“All hands, go to your battlestations! This is not a drill!” came Lieutenant Commander Barrington’s voice over the comm system. “Long-range sensors have detected several Trellixian battlecruisers inbound.”
Mark sat up, laying down the book. They had hoped, by coming out this far, they would be past Trellixian-controlled space. This alert indicated they had guessed wrong. Mark stood and hastily straightened his uniform before hurrying out the door to the Command Center. In his mind he mentally prepared himself for combat, thinking about the weapons he had at his disposal. It only took a few moments to reach the Command Center as all officers’ quarters were on the command deck or the deck immediately below.
Stepping inside the hatch, Mark glanced at the tactical display. Two red threat icons were rapidly approaching the two human battlecruisers. Mark wondered where the enemy vessels had come from.
“Major Dolan,” said Lieutenant Commander Barrington, sitting in the command chair. “Captain Erickson is currently on a tour in Engineering. It will be a few minutes before he can get here.”
Mark nodded as he sat in his chair in front of the main tactical console. Ensign Carter moved over to one of the secondary consoles as soon as Mark arrived.
“They’re at three million kilometers and rapidly closing,” reported Carter. “We’ve already detected scans, so they know we’re here. They exited hyperspace and immediately set a course for us.”
“Weapons?”
“I have missiles loaded in all tubes, and our energy beams are ready to fire.”
Mark ran his hands over his console, activating the targeting systems. The Trellixians were still way out of range, but, if the enemy did a short hyperspace jump, that could change quickly. On Mark’s console a number of lights blinked green as more weapons came to life.
“Lieutenant Masterson, stand by to activate the Fold Space Drive. We’ll be jumping to the emergency coordinates,” ordered Lieutenant Commander Barrington. After their arrival in each system, a second system was designated in case an emergency arose requiring an immediate exit.
“I’m detecting an energy buildup in the Trellixian ships,” warned Kia. “The two Trellixian battlecruisers are preparing to jump!”
“Get us out of here!” ordered Barrington, his hands gripping the armrests of the command chair tightly. He focused intently on the tactical display.
Almost instantly the stars on the main viewscreen blurred as the Fold Space Drive activated.
“The Constellation?”
“Twelve thousand kilometers away from us but on the same course,” replied Kia. “The Trellixians jumped in at our previous coordinates.”
“How close would we have been?” asked Barrington.
Kia turned, a concerned look on her face. “They would have jumped in right on top of us.”
Lieutenant Commander Barrington leaned back in the command chair. “It almost seems as if they were looking for us.”
“Is that possible?” asked Brett with a deep frown. “Surely encountering those two ships in the system was merely a coincidence.”
“Perhaps,” replied Barrington doubtfully. “But why else would those two ships be in that red dwarf system with no habitable planets? There was only one small asteroid field.”
Brett did not reply. He had no explanation for it.
-
Later Lisa and the others were back in the lab where Derek was still working on his quantum computer. Over the last several weeks they had all made suggestions to help get the computer functioning correctly. When Derek loaded his algorithms a few weeks ago, he had been greatly disappointed when the computer’s accuracy improved to only 82 percent. It was far less than the 99.98 percent he had expected. All of them helped Derek make some minor adjustments to the algorithms, and today they were ready to test them.
“What did you think about those two Trellixian battlecruisers finding us?” asked Derek as he inserted a USB drive to upload the latest version of the algorithms.
“Surely it was just a coincidence they found us,” said Brenda as she watched over Derek’s shoulder.
“Maybe,” replied Lisa. “Keep in mind they know we’re out here somewhere. They scanned us after we jumped into the system they were colonizing. What if they’re searching for us?”
Brett was silent as he mulled over what Lisa said. “We’ll be dropping out of Fold Space several times in the next week or so in order to check out a number of potentially habitable systems. If we stumble across more Trellixian battlecruisers, we’ll know we’re in trouble.”
“We can always jump back into Fold Space and escape,” replied Kia. Then she looked at Brett. “Can’t we?”
Brett nodded. “Maybe, if we have enough time. We don’t know how far the Trellixian sensors can detect us. Their sensors may be better than ours.”
“Let’s quit worrying about the lizards for a moment and see what the computer does. I’ve got the algorithms loaded.”
Lisa looked at Derek. She knew how important this project was to him. He spent most of his off-duty hours working on it. “Let’s turn it on and see what we have.”
With a grin, Derek pressed several icons on his computer screen. The quantum computer had grown in size since they had left Earth. It now covered Derek’s entire workspace along one wall of the lab.
The computer came to life as various small computer screens activated. Derek leaned back with a satisfied smile on his face. “First question?”
“What color is the sky?” asked Brett slyly.
Derek keyed in the question, and an answer immediately appeared.
It depends on the atmospheric composition and the type of star the planet orbits.
Brett frowned. Was it possible Derek had finally gotten this quantum computer to work?
-
For the next twenty minutes the five asked the computer a number of questions. Each question was a little more difficult than the one before. Finally Brett entered some stellar navigational equations to see how the computer would handle them. He had barely pressed the enter button when the answers appeared. “Damn, that was fast. Those were not simple navigational equations either.”
“What’s the accuracy rate?” asked Brenda.
“Nearly 99.8 percent,” answered Derek with a broad grin on his face.
They all looked at one another, feeling the excitement in the lab. Did they actually have a functioning quantum computer?
“What do we do now?” asked Lisa. A functioning quantum computer could be a real asset to their mission.
Derek stood, stretching. “I have some programs I want the computer to run overnight. It’s a massive list of questions and even some complex equations that would take a normal computer weeks to answer. We’ll check it again tomorrow and see how it does. If it passes those tests, then I suggest we speak to Captain Erickson about installing the computer in the Command Center. With a few modifications it can easily be wired into the main computer console.”
“Maybe we’d better speak to Major Dolan first,” suggested Lisa. During their last breakfast meeting together, Professor Wilkens had casually mentioned that the major had been told to look out for her group.
Brett nodded his agreement. “If we decide to install this computer in the Command Center, it might be a good idea for all of us, including Major Dolan, to sit down with Captain Erickson and Lieutenant Commander Barrington. I doubt if any of them fully understand just what a quantum computer is and what it’s capable of.”
“I’ll talk to the major and explain what’s going on,” said Lisa. She figured he was off duty and would be down in the crew’s mess eating with some of his Marines. Besides, she wanted to speak with Corporals Peterson and Hambridge. So far she had not spoken to them, though she knew they were on board. The two had better not be avoiding her. She had become quite close to them during the time she had been on the front skirmish line in the mountains as well as the battle at General Mitchell’s base.
“I’ll go with you,” said Brett.
/>
-
A few minutes later Lisa and Brett stepped into the crew’s mess, spotting Major Dolan eating with Lieutenant Brown and both Corporal Hambridge and Corporal Peterson. With a big grin Lisa made a beeline for their table, coming to a stop and glaring at the two corporals. “Why haven’t the two of you stopped by to say hello?” she demanded with her hands on her hips.
Both Peterson and Hambridge looked as if they wished they were anywhere else but sitting here in front of Lisa.
“We weren’t sure how you would feel about finding us on the ship,” stammered Peterson.
“It was Professor Wilkens’s idea,” said Hambridge defensively.
Lisa suddenly laughed. “I’m glad the two of you are here. It makes me feel much safer.”
“Really?” said Corporal Hambridge, his face lighting up. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Besides,” Lisa added, not able to resist teasing the two, “if I need to go to the surface of a dangerous planet, I know exactly who will be with me.”
The two corporals turned pale, not sure how to respond.
“Well, I’d better get back to my duties,” said Lieutenant Brown, picking up his empty plate and indicating for Lisa to sit down. “I have some rounds to make.”
Lisa and Brett sat down, staring across the table at Major Dolan.
“I’m guessing I’m the real reason the two of you are here,” Mark said, laying down his fork and looking at the pair.
Lisa nodded and began explaining about the quantum computer, with Brett adding information he thought might be useful. Both Corporals Hambridge and Peterson looked totally confused by the discussion.
“What the three of you are discussing is way over my head,” Peterson said, standing. “I’m going to my quarters and getting some shut-eye.”
“Same here,” said Hambridge. “It’s good seeing you, Lieutenant Reynolds.”
Lisa watched as the two left. She really did miss their company.
“So this new computer of yours would be extremely useful to the mission?” said Mark, eyeing the pair. “Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Lisa answered. “It will be far faster than the computers currently in the Command Center and could even give us some valuable insights into the Trellixians.”
Mark leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath. “I suppose you want me to bring this up to Captain Erickson?”
“We’ll be there as well,” replied Lisa. She didn’t want the major to feel he was expected to do this on his own. Besides, the captain and Lieutenant Commander Barrington might ask some technical questions.
Mark glanced at his watch. “It’ll be another few hours before we drop out of Fold Space into the next star system. And it’s a white dwarf system, not expected to have any habitable planets. From there, we will decide on our next destination.” With a long look at the two young specialists, he said, “I’ll set up a meeting after we depart the next system. That will give you a few days to get your presentation ready for the captain.”
“Thank you,” Lisa replied. She was certain, with all of them there, the captain would agree to installing the quantum computer in the Command Center.
Brett stood, smiling. “We’ll leave you to your meal. It’s been good speaking to you, Major.”
Lisa stood as well, and, a few moments later, the two were out of the mess hall and on their way back to the deck where their quarters were. “That went well,” she said.
Brett nodded. “Let’s just hope our meeting with the captain does also.”
-
Mark watched as the two left the mess hall. He had a vague idea what a quantum computer was. Even after the pair had explained it to him in more detail, he still felt confused. However, this seemed like a major advancement in computer technology, something that could be useful to the mission. He would make it a point to speak to Captain Erickson before the day was out.
Picking up his fork, he dug back into his Salisbury steak. The food on the Vengeance was much better than he had expected. While he could eat in the officers’ mess, he preferred to take some of his meals with the enlisted men and women. Nearly all his Marines came here as well.
As Mark ate, he wondered what his sister, Jennifer, was doing. He had spoken to her just before they left on the mission. It seemed she was enjoying her new job at the medical facility in Complex One. When he got back, it might be a good idea for the two of them to pay another visit to their parents’ house in Houston. Mark wanted to check on the house as well as pick up a few more items.
Finishing his meal, Mark took a quick tour of the ship before returning to his quarters. He planned on getting up early the next morning as Lieutenant Brown would be leading the two squads of Marines on a two kilometer run through the ship’s corridors, and Mark intended to tag along. He was determined to stay in shape, even though a majority of his time was now spent in the Command Center.
-
Trellixian Battle Commander Balforr was not pleased with his latest orders. It seemed the Humans had indeed destroyed Battle Commander Alnod’s fleet. The reports also indicated the Humans had emplaced a powerful defensive grid in orbit around their planet. Even worse, two of their small battlecruisers had left the Human solar system and were en route toward Voltrex space. It was also confirmed that Jelnoid technology was in use on board the Human vessels.
“The Humans again,” muttered Second Officer Jaltor, a deep frown splitting his forehead. “We should have nuked the entire planet when we first arrived over their cities.”
“It would have been the best move strategically, considering the size of their military forces,” replied Balforr, fully in agreement about nuking the planet. However, the Empire had been more interested in acquiring additional living space and had deemed an invasion was the best method. The invasion had failed miserably, and now it appeared the Humans might be on the verge of interfering with the expansion of the Trellixian Empire.
Second Officer Jaltor called up a three-dimensional map of the area of space around them. A number of Trellixian fleets were shown as small green icons spread across a region over three hundred light-years across. On one side of that region was Trellixian-controlled space; the other side was controlled by the Voltrex. “The High Command is asking the impossible. How can we ever find two ships? Tens of thousands of stars are between here and Capal Four.”
“Actually it’s closer to three million,” Joltan spoke from Navigation. “Several large star clusters are between here and there as well.”
“If we were to include all the star systems,” answered Balforr, “but we’re not. We need to limit our search to only those systems capable of supporting inhabitable planets. If this is a Human exploration mission, those are the types of systems they will seek. By concentrating our ships in such systems, it will greatly increase our chances of intercepting them before they reach Voltrex space.”
Second Officer Jaltor gestured toward the large three-dimensional map near the tactical display. “If we consider Earth as their origin point, then add Capal Four and finally the latest system the two ships were spotted in, we can greatly reduce the number of stars we need to search.” In the three-dimensional map a blue line appeared, connecting Earth and the two star systems the Human ships had appeared in. While not a straight line, the general course of the Human vessels was obvious.
Balforr stood and stepped off the command pedestal to gaze at the large holographic display. “They’ll be in Voltrex space in ten to fifteen days.” Balforr knew why the High Command was so concerned. If the Humans found the Voltrex and gave them their Jelnoid technology, this region of the galaxy would be forever off-limits to the Empire.
With Jelnoid technology, the Voltrex could resist the Trellixian fleets and possibly destroy them. So much living space would be lost to the Empire. Balforr continued. “All fleets have been ordered to cease action against the Voltrex and to search for the two Human ships.”
Balforr picked up a laser pointer and indicated an area of space. �
�We will spread out our fleet over this region between the last known position of the Human vessels and Voltrex space. By limiting our ships to systems with potential habitable worlds, we will greatly increase our chances of intercepting the two vessels.”
“The ships are dangerous,” warned Jaltor. “They will have Jelnoid energy shields and primary energy beams.”
Balforr nodded. “That’s why we will have six ships in each squadron. If any encounter the two vessels, their orders are to disable but not destroy them. If we can take out their drive systems, then the rest of the fleet can be summoned to aid in their destruction or possible capture.”
“Capture?” asked Jaltor, his eyes focusing sharply on Balforr.
“Yes, capture,” replied Balforr. “If we can capture them, perhaps it will allow us access to Jelnoid technology.” If he could do this, it would instantly reestablish him as a qualified battle commander, and his status with the High Command would be restored.
“I will send out the orders,” replied Jaltor.
Battle Commander Balforr gazed at the tactical display of the multiple green icons designating the ships in his fleet. Since the loss of both Battle Commanders Ulvan and Dramm, the surviving ships of their fleets had been added to Balforr’s. A few reinforcing ships had arrived as well. His fleet now consisted of eighty-six vessels. He would place his flagship and twenty other battlecruisers in the center of the search area. The rest of the fleet would be assigned to search the most likely systems in which the Human ships might appear. Once they did, and, if the Human space drives could be disabled, Balforr would take his larger force to either destroy or capture the enemy vessels.
-
Captain Erickson, Lieutenant Commander Barrington, Major Dolan, and all five of the special lieutenants were in a small briefing room. Erickson was curious to hear what the young lieutenants had to say. Before leaving on this mission, he had been briefed by General Mitchell as well as Professor Wilkens. It had been highly recommended he listen closely to any advice or suggestions made by the small group. He had also been informed by Professor Wilkens that Major Dolan would at times represent the group if needed.
Earth Fall_To the Stars Page 13
