by Dan Worth
‘He knows better than that, or so I’m told.’ Haines looked at Kline for re-assurance.
‘His record and his psycho-evaluation show that he is up to the job,’ Kline replied. ‘Give him some time to come to terms with what we told him. He’ll be fine, I guarantee it. His loyalty has never been in question. What about Chen? Why did you choose her?’
‘She’s very able, though the same can be said for a number of her colleagues, but it was the way she acted at Urranakar that clinched it.’
‘You deliberately handed the fortunes of your civilisation to the instigator of a massacre?’ said Mentith incredulously.
‘I chose Chen because she demonstrated that when cornered she will fight. She showed at Urranakar that when her back is against the wall that she will stop at nothing to defend her ship and take down the enemy.’
‘Well I think she’s unstable. You’re playing a very dangerous game, George.
‘It’s a risk I’m willing to accept.’
‘That’s not the only thing I have my doubts about though,’ said Mentith. ‘Are you quite sure that this war is necessary?’
‘The Joint Chiefs have made their decision.’
‘Care to explain, George?’
Haines took a key from his breast pocket and unlocked one of his desk drawers. Inside was a small armoured briefcase. Haines took that out of the drawer and pressed his thumb against a reader pad set into the lock. The case clicked open. Haines removed a folder marked ‘Eyes Only’ and opened it on his desk.
‘Hmm, a paper file?’ said Mentith. ‘How quaint.’
‘Some things are too sensitive to be stored digitally Irakun. No-one can hack a piece of paper inside a vault, which incidentally, is where this will be returning shortly.’
‘I must say, the Human race’s willingness to betray its own species for material gain never ceases to amaze me.’
‘Nor me. Anyway, Director Kline here was good enough to furnish us with this information some months ago. His networks within the Empire have uncovered a new K’Soth ship building programme. We believe that this is in direct response to our own naval improvements in recent years. Though it has taken the Empire a typically long time to react, they are now building new classes of warships that are far more effective in combat than their current fleet. Some may already be in service.’ Haines unfolded a blueprint of a K’Soth vessel, depicting the massive battleship in both plane and various profile views. Whilst sharing the basic split delta design of other K’Soth ships it was far larger, according to the blueprint’s scale and sported a large number of heavy turrets.
‘So you see, Mentith my old friend, it is imperative that we act now, whilst we are still capable of defeating the Empire. We have pinpointed the systems in which we believe these new classes of vessels are being constructed and we have adjusted our battle plans accordingly.’
‘Are you sure George? Our intelligence suggests nothing of the kind.’
‘Because you’ve never looked, that’s why. Why should you? What difference would a new breed of K’Soth warships make if they engaged your fleet? Very little, unless they’ve suddenly made a fifty thousand year technological leap in the past six months.’
‘Perhaps.’
‘Our sources are reliable,’ said Kline. ‘The K’Soth are in a desperate economic condition, desperate enough to utilise slave labour in their shipyards. Slaves who have no love of their imperial masters are all too willing to talk to us.’
‘I just wish we could have the Arkari Navy fighting alongside us,’ said Haines. ‘I’ve seen your ships in action, in Eta Cassiopeia at the end of the last war. It scared the hell of out me then Mentith, and you were fighting on our side! You know I actually felt sorry for the K’Soth,’ he gave a short laugh. ‘First and last time I ever felt any pity for those bastards.’
Mentith looked at him directly. ‘If the choice were mine to make, then we would be fighting along you, and this war would last hours. Alas, our government has no interest in doing so. They remain isolationist. To them, the defence of our sphere of space is all that matters, they have no wish to acquire an empire and neither do the people. We have all that we could ever require on a material level.’
‘But can’t they see the bigger picture?’
‘I believe that they can, far more than you realise, but sometimes they take the long view to extremes and they become over cautious. It is I and my comrades who are more willing to give in to our more primal urges. As alas, are you.’
‘Christ Irakun, don’t pull the ‘holier than thou routine,’ I know you better than that.’
‘Consider this: after the K’Soth are gone, what then? There will be chaos once they leave. They may be oppressive, but they do represent order. To dissolve their empire at a stroke is a recipe for anarchy. The Commonwealth will need to maintain a considerable presence to keep the peace for years to come. We all know where that can lead, over-expansion, plus we all know about the activities of some of your more ruthless commercial organisations. Khonsari Mining for example? They were quietly building their own little empire of their own till they took things a step too far. Meanwhile their activities were uncovered by the very man that you have consigned to obscurity. Doubtless other companies would jump at the chance of virgin territory to exploit, newly liberated worlds crying out for investment, reconstruction contracts and Commonwealth manufactured goods? They’d welcome them with open arms until they discover that their natural resources and wealth are disappearing off-world. Then of course when it all start to turn ugly the private security companies would make their share keeping the natives in line. You should study your species’ own history more George, you might learn something.’
‘I am well aware of the precedents. But I do not decide Commonwealth foreign policy. I only advise my civilian superiors when necessary and carry out the orders of our government to the best of my ability. Based on my advice, on that of Director Kline here and many others within the government, the decision has already been taken. We will demolish the K’Soth Empire in the near future, and I intend to be the chief architect of its destruction. We will prevail.’
Mentith sighed. ‘Then, so be it. I wish you the best of luck George. You may need it.’
Chapter 15
The trio’s departure from Bridgetown was agonisingly slow. They contacted the local law enforcement authorities and, with help from Ambassador Croft, managed to convince them of their innocence in the demise of the old Dendratha who now lay in a sorry bloody heap on the balcony of Katherine’s hotel room. The local militia cordoned off the room and confiscated the corpse and the remains of the parasitic creature as evidence, though it was doubtful they knew what the latter really was. They also took statements from all three of the off-worlders and consulted at length with Croft via the link through Quickchild, who had managed to get a possible ID from the Erais authorities on the unfortunate victim.
It turned out that one of the town’s vagrants had gone missing shortly after Katherine had arrived. His description loosely matched that of the Dendratha that had followed them here to Bridgetown as the host for the creature, though it seemed that the thing inside him had taken the time to acquire new garments as a form of disguise. His death was apparently of little consequence to the authorities, though they warned the three that they would be keeping a close eye on them. However this was something of an empty threat, given the standards of communication technology on the planet and the remoteness of their destination from Bridgetown, a full quarter of the circumference of the planet’s equator away.
Fortunately, the militia let the trio go in time to catch their train to Marantis. They hurried back up the valley side from the hotel to the station through the bustling maze of streets, arriving out of breath and sweating just in time to board the gigantic vehicle. The train was identical to the first one they had caught down from Erais, and once again they had cabins in the first class section at the front of the train. This time however the carriages were much busier an
d they shared them with a number of upper class families of pilgrims. The corridors and communal spaces were noisy with the sounds of the ‘pampered brats disporting themselves,’ as Rekkid put it, obviously irritated by the youngsters’ presence.
Once underway, the train made its way across one of the soaring bridges that spanned the gorge before the line rose to cross the cracked plateau that formed this region of the planet. It took them through an area of outstanding scenery: bridges and viaducts that soared precariously across mile deep chasms, tunnels that plunged through the rough sandy peaks, tracks that wound along the side of precipitous gorges, barren wastelands and lush sheltered valleys as the train carried them at tremendous speed.
It was whilst the train had slowed to traverse a particularly sinuous section of track that Rekkid received a call via Quickchild to his computer: it was Captain Spiers of the Darwin. He seemed rather excited, thought Rekkid, who considered himself to be quite adept at judging the mood of humans.
‘Good ah... afternoon Captain,’ said Rekkid, having to think quickly to remember what part of the day it was supposed to be. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘Perhaps you might like to ask Doctor O’Reilly to join you for this conversation Professor? We’ve found something during our investigations of this system that might interest you.’
‘Oh really?’ relied Rekkid, his interest piqued. ‘Well, well. Just a moment, I’ll go and fetch her.’
He got up and left his cabin and went to find Katherine. He eventually located her in the observation deck, playing a ball game with two Dendratha children who twittered excitedly as Rekkid entered. He shot them a look of distaste. Katherine saw his reaction and smirked.
‘Katherine, have you got a moment?’
‘Sure Rekkid. What is it?’
‘The Darwin has found something that they want to show us. Spiers is on the comm., he seems quite excited I’d say.’
‘Really? Hang on; I’ll just extricate myself from this game.’
‘Yes, your little companions can stay here.’
As Katherine made to leave, her progress was impeded when one of the children grabbed hold of her denim clad leg and hung on for dear life. She carefully removed his small leathery hands from around her knee and gestured for him to stay put.
Rekkid pulled a face. ‘How very touching, come on this way,’ he said and headed off downstairs
‘What is it with you and kids Rekkid?’ said Katherine teasingly as she followed him down.
‘Raising my own was hard work enough. I don’t see why I should put up with anyone else’s. It’s the way they stare at you that I find off putting. That, and the sticky fingers. Children of all races seem to share this characteristic.’
Katherine waved to the two Dendratha young as she descended. They failed to comprehend the gesture and looked at her nonplussed.
Back in Rekkid’s cabin the two of them sat around the small screen of his computer where the image of Captain Spiers greeted Katherine.
‘Now then Captain,’ said Rekkid. ‘What was it you wanted to show us?’
‘Something rather remarkable,’ said Spiers. ‘Shortly after our last communication we began our survey of the system’s two stars just as we planned.’
‘Yes I remember, you explained that to us.’
‘During our initial long range survey we noticed two identical magnetic anomalies on the surface of each star facing Maranos. Magnetic anomalies in the surfaces of stars aren’t unusual, they’re usually a cause of sunspot activity, but they were of an unusual magnitude. We also thought that it was odd that two should appear directly opposite one another, and that they should remain in the same spot relative to one another as the stars revolved. So we went in for a closer look.’
‘And what did you find Captain?’
The captain overlaid half of the screen with an image.
‘Floating in the photosphere of each star we found these rings. They’re of artificial construction and are about a hundred kilometres in diameter. We haven’t a clue who built them. We wondered if you knew anything that could enlighten us.’
Rekkid and Katherine stared incredulously at the grainy image that faintly showed a black ring against the bright background of one the Fulan stars.
‘Christ, no we don’t. But I’d love to get a look at one,’ said Katherine breathlessly.
‘Impossible I’m afraid,’ said Spiers. ‘As you can imagine, whoever constructed the rings possessed technology far in advance of our own. There’s no way we could survive in those conditions, even a warship couldn’t put up with that sort of punishment for long. The atmosphere of each star is at a temperature that far exceeds the tolerance levels of our shields.’
Rekkid looked thoughtful.
‘Hmm, we do need to get a look somehow though. Who knows what those rings could be.’
‘Amazing aren’t they?’ said Spiers, grinning.
‘They are. Maybe we could name them after you?’
‘After the crewman who found them, actually. Ensign Fullerton.’
‘The Fullerton Rings. Hmm. So why has no-one ever noticed these things before?’
‘No-one’s ever looked. The rings may be large, but in comparison to the stars they’re tiny and they’re invisible to the naked eye and most telescopes. They give out little or no emissions and are simply obscured by the glare of the stars. It we hadn’t looked at the stars’ magnetospheres we’d never have found them.’
‘Any idea what they’re for?’
‘None whatsoever I’m afraid. We’ve come across quite a bit of exotic alien technology in our time Professor, but I’ve never seen anything like this or on this sort of scale. We had hoped you might know.’
‘They aren’t habitats or power generators of some sort are they?’ said Katherine. ‘Using the star’s energy to some purpose or other?’
Spiers shrugged. ‘Could be, Doctor. Like I say we don’t have a clue. God knows how old they are, though I doubt they’re of recent construction. With all the monitoring equipment in the system we’d have noticed any activity. Besides, they don’t match anything I’ve ever seen manufactured by any contacted species.’ He sighed. ‘It’s just a shame we can’t get close to have a proper look. I’d love to know just how they survive in that environment, aside from what their purpose is or who built them.’
‘Well, maybe we don’t have the technology to get close enough, but perhaps I know someone who does. I suspect it’s listening in to this very conversation, aren’t you Quickchild?’
Quickchild had been floating serenely above the planet Maranos for days now, and it was becoming immensely bored. There was nothing for it to do except triangulate its position between the Darwin and its three companions on the planet’s surface whilst maintaining a safe distance from the prying sensors of the science vessel. For a being of its abilities and intellect this did not make for a demanding way to pass the time.
It had closely monitored the progress of Rekkid and his friends as they made their way toward Marantis. Frankly why they wouldn’t take the risk of letting it transport them there perplexed Quickchild. Though it mused that perhaps it was best if it kept a lower profile. Still, watching them go about their business had provided it with a way of passing the time.
When Katherine had been attacked it had begun a steep crash dive toward Bridgetown, only to abort its controlled plummet when Steven had stepped in at the last moment and rescued her from the Arkari drone. That had been the sole exciting event of the past few days. Now it seemed that there was something for it to do: something interesting and worthy of its talents.
‘Quickchild? It’s Rekkid here. We’ve got a job for you if you’re interested.’
‘Of course, Rekkid. I would be glad to help and also glad to find something to interrupt the ennui I am currently experiencing.’
‘Glad to hear it. Listen, the crew of the Darwin have found some unusual constructions of alien origin floating in the photospheres of the two stars in this system.’
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‘Yes, so I gather. That is interesting.’
‘It is. Hang on. Captain Spiers will download the data that they obtained.’
The Darwin began transmitting. Quickchild reviewed the incoming reams of data eagerly in a matter of microseconds.
‘Fascinating,’ said Quickchild, a measure of awe creeping into its voice. Rekkid was amazed that such a being could experience the emotion.
‘Isn’t it just? Anyway, the Darwin can’t get close enough to have a look and we thought that you might be able to.’
‘Yes I can, my shields are much more sophisticated. I could linger in the stars’ atmospheres for days if need be. I’d be more than happy to lend my services.’
‘Excellent. If you could link up with the Darwin and us and transmit the data as you gather it.’
‘Of course.’
Quickchild began the process of setting up the necessary three way permanent link. As it did so it took care to install sophisticated firewalls and encryption methods that would prevent anyone on the Darwin from examining its systems too closely.
‘Captain Spiers, are you online?’
‘Yes, ah Quickchild. Receiving your signal.’
‘Excellent. I shall proceed towards Fulan A, the star known locally as Irrin,’ said the ship, whereupon it quickly came about and headed towards the bright orb of the star at a moderate speed. As it approached, its full complement of sensors began probing ahead to locate the alien ring structure.
‘I must say Katherine you seem to be coping well after what you went through,’ said Rekkid as they waited for Quickchild to get into position.
‘Huh. Hide it well don’t I? Christ Rekkid I thought that was it, you know? That thing, ugh,’ she shuddered in revulsion at the memory of those mandibles. ‘Think there’ll be anymore?’
‘I’ve no idea. I don’t doubt that more could have snuck aboard that ship. Was there anyone else on board besides you and its captain?’
