Lost Systems: Legacy War Book 2

by John Walker

  “My father was a pilot,” Alicia said. “When he retired from service, he started an air show. I learned from him … some stunt work, a little trick flying. It paid off today in a major way. You really learn how to handle the G force and it makes fighting seem pretty simple by comparison. The precision isn’t as necessary.”

  “I see.” Dennis sighed. “Okay, so here’s the deal. We have rules for safety and efficiency in this business. If we’re going to change it up, it needs to be agreed upon or at least communicated. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Do you have any questions?”

  Alicia made a play at considering a few before shaking her head once. “No, sir. I’m good.”

  “Thank you for your time.” Dennis gestured for the door. “Dismissed.”

  Alicia saluted and spun on her heel, departing the office. That went better than I expected. When they landed, no one seemed to be put off by her flying. It really must’ve caught Dennis by surprise. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but the mission gave her quite the thrill. It might’ve been in bad taste to suggest it, but she enjoyed the risk.

  Lieutenant Commander Zachary Caplan’s voice piped through the overhead speakers. Alicia paused to listen to what he had to say. “Attention all hands, we will be entering hyperspace in ten minutes. Please secure yourself for departure. Repeat, we are leaving in ten minutes.”

  Alicia hurried back to her quarters and strapped in, turning to the computer. Public reports throughout the ship appeared on her screen, showing readiness of each department. A message went through to the squadron leaders letting them know they would be tasked with another sortie when they emerged at their destination.

  Good. Alicia grinned at the prospect, but her spirits were dampened by a realization. They might end up like Charger Squadron, sitting up in orbit waiting for a fight that never came. Mustang led the way thus far in all engagements but considering Kate’s ship might not be repaired in time, they may be the backup.

  I guess we’ll see. Either way, the adventure’s been worth it so far.

  ***

  Desmond joined Salina at her station to peer over her shoulder. She pointed out a blip on the scanner and brought up a detailed reading. A ship achieved orbit around the planet they pulled the data from, the silhouette consistent with the one that crashed on the surface. So their support arrived.

  “How long before we’re out of here, Zach?” Desmond asked.

  “Two minutes, sir.”

  “Perfect.” Desmond stepped back. “Have they scanned us, Salina?”

  “Yes, sir. They know we’re out here.”

  “Not for long.” Desmond took his seat and strapped in. “By the time they think about coming out here to see what we have, we’ll be long gone.”

  “Unless they find the data as well,” Salina pointed out. “Then they’ll know where we went. Of course, we didn’t cause the disaster that befell their ship, so they have little reason to bother with us … right?”

  Desmond wasn’t so sure. The Kalrawv Group proved to be a bunch of mercenaries and they weren’t above attacking fellow spacers. If they thought the Gnosis carried something of value, they’d definitely come after them. He doubted they could track them through hyperspace, but he couldn’t be certain.

  “I guess we’ll find out when we get to where we’re going.” Desmond turned to Zach. “All systems are reporting green. Engage the hyperdrive.”

  The ship vibrated momentarily before blasting out of the system. They were on their way to what Desmond hoped would be their last destination on this mission. If it proved to be a dead sector they simply had to explore, all the better. However, their luck hadn’t proven so good so far. He didn’t anticipate it getting any better.

  The trip would last six hours, just enough time to allow some of his people to get some rest. There were a few repairs to handle and some preparations to be made but for the most part, the crew of the Gnosis had a chance to take a deep breath. They all needed it. Especially considering none of them knew how intense the next few hours would be.

  Chapter 9

  Cassie woke with a start, turning to look at the clock beside her bed. The alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but it would in less than twenty minutes. She wanted to be up, clean and dressed before they emerged from hyperspace and she had just over an hour to prepare. A dream roused her from deep sleep, a reminder of the vision she had from the Orb.

  The planet they left had been through a cataclysmic event like the one she’d witnessed. Had they all? Were they the same? Technology went so insane in her vision that nature itself answered with fury of its own. The terror those people experienced made Cassie tremble, even days removed from experiencing it.

  Cassie hurried through a quick routine and threw on her clothes before rushing out the door. She wanted to be on the bridge when they arrived, to see the scan data first hand. Gil and Thayne would be down in the tech lab, but the bridge stations received priority services. The thrill of discovery was tempered only by the threat of some unknown adversary waiting for them.

  What could possibly be out there? The question made Cassie shake her head and as she waited for the elevator, her imagination went wild. An armada of enemy vessels, automated defenses capable of wiping out the ship in a single shot, radiation so potent the shields couldn’t save them … pretty much the scariest stuff I can think of might be possible.

  The elevator opened and she stepped on, drawing a deep breath before tapping the button. It only took a moment before she disembarked but her heart sped up just before she arrived. The others were already present. Desmond at the center with Vincent to his right. Zachary relieved Deacon and Salina was prepping her station for arrival.

  Cassie sat down without a word and logged in, waiting for her various apps to initiate. Just as she checked in, Zach called out they were emerging in less than a minute. Lord, I barely got here in time. Thank God the dream woke me up. Cassie turned in her seat to watch the view screen. The countdown from ten began and the screen opened just as the ship vibrated back into reality.

  They arrived at the edge of the system, a dim star sitting at the center. Brilliant colors danced away from the center, creating a dazzling rainbow effect. Nothing else occupied the screen, no other sights to catch with the naked eye. Cassie spun back to her station and started scanning the area. While Salina would be doing the same, their objectives would differ.

  The star itself barely put forth enough energy to brighten the horizon. It had burned down to such an extent, none of the planets could possibly support life, at least not without a lot of technology countering the effects. Cassie noticed it merely faded to the state it was in rather than burst in any sort of dramatic faction.

  She wondered if it had been the victim of a natural event or something else. Her mind wandered to what type of technology might be required to kill a star in such a way. They didn’t have the power to do so with Earth equipment yet, but she could see such a thing as a distinct possibility.

  Cassie redirected her efforts to find energy readings, anything to do with technology that might’ve come from an Orb. Salina’s first objective involved finding potential targets, or enemies of any type. Once they established the area to be clear, they’d start in on the planetary scans. This would let them know the state of the different locations.

  Many questions could be answered before they moved from their point of entry. Were they on the verge of encountering an existing civilization? Were there life forms in the area? What kind of natural dangers did they face out there? Had they come to the right place? While her scans ran, Cassie checked their coordinates and confirmed they had found the signal’s point of origin.

  Now we have to pinpoint exactly where it is. And be thankful we didn’t stumble upon a bunch of bad guys ready to blow us out of the sky.

  “Contact with alien technology,” Salina said. “I’m picking up several space stations throughout the area. They appear to be offline … wait … not all of them. Ther
e are energy readings from one near the fourth planet in the solar system. I’m marking it on the screen.”

  Cassie directed her efforts to that area, frowning at what she saw. Sure enough, one of the stations was showing online and the power readings were consistent with the output they expected from Orb tech. Life support systems appeared to be active but it would’ve taken an adjustment for humans to breathe the air.

  The people who built that developed in a different environment but not dramatically so. If I can remotely access their systems, I can make the change which would allow us to function there without breathing gear. Cassie tried to establish a connection but cursed when they proved to be too far away still.

  “Are we going to advance?” Cassie asked. “I can make that place safe for a landing party if we get close enough.”

  “We’re still mapping the area,” Desmond said. “Patience. We’ll get around to moving soon enough. I promise.”

  “Explosives,” Salina said. “High yield devices are littering space out here. They seem to be … yes, they’re mines. Mostly surrounding the fourth planet and that station. I’m calculating their destructive power.”

  Oh good, now we get to find out how dead we’d be if we triggered one of those.

  Salina didn’t take long, reporting back, “Each of those is about as powerful as two of our bombs. If we advance, we’re going to need to take care of those from a distance. Proximity will matter too. If we got too close, they’d cause a lot of damage. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, they appear to be magnetic.”

  “Why not?” Vincent muttered. “How tough are they? Can’t we just take pot shots from a safe distance and wipe them out?”

  “There are well over two hundred of them,” Salina replied. “They’re also in a net so going over them to get to the station isn’t really an option. Individual shots will take a while, but I can say it would be quite doable.”

  Desmond added, “If those Kalrawv freaks tried to follow us, we might not have that much time. Furthermore, we don’t know what will happen if we suddenly attack those things. We might wake something else up. Cassie, are you reading anything that would indicate there are automated defenses we should worry about?”

  “The station appears to have some defensive systems,” Cassie said. “But they shouldn’t be hard to shut down. If we can get close enough for me to fix the life support, I’ll try to handle the rest.”

  Desmond nodded. “I think we need to advance … but cautiously. I’m surprised we haven’t picked anything else up out here though. What about the planets?”

  Salina announced, “Six in total. They appear to be completely lifeless but like the last system, every one of these planets has some type of mechanization. There are buildings, cities, and other sentient built items but they are not occupied by anything alive.”

  “That doesn’t mean much,” Victor said. “Those weird mutants were able to ignore our scans.”

  “Fair point,” Desmond said. “What do you make of that, Salina?”

  “If the population have a method to avoid our scans …” Salina shrugged. “Then I suppose there may be lifeforms down there. But they would’ve had to figure out how to get past breathing. If they exist, and I’m not sure they do, then they’d have to be using breathing gear when they go on the surface.”

  Cassie added, “I’m not seeing anything down there that might be creating artificial environmental safety. The station at least has a power reading, so I’d be willing to say we’d detect such a thing on the surfaces of these planets.”

  “Okay …” Desmond turned to Vincent. “What do you think? We could put some fighters out there to help clear this mess up. They’re going to be more precise than we are.”

  Vincent nodded. “The mines have to be far enough apart to not blow their neighbors up when they detonate. That means we should have a good idea of how far away we should stay while firing at them. Agreed?”

  “Good assumption.” Desmond rubbed his chin. “I’d say we shoot at one ourselves and calculation the radius of explosion. Also, we’ll be potentially springing whatever trap is out there … if there is one.”

  Cassie watched the two men, waiting for them to finish their discussion. Vincent checked his computer and nodded once. “Pilots are ready to launch so we can get them out there just in case. We might want them to be at the ready.”

  “Tell them to go. And have the marines prepare themselves as well. Looks like they’ll be heading into that station when we get closer. Hopefully, it turns out to be deserted and we can just gather some data. Wouldn’t that be nice for a change?”

  “I’m all for it,” Vincent replied.

  “Cassie, when you get close enough to fix that place up, do it,” Desmond said. “Our people will be wearing their armor but I’d rather them not be in hazardous space if something goes wrong with their gear. Salina, keep an eye on scans and if anything tries to jump out, let us know right away. I want to be prepared. Zach, get us moving but keep it slow. I’m not interested in barreling into a bunch of mines.”

  “But it sounds like so much fun,” Zach muttered, engaging the engines. “Hundreds of explosives, all magnetic, coming right for us … You’ll never feel more wanted, Captain.”

  “Not exactly the kind of draw I’m looking for, but thanks for the note,” Desmond replied. “Okay, everyone. We’ve got assignments. Time to work through them. The sooner we complete these tasks, the sooner we can go home and report in. Believe me, Earth wants this data as quickly as possible.”

  ***

  Vincent met with Captain Darren Gabriel, the commanding officer of the marines on board. They’d known each other for a number of years, prior to being assigned to the Gnosis and their rapport had always been positive. Though they served two different branches, their paths crossed on joint operations many times.

  As they sat down in a room together, Vincent brought up the space station. They didn’t exactly have a layout for it yet, but they knew where to dock. Gil believed he could work through the security protocols to get in without blowing the hatch and Cassie would make the place safe should something happen to their gear.

  Using one of the stations that was closer by, and totally shutdown, they were able to come up with some decent data. They knew they’d been used for a large number of personnel, quite possibly two to three hundred total. While they might not all live there at the same time, they could be accommodated in a pinch.

  This meant they had a large section of station to get through. Prior to arrival, Cassie and Salina committed to figuring out exactly where they needed to go to prevent a lot of wandering and unnecessary exploration. While the power was working, no one knew for how long or why this particular was still online at all.

  It represented the best option for finding what they needed. The planets were barren. Not even the cores were giving off power readings. Without anything to go on, they could search for months without locating anything more than ruins and archaeological relics. There may even be something useful amongst the ashes of those civilizations, but the Gnosis had a specific goal.

  Gabriel shook his head. “I really need more data, Vincent. We’re sending our guys into something we can’t even guess at. This isn’t like the inhabited space station. At least we knew there was air and livable conditions. What sort of opposition are we walking into? How long has it been? Will the place start falling apart as soon as we set foot on a deck?”

  “We don’t know yet,” Vincent replied. “The mine field has to be mostly cleared before we can gather more data on that one specifically. We’ve sent a probe to one of the dead ones to see what we can glean from that. If they’re similar, we’ll have more to go on. For now, we have to go in as if we have no intel.”

  “We won’t be pretending,” Gabriel said. “This is a nightmare. The mines alone should be worrying you flyboys. How’re we going to clear them? I saw the scans. Those are high yield. The damage output of the different explosives would be catastrophic to smaller vessels an
d two or three of them could pop a hole in the Gnosis easily.”

  “The space between them is no accident,” Vincent explained. “We’re about to test the theory but it stands to reason that the people who built those things knew what they were doing. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the whole field will go up when we start lobbing shots in there, but I doubt it. I think we’re going to have to take them out one or two at a time.”

  Gabriel scrutinized his screen and shook his head. “They’re pretty tough. Common mass drivers won’t trigger them. Beam weapons maybe but even then … I’m guessing we’ll have to dump some bombs on them to be honest. And you know those aren’t as plentiful as our other ammunition.”

  “You think the bombers?” Vincent saw the same data but hadn’t considered how much damage the mines might take. They were high explosives and he figured they’d detonate on contact. Another thought occurred to him. “We know they’re magnetic. Maybe they just need to connect with something metal to detonate?”

  “You thinking about probes?” Gabriel nodded. “Not a bad thought. Especially if you throw one out there that’s fast enough to grab a group. They could all link up and pop together. Might make a neat hole through their defenses and get us to the target quicker. But … we’d be burning through those things. I know they’re expendable but do we have that many?”

  Vincent considered the inventory and shrugged. “I guess it’s relative to what we need. I’m not entirely sure. It’s definitely worth a try … but we’re getting off topic here. We need to talk about what happens when they get on the station.”

  “They’ll follow the path given to us by your tech people.” Gabriel shrugged. “We don’t know enough to go beyond that simple of a plan. When we get closer, let’s get back together. Right now, I’ll prepare the troops the best I can. I’ll probably just say we don’t know anything and good luck for now.”