by Dietmar Wehr
It was a full 21 minutes later when he heard her voice again. “…hear me? Excalibur…you hear me?”
“I’m hearing you now, Eriko. What’s your report?”
When she spoke, Koenig could hear the stress tremors in her voice. “No survivors, repeat, no survivors, only bodies. We searched the whole ship, every compartment. I went to the bridge. My God, Wolfe, one entire side of the Bridge is open to space! I was able to extract the emergency data recorder. We’re all back in the shuttle now, and we’re closing the hatch to re-pressurize, unless there’s something more you want us to do first.”
“Negative, XO. The data recorder should tell us what we need to know. Our job now is to get back to the Fleet. Get back here asap. Good job.” He heard the connection cut without hearing her sign off. She was clearly rattled by what she’d seen, and he couldn’t blame her for that. It would have rattled him too.
As soon as the shuttle was back aboard Excalibur, Koenig ordered the astro AI to take the ship back to MR28 and rendezvous with the Fleet. He watched as the Javelin quickly receded into the distance, and then he headed to the hangar bay, leaving the Bridge unattended. It was a breech of regulations that would have shocked Dejanus had she known about it, but he wanted to see Soriya as soon as possible. If another ship was detected, the tactical AI would notify him over the intercom.
By the time he entered the hangar bay, Soriya just finished taking off her spacesuit. Koenig noticed that her hands were shaking. As he come up to her, he leaned closer and said in a low voice, “Are you okay?”
“I will be as soon as my stomach stops threatening to heave,” she said meekly.
Koenig hesitated. He really wanted to ask a question but also wanted to give her time to recover.
After a few seconds, she said, “What do you want to know?”
“Were you able to tell if anyone survived the battle? Could we have saved some of them if we had gotten here sooner do you think?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “No…ah…I don’t know for sure. We did find two bodies in spacesuits, but the suits were damaged. From the battle would be my guess.”
“Okay. You’re off duty now, so my suggestion would be to get something to eat and a hot drink and then get some sleep. I’ll take the recorder to the Bridge and have it analyzed.”
“Okay,” was all she said as she handed him the recorder. He watched her leave the hangar bay, then made his way back to the Bridge. The tactical AI has answers for him after only a few minutes.
“Javelin had discovered a life-bearing planet via long-range EM transmissions over many frequencies. From the CO’s log, it appears that he was convinced the planet was the home world of a space-faring race. Under contingency orders from AFC Dejanus, Javelin left the gauntlet path and took a shortcut back to the milk run path in order to rendezvous with the Fleet to pass on the news. When it arrived at MR28S, it encountered two ships that the CO mistakenly assumed were from our Fleet. When it initiated contact, one ship maneuvered aggressively while the other veered off. When the first ship opened fire, the CO realized his mistake, and Javelin fired a spread of missiles. Enemy fire disabled Javelin and cut power before their sensors could confirm whether the missiles hit their target. From the debris field that we have detected, it would appear that the battle ended in mutual annihilation, and the bogey we detected in MR28 was the second alien ship.”
“Do we have that astro data on their shortcut from the alien home world system?” asked Koenig.
“Affirmative. Would you like to see it on the display?”
“Later. Make sure we have a backup copy of all the recorder data. I want it transmitted to Corregidor as soon as we’ve established contact.”
Koenig sat back and pondered what he had just learned. If that life-bearing planet really was the home world of a space-faring race, the odds were good that its plant and animal life would be compatible with human physiology. Getting access to those food sources would depend on establishing friendly relations with those aliens. The thought occurred to him that the ships that attacked Javelin belonged to those same aliens, but if that was the case, why didn’t the second ship head for the home world system instead of running in almost the opposite direction? Could it be that there were two alien races involved, and if so, which race did the wing ships belong to? There were too many questions and not enough answers. By the time Excalibur was lined up and ready to jump back to MR28, Koenig had a headache. That was happening more and more often lately. He could tell that the stress was starting to wear him down. The Fleet needed a break, and maybe the alien home world system was it.
Dejanus read Koenig’s report, which included a summary of what happened to Javelin, for the second time and closed her eyes. The potential of finding a suitable food source was exciting enough to make her light-headed, but the news about Javelin brought her mood crashing back down again. She had to find a way to establish peaceful contact with that alien race. Food supplies were being used up faster than expected, and unless the Fleet found a new source of food, they might not even have enough to get to MR66, the system designated as the rendezvous with the re-supply fleet from home. At least the Fleet seemed to be having some luck. If Wolfe hadn’t followed his gut instinct and investigated MR28S, the Fleet might very well have moved on and never learned Javelin’s fate or its discovery. The news about the aggressive aliens had hit her like a wave of ice-cold water. She would have to start getting tough on crews who were performing their duties in a sloppy or lazy manner. Up until now, insisting on keeping performance high would have hurt morale, but with the very real danger of an alien race, the crews would have to shape up and do it quickly.
“Com, set up a fleet-wide video conference and not just with the COs this time. I want everyone who can see a screen to hear what I’m about to say.” That took a bit of arranging, but when the com AI told her it was ready, she cleared her throat and began speaking.
“This is the Acting Fleet Commander. I’ve just received some information from Excalibur that radically changes our situation. I have good news, and I have bad news. First the bad news: Excalibur has discovered Javelin’s wrecked hull in a nearby system. She was destroyed in a battle with an alien ship that she managed to destroy as well. Excalibur reports that Javelin was searched for survivors, but none were found. Everyone on her is dead. Due to circumstances, Excalibur’s CO made the decision to leave Javelin’s dead on that ship in order to bring the data back as quickly as possible. I completely endorse that decision. Those bodies will be recovered in due course.” She took a moment to take a deep breath.
“Now for the good news. Javelin left the gauntlet path and made its way to the nearby system in order to tell us about a life-bearing planet that also seems to be home to a space-faring race. That means there’s a good chance that the planet has a biosphere compatible with human physiology. If we can establish peaceful relations with the alien race, our food problems may be solved. Javelin’s CO did not believe that his attackers were from that planet, but we have to be alert to that possibility as well as to the possibility of a second alien race that has already proven to be hostile. This means the Fleet has to be alert for any sudden encounter with unknown ships. I expect everyone to perform their duties with vigor and focus, like we used to do. Stay on your toes, everyone. Your lives will depend on it. That is all.” After a few seconds pause, she said, “Astro. I want a trajectory that will line us up for a jump to MR28S. Transmit it to the Fleet when it’s ready and execute when all ships report ready.”
As the Fleet executed the required course change, Dejanus left the Bridge in Cortez’s capable hands. She had some thinking to do. With Javelin now out of action and, according to Koenig’s report, not repairable, that meant the gauntlet path was not being used and any hope of a rendezvous at MR66 with a resupply fleet rested solely on Saratoga’s Hail Mary mission. Even if a secondary food supply could be found, the Fleet would still need the other resources that the resupply fleet could bring, in ord
er to force their way, if necessary, along the rest of the milk run path through Tong space. Relying only on the Hail Mary alternative would be a risky roll of the dice. Excalibur was the only other ship now that had a low enough OAE to attempt the gauntlet, but if she detached Koenig’s ship, the Fleet would lose its only stealthy, light cruiser capable of covert recon missions. Doubling the chances of having a resupply fleet waiting for them at MR66 would do little good if the Fleet was unable to make it there because they ran into unexpected opposition. At least she didn’t have to make that decision right this minute; she had several more days to think about it.
The recovery of Javelin’s bodies was nerve wracking because it took longer than expected with the fear of another alien attack. Dejanus positioned her ships in a wide box formation with heavy and super-heavy cruisers on the outside and the light cruisers on the inside. Because of her size, Reforger had the internal space and capacity to take Javelin’s bodies and store them in one of the food freezers that was now empty. Dejanus was loath to eject them into space or on a trajectory that would see them fall into this system’s sun when they had the ability to take the bodies back to human space. As she watched the process of transferring the bodies one at a time from Javelin to the supply ship, she continued to ponder what to do with Excalibur. That ship would stay with the fleet until they got close to the alien planet that the astro AI was now designating as F1. The AI denied that the ‘F’ stood for food but Dejanus suspected otherwise. F1 was a single jump away from the gauntlet system that Javelin had gotten to. If Excalibur was used to recon F1 as a prelude to contact, then it could still transition to the gauntlet path and continue on from there.
Dejanus checked the star map showing both paths and shook her head in wonder. The detour from MR28 to F1 was only seven jumps. Given how large this spiral arm was, it was almost a miracle that the milk run path and the gauntlet path just happened to be that close right where a life-bearing planet existed. She didn’t even want to think of the odds against that happening. Right now, she was leaning towards detaching Excalibur for the gauntlet run.
Chapter Seven:
Nine days later, the Fleet was floating in a tight formation on the outskirts of F1. Dejanus was standing on the Bridge shaking her head in dismay. Astrogational sensors had detected a planet that was the right distance from this system’s sun to have liquid water, which was the pre-requisite for life, but that planet was no longer transmitting any kind of EM signal.
“Astro, could Javelin’s detection have been false data?” she asked.
“Negative. While the content and meaning of the intercepted signals is unknown, they are clearly artificial in origin, and the span of frequencies detected suggests a substantial population. AstroComp has no explanation for the lack of signals.”
“What do you think, Hector?”
Cortez was sitting in the Command Pod and turned to look at her. “I think you should send Excalibur in to take a close look. She’s perfect for this kind of mission.”
Dejanus nodded as she stepped over to the Communications console. “Com, I want a video channel to Excalibur Actual.”
Koenig wasn’t surprised when his com AI told him that the AFC was calling. His AIs reported the same lack of EM signals from the planet too. Someone needed to get closer and find out why. Excalibur was the obvious choice.
“Let me guess,” said Koenig as Dejanus’ face appeared on his console screen. “You want Excalibur to sneak in for a close look, right sir?”
She gave him a tiny smile. “Right, and sneak is the operative word. I’ll leave it to your discretion as to how close you get, but I need to know why this planet is no longer pumping out EM transmissions. If you think it’s safe to do so, you’re authorized to take the ship into the atmosphere if that will give you the answer. However, and I want to stress this point, Wolfe, this Fleet can not afford to lose Excalibur. So, if you think there’s a risk of hostile action or danger to the ship, the ship comes first. Can I count on you to respect that decision, Commander Koenig?”
Koenig blinked. Dejanus only referred to him with his rank and last name when she was either pissed-off or deadly serious. This was her way of telling him to exercise good judgement for a change.
“You can, sir.”
“I hope so,” she said after a pause. “Excalibur can break out of the formation whenever you’re ready. Good luck, Wolfe.”
Koenig thanked her and cut the circuit. He and his astro AI had some work to do to come up with a trajectory that would make maximum use of the ship’s black, flat surfaced and sharp angled hull, and her ECM capabilities.
Eight hours later, Excalibur was approaching the planet F1C at a distance of just under two light seconds and a velocity of one per cent of light speed. He was in the Command Pod and Soriya was standing next to it. The ship was at Battle Stations, just in case, but so far there was no sign of any activity. The opticals had detected hundreds of metallic objects in orbit, but they were too small to make out at this distance. F1C looked a lot like Earth with blue oceans, green and tan land surfaces and white clouds. Unlike the planet at MR7, F1C had more than enough land to support a sizable population with plant and animal life.
Koenig was looking forward to the ship passing into the planet’s shadow so that they could check for light sources on the surface indicating electric lighting or perhaps even just campfires if they were numerous enough. That would at least confirm that whatever alien life had transmitted the signals picked up by Javelin in the nearby star system was still here and still alive. But as the ship passed through the planet’s night side, there was no sign of any fire or light, and by the time the trajectory had taken the ship back around to the daylight side, the planet’s surface was much closer.
“Detecting artificial surface structures now,” said the tactical AI.
The main display switched to a zoomed-in image that was blurry from the atmospheric dust and humidity. Koenig saw a city, or rather what was left of it. Multiple buildings seemed to have been destroyed by fire. Vegetation was gradually reclaiming the outskirts of the city. No movement was detected.
“Orbital objects have been classified as debris from larger structures,” said the AI.
“Switch the view to the orbital,” said Koenig quickly. The image shifted to close-up images of metallic objects that had been blown off either a space station or a ship.
“So, Javelin’s CO was right. There was a space-faring civilization here recently enough that their transmissions could be picked up in the neighboring system,” said Soriya in a low voice.
“Yeah, but not anymore by the looks of it,” said Koenig. “Tactical, what is your risk assessment for a low-orbit pass?”
“No orbiting weapon systems have been detected. No ground-based threats have been detected. A low-orbit pass can be classified as a low-risk option.”
“Astro, take us down to an orbit of 200 kilometers,” ordered Koenig. He looked at Soriya who nodded her agreement.
As the ship dropped lower, other cities came up over the horizon. They were in a similar state of decay.
“Are there any signs of intelligent life at all, Tactical?” asked Koenig.
“Visual scans of sections of the areas surrounding the cities do show signs of agriculture but no moving vehicles.” Koenig was about to speak again after a few seconds when the tactical AI beat him to it. “Possible sign of intelligent life is on screen now.”
The main display shifted to an optical image taken at extreme zoom of what Koenig thought of as a farm. There were rectangular areas of land that had been cultivated. There was a building that may have been used like a barn and a smaller structure that could have been a house. Koenig could also make out fencing.
“I don’t see any movement. Why are you classifying this location as a possible sign of intelligent life, Tactical?”
“There is a fenced-in area to one side of the larger structure that has living animals in it. If there was no one alive to feed them, they would have starved
to death by now.”
Koenig looked at Soriya. “I’m thinking that might be worth investigating in person. What do you think, XO?”
Soriya grinned. “I think I should take a shuttle and a team down there. If there are any inhabitants still alive, we can maybe communicate with them, find out that the hell happened here, and we can also pick up plant and animal samples for testing at the same time. Should you ask the AFC for permission first?”
“Yeah,” said Koenig reluctantly. “I think I should. Astro? Do we have line-of-sight with the Fleet from here?”
“Affirmative.”
“Good. Com, record this message and then send it to the Acting Fleet Commander’s attention by comlaser. Koenig to AFC. F1C has cities that appear to be deserted. No orbital structures but lots of debris from destroyed structures. Our optics have found what appears to be a working farm but no sign of inhabitants yet. Request permission to send survey team down to take biological samples and attempt to make contact if any inhabitants are found. Excalibur is standing by. End of message. Astro. Hold our position over this site. How long until we can expect a reply, Com?”
