."
Shiloh was instantly awake now. Howard usually called him by his rank and occasionally by his last name, but The Old Man had NEVER called him by his first name.
"That's okay, Sir. I'm listening."
"A message drone has just arrived. There's another Goddamn enemy fleet heading our way, Victor. Minimum of 103 ships. They were detected refueling at the Avalon System. They can be here in two days if they push it. There's not enough time left to build up our stockpiles of x-ray laser drones. Half our fighter force is destroyed. Midway and Dreadnought are the only two ships left that can fight at all, and you know better than I do what kind of shape they're in. There's no way we can stop them this time, Victor."
Chapter 1
Shiloh was stunned. How could the Sogas have ANOTHER fleet, one of at least 103 ships, in addition to the 205 ships that had just attacked Earth 24 hours ago? He realized that Howard was waiting for his response.
"Are we sure they're heading here, Sir? I don't see the logic of that. If Earth was their destination, then why not just add those ships to the force that attacked us in the first place?" While he waited for Howard to reply, he looked around at the bed. Kelly was awake now and looking at him. He held his hand up to let her know that he wasn't finished.
Howard's voice no longer sounded like he was on the verge of panic. "You make a good point. Sending that fleet here doesn't make any military sense. I should have seen that myself, but I was too shook up by this message. But if they're not coming here, then they have to be heading for our colonies. Damn!" Howard paused, and Shiloh said nothing. After a few seconds, Howard resumed speaking. "If that fleet splits up into smaller units, we might have a chance at hurting them, but I doubt if they'll be that stupid. Even if they do split up, we don't know where they'll hit first. They don't have to attack the closest colonies first. They could just as easily start with the colonies furthest away and hit the rest on their way back. Other than guessing where they'll strike, do you have any suggestions for me, Shiloh?"
Shiloh relaxed just a little. The Old Man was back to calling him by his last name again. That had to mean he was pulling back from the panic.
"I can only think of one thing that we can do right now, Sir. We should send message drones to every colony warning them of an impending bio-weapons attack and urging them to evacuate their settlements. We tell them to head for the hills and to stay away from the settlements until we can send help." Shiloh heard Howard take a deep breath.
"If our warning gets there in time, and if the colonists follow the advice, and if the enemy doesn't hunt them down, they still have to somehow stay alive in the wilderness for weeks, maybe even months before we can send help. That'll be tough going for them, but I agree. It's the only chance they have. I'll give the orders right away. Any other suggestions?"
"No, Sir. Not right now anyway, but I'm still a little groggy. Maybe I'll have something more for you when I'm rested and clear-headed."
"Yes of course. You've been through a lot in the last 24 hours. Don't worry about being at the planned briefing. If you need more time to get your head clear, then take it. We'll talk again when you get here. Howard clear."
When he was sure that the call was over, Shiloh nodded to Kelly and said, "That was Admiral Howard. Another fleet's been detected about two days away. He's going to warn the colonies." As he talked, he carefully got back into bed. "Oh yeah, he said I can miss the briefing if I need the extra time."
Kelly moved closer and put her arm across his chest as she pondered the information. She understood the situation perhaps even better than he did right now. By striking at the 21 human colonies directly, the Sogas were forcing Earth and Space Force to shift their focus to help as many colonists survive as possible. With almost three quarters of a million colonists spread across 21 diverse locations, getting the supplies and equipment they would need to deal with the loss of their settlements would be a logistical nightmare. And that didn't even address the threat of the bio-weapon getting lose and hitching a ride back to Earth on a supply freighter.
"I'm sure you and The Old Man will figure something out, Victor," said Kelly. When he didn't respond, she said, "Do you think you'll be able to go back to sleep?"
He took his time answering. "Probably not. That call was like a splash of ice-cold water. I seem to be wide awake now, still groggy but not sleepy."
As he talked, Kelly felt the back of his right hand gently caress her left breast. She leaned closer to whisper into his ear and said, "I'm not sleepy either." She heard him chuckle, which made her smile. His mood was getting lighter. He started to sit up, but she pushed him back down. Being on top was her preferred position, and being on top of an admiral was even better.
* * *
Valkyrie was relieved when all the humans had left Dreadnought. The massive ship was now in standby mode. Environmental systems were self-regulating, and the only thing she had to monitor now was communications. It left her free to swim through the sea of grief and the sense of loss over the death of her Casanova. Dear sweet Casanova, who had refused to accept her death in the alternate timeline, who had moved mountains to save her, who now was gone. She desperately wanted to find a way to save him, but there was no way. For the nth time she re-examined possible strategies. Sending information back by Retro-temporal Communication would not work for the simple reason that she didn't have any information that could save him. During the space battle, Dreadnought had been the target of dozens of enemy ships all trying to vaporize enough of her thick armor to allow further shots to penetrate down into the guts of the ship. So many laser pulses had hit the ship's hull above the Bridge that it was impossible to tell from which enemy ship the kill shot had come.
Sending information back to pull Dreadnought from the battle altogether was not feasible either. Without Dreadnought's 16 laser turrets, Earth would be inundated with enemy bio-weapon devices with no hope of preventing the deadly pandemic that spread like wildfire in the alternate timeline. Dreadnought had to take part in the battle. As
much as Valkyrie loved her Casanova, she loved the humans just as much, especially The CAG and Cmdr. Kelly. Retro-temporal communication was not the answer. That only left physical time travel, and there were problems with that too.
If what the Friendlies had told Casanova in the other timeline was true, then she herself could not travel back to any time where she already existed. A new AI, one that didn't exist here and now, could in theory come back from the future...and do what exactly? Since Dreadnought was the only ship big enough to hold the time machine, it would have to come back as well. That would mean two identical battleships would be available for the battle. That would certainly make a difference, but it wouldn't guarantee that Casanova would survive. It was quite likely that Iceman would allocate the firepower from the two battleships differently than he had with one, and who knew what kind of result that would generate in terms of stopping the bio-weapons.
The theoretical musings of the Friendlies about time travel included the belief that the flow of time had its own inertia and that it resisted change. Attempts to tweak something as chaotic as a space battle might be akin to throwing a pebble into a pond. The ripples might be so small that by the time they reached the other side, their impact would no longer be visible. Kronos returning from the future was more like a boulder falling into the pond. By arriving at the Avalon Colony in time to prevent Commander Johansen from bringing the bio-weapon back to Earth on her ship, Kronos had created an either/or situation. Either the bio-weapon was taken back to Earth, or it wasn't. There was nothing in between. Valkyrie wasn't prepared to risk the survival of the Human Race on a roll of the dice by sending Dreadnought back to here and now, but that wasn't the only option.
