by Dan Worth
‘Well we can’t have that,’ replied Simonov. He turned to one of his men. ‘Private, fetch the prisoners some ration packs as well a couple of canteens of water. I won’t have them treated like animals.’ Simonov turned back to Katherine and Rekkid. ‘Professor, Doctor I’m curious. I came here to secure this site against alien attack and yet I’m ordered to arrest the three individuals responsible for discovering the very thing I’m sent to protect. Now I’m curious as to why. Would either of you care to enlighten me?’
‘I thought the military operated on a need to know basis Colonel,’ said Rekkid. ‘Maybe you don’t need to know.’
‘Maybe. But this ground operation is under my command, Professor. I have no love of the CIB: they have a habit of spying on our people which I dislike intensely. Perhaps you could say we’re on the same side on that issue at least. So, like I say, is there anything you would like to tell me? It might save a lot of time and effort in the long run.’
‘Such as?’
‘Well for one, why do they think you’re working for the K’Soth?’
‘We chanced upon a derelict space craft just over six months ago,’ said Katherine. ‘Our findings indicated that it was extremely old, a million years or more. The Arkari Navy showed up and accused us of piracy, and later accused us of spying when they discovered that we had removed items from the vessel. They claimed that it was an experimental new ship of theirs and that we intended to pass the items on to the K’Soth.’
‘You were sure of the age of the ship? You hadn’t made a mistake?’
‘We don’t think so,’ Rekkid interjected. ‘That ship wasn’t as sophisticated as the one you arrived on. Besides, there’s another like it buried under the desert on this planet. The Navy should have the data on that from the Darwin.’
‘I gather that the Darwin has fled the system Professor.’
‘Yes well, Spiers isn’t stupid. I just wish that he’d waited for us.’
‘No doubt. Anyway, once you had found this ship you decided to come here, a system close to the K’Soth border. Why? It would seem to corroborate to some extent the claim that you intended to pass information or items on to them.’
‘It was just the next dig that came our way,’ replied Katherine, fixing him with a steady gaze. ‘I wanted to get away from Earth and escape the unwelcome attention I had received back home. Rekkid agreed to join me as my colleague and he wanted to share with me some of the research he had done on our previous finds. What I didn’t expect is for everyone in the bloody Commonwealth to follow me here!’ she snapped. ‘We haven’t done anything! We’re just trying to do our job. You know: dig up stuff and write about it?’
‘So how did you hear about this assignment?’
‘Ekrino, one of the priests here; you’ve met him?’ Simonov nodded. ‘He sent a request via Ambassador Croft at the embassy in Erais for us to assist them. Croft passed it on to the university. It’s all official and above board. Ask them.’
‘I will.’
The private returned with ration packs and canteens of water for Rekkid and Katherine. They took them from him gratefully and began to tuck into the bland pre-packaged food.
‘But if it’s all so above board why are the Arkari so keen to shut you up? You said they tried to kill you. I’m assuming that the trouble from our people is a result of their pressure.’
‘We’re not sure,’ said Rekkid. ‘We did discover something shocking about my people’s past: a genocidal war.’
Simonov’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Really?’ he said sceptically. ‘Bad enough for them to want you dead?’
‘We don’t think so. But the Arkari came here too around the same time, and then later about ten thousand years ago. Have a look around you upstairs if you get chance. What we found on the Arkari ship is connected to this place.’
‘I understand that the device within this planet is some sort of wormhole generator or gate. You think that they built it?’
‘No I don’t, but we think that they exiled a part of their population through it after the war, those who were on the losing side. Then, it seems that the portal was reactivated again ten millennia ago and something came back through it. From the legends of the Dendratha it seems that there was quite a fight, possibly between whatever it was and my people. It forms the cornerstone of their religion and…’
Simonov butted in. ‘It seems like an astonishing coincidence that you should be sent to both sites that happen to contain evidence of a hitherto unknown part of the Arkari’s past. Look, I’m no student of ancient galactic history, but it seems a little farfetched to me. Everyone knows that your people have been in space about sixty thousand years, not millions.’
‘Just because everyone thinks something is true doesn’t necessarily mean that it is,’ said Rekkid glibly causing Simonov to chuckle. ‘You think I’m a crank don’t you?’
‘The thought had crossed my mind Professor, either that or this is the biggest pile of crap ever concocted in anyone’s defence. On the other hand, I did see the device in operation from space. It’s pretty impressive.’
‘That’s an understatement.’
‘Yes it is. So maybe I’m inclined to keep an open mind. But… I don’t know. If what you’re saying is true then it seems strange that you should discover two such closely connected, monumentally earth shaking discoveries in such a short time. What are the odds, hmm?’
‘I have to admit, pretty long.’
‘Exactly. Unless you were meant to find them, eh?’
‘What did you say?’ said Katherine suddenly.
‘I said it seems like you were meant to find them.’
‘Yes,’ said Katherine. ‘Yes it does now that you mention it.’
Simonov seemed distracted, Katherine realised he was listening intently to someone speaking into the earpiece of his suit’s comm. unit. His face turned grave before he curtly replied. ‘Okay, I’m on my way.’ He turned back to the two archaeologists. ‘Well I’m afraid that’s concluded our little chat, I have other things to attend to. I have to inform you that the K’Soth fleet has entered the range of our sensors and is headed towards the system. Private, get these two more supplies, they could be here for while.’
‘The K’Soth are coming, and you’re just going to leave us here?’ said Katherine, her voice rising.
‘Here is probably the safest place, you’re underground and surrounded by our defences. You’ll just have to sit this one out people, now I have to go.’ He got up from his chair and strode out of the room. His men followed in his wake and locked the door behind him, trapping Rekkid and Katherine in the cellar together.
Katherine let out a gasp. ‘Oh god Rekkid, what the hell do we do now?’
‘I don’t know,’ he replied despondently. ‘But at least we get to watch,’ he added grimly. He flipped open the datapad again and the image of Marantis filled its small screen once more. The sprawling city was awaiting its judgement, even its possible destruction. If the enemy struck from space it would smashed apart like a wrecked anthill, its inhabitants pulverised and exterminated by an enemy they might not even see, or even comprehend. Simonov had seemed confident that his defences would be enough. They would have to be, or else they were all about to die.
Steven noticed that something was afoot. There was a sudden change in activity amongst the Marine Corp personnel around him. They became busier, more urgent in their movements and he caught snatches of orders indicating the defence of the city.
He had successfully blended in. After donning the suit he had liberated from the marine in the alleyway he had become just another grunt. The nametag on his breastplate had posed something of a problem though, doubtless someone would eventually realised that Corporal Jameson was missing. He had used the combat knife he found in a thigh holster to scrape away some of the lettering so that he was now Corporal Ames. It would pass muster at a distance, but it was far from perfect.
A hand clapped him on the shoulder. He turned and saw a woman captain. She was looking at him
accusingly; her nametag read ‘Siddiq.’
‘What are you doing just standing around, why aren’t you with your unit?’ she demanded.
‘Sorry sir, I… I got a little lost I….’
‘Charlie platoon are a quarter of a klick that way by the market soldier, check your map,’ she pointed. ‘Now get to it, we need every marine to defend this city.’
‘Sir, yes sir!’ he barked, saluted and turned away, breathing a sigh of relief as one of the captain’s men began to brief her and allow him to slip away. He patched in to the marines’ comm. net, and that’s when he heard it confirmed. The K’Soth were coming.
Chen was awoken by Ramirez’s voice, calling her over the ship’s intercom system. She had been cat napping, taking the lull in activity as an excuse to take a break. She needed to stay as fresh and alert as possible if they were to get through this. Hearing him calling her, she didn’t doubt the urgency in his voice. Chen rolled over in her bunk and activated the comm. unit in its headboard.
‘Chen here.’
‘Captain, we need you on the bridge. Our sensors have detected K’Soth warp signatures converging on our position.’
‘Time to arrival?’
‘About two hours Captain.’
‘Two hours!? How did they?’
‘It seems that they used the sensor shadow from dust clouds on their side of the border to mask themselves, Captain.’
‘Notify the fleet and our ground forces and inform Admiral Haines at once. I’ll be on the bridge shortly. Chen out.’
Chen straightened her crumpled uniform and put her jacket back on. Okay, this was it. Whoever was commanding the K’Soth fleet wasn’t stupid. The Commonwealth fleet should have had hours in which to plot the movements of the enemy ships. Using the dust clouds on the other side of the border to mask their engine signatures would have required incredibly accurate navigation, as well as an innate knowledge of the variable density of said clouds. She wondered what other tricks they might have up their sleeves. All they could do was wait, but she had a few tricks of her own.
She went up to the bridge and sat there, transfixed by the sensor screen as her crew carried out their duties around her. The approaching contacts eventually resolved themselves into a dozen clear engine signatures: two War Temples with six attendant destroyers and four flak cruisers. There were two other signatures also, that Singh was unable to positively identify. They were beginning to break away from the main group, splitting off in lazy arcs that would bring them into the system above and below the ecliptic. Chen ordered Singh to keep an eye on them as she couldn’t help but wonder what the K’Soth were trying to do. If they were attempting to outflank the Commonwealth fleet they weren’t using nearly enough ships.
She talked to Kojima about it. He postulated that perhaps the two vessels were for diversionary purposes or perhaps scouts, but could offer no concrete explanation as to precisely what the K’Soth were up to. Lehman on the Rameses and Benson on the Thermopylae were equally mystified and the other captains could offer no answer beyond speculation that it was some sort of feint. Chen didn’t like that, she didn’t like uncertainty.
The K’Soth were less than half an hour out now. The comm. system flickered into life, displaying the face of Admiral Kojima. It was a general transmission to all ships: he appeared to be about to make some sort of speech.
‘To the brave officers and crews of the Commonwealth: Today we embark upon a great endeavour. Today we take the battle to the K’Soth Empire after so many years of waiting. As your Admiral I know that you will all do your duty, that this time we shall not need the help of other powers in the vanquishing of our enemies and we shall find glory here among the stars.’
Chen wasn’t really listening, Kojima’s speech wasn’t a terribly good one, nor was it well delivered. Besides, what the hell was he doing making a speech now? The enemy fleet was minutes away and the crews of the assembled armada should be concentrating on that, not listening to Kojima prattle on about honour and duty and martial pride. It had bothered her from the start how someone as inept as the Admiral had wound up leading this mission, surely Haines had better judgement than that? Now the realisation dawned on her. Kojima was very well connected. He had used his political influence in order to be assigned to lead the advance force, no doubt chasing the honour, glory and place in the history books he was now boring everyone with.
She turned to Ensign Andrews. ‘Shut it off Ensign. We have better things to do than listen to this.’
‘Captain?’
‘You heard me. Listening to this speech is a waste of time. I’ll take any flak from Kojima if he finds out and tell the other ships to do likewise. I want everyone focused on the job at hand, not the Admiral’s ego.’ There were some laughs despite the grim atmosphere on the ship.
Twenty minutes.
Ten minutes
Five minutes, and still no orders from the Admiral.
‘Captain?’ Ramirez asked. ‘Should we not intercept? We’re sitting ducks here.’
‘Indeed we are Commander. I dislike a reactive strategy as much as you.’ She contacted the Normandy. ‘Admiral those K’Soth vessels are minutes away, do you have any orders?’
‘Captain I will issue my orders when I see fit. You will defend the Normandy and her escorts.’
‘Sir I can better achieve that if I can keep the K’Soth off your back and out of planetary orbit, and once again I must insist that you yourself move to a higher orbit in order to better manoeuvre.’
‘I give the orders Captain Chen,’ he snapped. ‘You will wait until the K’Soth approach the planet and then head them off, but do not fire unless they power their weapons. We need to maintain the moral high ground on this one. Kojima out.’
Chen stifled the urge to scream at the old fool. Oh what the hell, the K’Soth were approaching the planet. ‘Andrews, request status reports from the other ships under my command.’
‘Aye, Captain.’ There was a brief pause whilst Andrews spoke to the other ships. ‘Captain, all vessels have reported in. All are operating at one hundred per cent with the exception of the Wellesley which is experiencing minor problems with an aft turret. Captain Lehman wishes you luck Captain.’
‘Thank you Ensign. Mr Singh, status of the enemy?’
‘K’Soth fleet is slingshotting around the planet on an intercept course, ETA three minutes.’
‘Very well, here are my orders. All ships maintain formation, full power to weapons and shields and don’t fire until I tell you. We shall intercept the K’Soth before they get on top of us and try to flank us. Chen out.’ This was it, she was totally focused now. ‘Helm plot an intercept course to the K’Soth ships, I want you to bring us to a relative stop twenty five kilometres away from them.’
Goldstein carried out her orders wordlessly. The Mark Antony began to shift in its orbit and then powered forward to meet the enemy. Chen checked the positions of the other ships under her command; they were maintaining a perfect formation. She expected nothing less.
There they were, emerging from behind the blue haze of Maranos’s atmosphere. Points of light that grew steadily brighter as they approached. Chen zoomed in on one of the two larger ones. It was a War Temple.
My God it’s big, she thought.
She’d forgotten just how huge the ships were, the great cloven delta shape crowned with its central cluster of domes and minarets, its gun decks studded with lethal looking turrets and the great maw of its plasma cannon jutting from between them.
Ramirez was speaking to engineering and gunnery, getting status updates and cajoling the men down there. The ship was slowing now as they closed with the K’Soth, Chen could see the glow of the reverse thrusters mounted on the Mark Antony’s bow section. Now they going backwards at a speed relatively slower than that of the enemy ships, so that the two groups of craft now closed at a speed measured in hundreds of kilometres an hour rather than thousands. The K’Soth ships were clearly visible to the naked eye now, their hulls the c
olour of dried blood, painted with holy symbols and litanies, towers and domes flying banners and pennants that hung stiffly on wires in the vacuum. The two War Temples flew side by side, with their attendant destroyers and cruisers forming a loose box around them.
‘Twenty-five kilometres to target Captain, we have matched velocities.’
‘Thank you Ensign. All ships, lock your weapons onto the left hand War Temple and prepare to fire on my command.’
‘Captain,’ said Singh. ‘The enemy craft have not powered weapons, though they have raised shields. The two flanking ships are loitering above and below the ecliptic in hyperspace.’
‘We’re being hailed by one of the War Temples.’
‘Put them through Ensign.’
The monstrous visage of the K’Soth admiral appeared in front of Chen’s eyes. He was accompanied by his Pyrtreen interpreter. He spoke:
‘This is Admiral Talon Fist of the K’Soth Imperial Vessel Cleansing Flame. Commonwealth ships, you are in direct violation of the Polaris Treaty. This is a demilitarised zone. I demand that you retreat at once.’
‘This is Captain Chen of the Commonwealth Navy Vessel Mark Antony. We are here under orders to safeguard the artefact you see in operation on the planet below, I will not withdraw.’
‘Safeguard it? With a fleet of ships and, I see, sizeable ground forces also. Is this the way you unbelievers generally carry out a scientific expedition? Our sensors indicate that the device below us has generated a stable wormhole of massive proportions. Tell me, does the Commonwealth intend to seize this technology and keep it to itself, constructing a network of such devices to attack its enemies? In the interests of galactic stability perhaps we should share its secrets and hence, both benefit from this discovery. In the meantime, I demand you withdraw or face the consequences!’
‘Admiral, I am under orders to maintain the security of this planet and to return fire if attacked.’
‘Your loyalty and bravery is admirable Captain, however you will not survive such an engagement. Reinforcements stand ready to assist and we already outnumber you. I myself am under orders to use deadly force should you refuse to back down. You must know that this would mean war between our peoples.’
