by Dietmar Wehr
“Sure. I’ll get the board set up while you get your food.”
When the tactical AI woke up Koenig 5.5 hours later, he did not feel any guilt at falling asleep in the Command Pod. The AIs had been instructed to wake him when certain conditions were met, and being within radar range was one of them.
“Still no transmissions from the station, Com?”
“Negative, Commander.”
“Any visual sign of the station, Tactical?”
“Negative, Commander.”
“Okay, let’s go to active scanning and send the crew to Alert Stations.”
As the minutes ticked by, Koenig watched the main display, which was showing the tactical situation. The planet was visible, but so far, no station. The sidebar data indicated that Excalibur was close enough now that radar should have picked up the station. That was not good. Even if the station had been abandoned, it would still be in orbit for possible future re-activation.
“Go to Battle Stations,” he said quietly.
“Continue radar scanning?” asked the tactical AI.
“Affirmative. Com, try to raise the science station on the planet.” With the ship rapidly approaching the planet, Koenig made his decision on what the ship would do now. “Astro, I want the ship to enter a geo-sync orbit over the science station and maintain that position.”
Once the ship was at that position, they would know for sure if the station was still intact because it had been orbiting the planet in exactly the same location.
The com AI reported no contact with anyone on the surface. By the time Excalibur slid into her designated parking orbit, it was crystal clear even to the naked eye that Hofstetter Station was simply gone. A high zoom look at the surface showed a radioactive crater where the ground station had been.
“Son of a bitch,” said Koenig slowly to himself. It had to have been the Tong, and that meant that the TOSF was at war with two alien races on opposite sides of human space, the worst possible scenario for strategic planning. The TOSF would be needing every warship they had now, but to Koenig’s way of thinking, one more light cruiser, even a stealthy Javelin-class one, would probably not make that much difference to the war, whereas 15 more warships, including two super-heavy cruisers, just might. It was unlikely that High Command would pull a task force out of the line of battle to help 7th Fleet get home, but they might let Excalibur go back. And if that was the case, she would need all the muscle she could get. Installing the two gravity cannon seemed more urgent to Koenig than ever.
“Show me the nearest base that has major repair facilities,” said Koenig.
The main display switched to a large-scale star map. Excalibur’s position was a green dot. A blue dot showed the location of the base. It was 11 jumps deeper into human space.
“Is there a closer facility that has sufficient technical resources to install the gravity cannon?”
“Negative. The next closest facility is a privately-owned station in the Gorgon system where weapons R&D is being conducted by the General ElectroDynamics Corp,” said the astro AI. “It’s 14 jumps away as shown here.” A yellow dot appeared on the star map. As it happened, the base was on the same set of jumps that the ship would need to take to get to the GED station. That made the decision easy. Excalibur would go to the base first, and if they weren’t able to install the cannon, she would then move on to the GED station.
“I want the ship to get to the base as quickly as possible while keeping miss probabilities to less than 4%.”
When that order was acknowledged, Koenig turned to the com AI.
“Open ship-wide inter-craft. This is the CO speaking. I have bad news…”
Eleven days later, Excalibur dropped into the star system containing the Spruance Base. It wasn’t long before the situation became clear. The base on the surface of the planet had been destroyed by nuclear bombardment, and the orbiting structures were completely gone. Koenig didn’t even hesitate.
“Let’s get to the GED station asap, Astro.”
“It may be gone too,” said Soriya quietly. Her face had gone pale upon learning of the fate of the base.
“Maybe,” agreed Koenig, “but it’s not a TOSF station, and it’s possible that the Tong either don’t know about it or figure it’s not strategically important. It’s close enough that it’s worth checking. I want you to tell the crew about the Spruance Base.”
The trip to the GED station seemed to take forever. It was Lieutenant Chen’s shift as BDO when the ship arrived in the system, but both Koenig and Soriya were again on the Bridge as observers.
“Any transmissions from the station?” asked Koenig in a low voice.
“Negative,” said the com AI. Koenig looked at Soriya and saw that she was worried. He wasn’t sure if the lack of transmissions meant anything at this point. Unlike military stations that routinely transmitted data on ship movements at all times to help avoid collisions, a privately-owned station like this would not usually get enough space traffic to justify doing that.
“What’s our status, Tactical?” asked Koenig.
“The ship is operating under full ECM as per standing orders.”
“Com, send a flash message to the station identifying ourselves and requesting a response. How long until we can expect a reply?”
“Thirty-seven point four minutes if they respond immediately.”
Thirty-eight minutes later the ship received a text message response. “Let’s see it,” said Koenig.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SIGNAL, EXCALIBUR. YOU’RE THE FIRST SHIP TO ARRIVE HERE IN OVER TWO MONTHS. OUR REGULAR MONTHLY SUPPLY SHIP HAS MISSED TWO SCHEDULED VISITS. CAN YOU SHED ANY LIGHT ON THIS MYSTERY?
“So, the Tongs did bypass them,” said Soriya.
“Apparently. Com, send this reply by text message: All we know for certain is that two TOSF bases and stations have been destroyed, we believe by the Tong. It would seem prudent to assume a state of war exists between humans and the Tong, and also with the Jabs. Excalibur is carrying alien weapons that could be very helpful if they can be retro-fitted to the ship. We’re hoping your people can do that. Maintain EM silence. We’ll let you know when we get close. Koenig commanding. Okay, Astro. Let’s get to the station asap.”
“Understood.”
The trip through normal space to the station would take long enough that Keonig and Soriya decided to leave the Bridge for a quick meal and a coffee. They sat at separate tables and did not interact with anyone else. Koenig wondered if Soriya was pondering their next move just as he was. If the station personnel were unable or unwilling to install the gravity cannons, there was no further reason to stay in this system. Under that situation, he would take Excalibur all the way to Earth and TOSF HQ, and make the case for a reinforcement task force. If, on the other hand, the gravity cannons could be installed, there wouldn’t be time to seek additional reinforcements. He would take the ship back into Tong space to try to link up with 7th Fleet along the milk run path and then help them get back. He had less concern moving through Tong space with Excalibur alone than he did as part of the Fleet. Alone, she could utilize her unique hull structure and the best available ECM to become almost invisible, but as part of the Fleet made up of less stealthy ships, they were bound to be seen sooner or later.
When the ship arrived at the station co-ordinates, both Koenig and Soriya were surprised to see that it was not a metal space station, but rather a hollowed-out asteroid with an open internal space large enough to hold a heavy cruiser. Utilizing tight-beam comlasers, Koenig established communications and told the station manager what had happened and what they had discovered. She was willing to have her people try to replace Excalibur’s two gamma-ray laser turrets with the two gravity cannon. Tugs gently pulled the light cruiser into the construction bay. And while recreational facilities on the station were limited, it was still a pleasant change from being inside the ship for almost half a year. When the ship was secure, Koenig and the station manager, Angela Carson, met in her office. His impress
ion of her was that she was a typical corporate bureaucrat, although she seemed to exhibit far more self-confidence than he was used to seeing from middle-level corporate types.
“My people are crawling all over the two gravity cannon. I hope you’re not expecting a quick answer as to whether we can install them. This is a completely new technology. It might take weeks, maybe months, just to understand how the damn things work.”
Koenig shook his head. “With a war on, I can’t wait even weeks. I need a quick answer. If your people can’t do it, then I’ll go to plan B and take the ship to Earth. 7th Fleet needs help, and they need it soon. A Javelin-class light cruiser, like Excalibur, armed with gravity cannon, could be enough to get them home, and the TOSF needs those ships more than they need one more light cruiser. But if we can’t get the cannon working, then I’ll need to convince the Brass to put together a reinforcement task force.”
She nodded, her expression sympathetic. Koenig wondered how genuine her reaction really was.
“I understand the urgency; however, I have to ask if you have the authority to modify a TOSF ship. I don’t want GED to be sued by the government for illegally tampering with one of their ships.”
Koenig tried to keep his expression from showing his rising anger. “Considering that humans are at war with two alien races, I’m willing to risk exceeding my authority, and I’ll take full responsibility for the modifications. You can tell your bosses that you complied under duress.”
“I hope it won’t come to that. This facility’s mission is to develop new weapons technology, and if we can figure out how to reverse engineer the gravity cannon, we’ll have accomplished that mission in spades.”
“How soon do you think your technical staff will know if they can do the modification?”
Carson took her time answering. “Ah, well, I think we can probably have a definite answer for you in say, six days, a week at the most.”
“No. I can’t give you more than 24 hours.”
Carson looked shocked. “What? No! That’s unreasonable!”
Before she could continue, he interjected. “Call your chief technical person in here. I want to speak to him or her right now.” Koenig’s tone left no doubt that it was an order, not a request.
Carson’s expression now took on what Koenig thought of as a poker face. He imagined that Carson was used to playing corporate politics, but in his experience, civilians were at a disadvantage when they were dealing with highly motivated military personnel, and he was definitely highly motivated right now.
“All right,” she said in a deceptively polite tone. “I’ll call him and tell him to come here, but he’ll tell you that 24 hours is not going to be nearly enough time. If you have to leave that soon, then leave one of the cannon behind and—” She stopped talking when she saw Koenig shake his head.
“This is GED’s one shot at this technology. If Excalibur leaves in 24 hours, she’ll take both cannon with her. Some other company will eventually get the chance to reverse engineer those secrets, and you can explain to your bosses how you let that one chance slip through your fingers. Now call the techie.”
Carson said nothing. She touched a virtual button that only she could see and said, “Chief Technician Bronson, please come to the Director’s office immediately.” After several seconds, she said, “He’s on his way.” How she knew that, Koenig didn’t know and didn’t ask.
When Bronson arrived, Koenig saw that he was an older man, starting to go bald in spite of the medical treatment available. He gave Koenig the impression of a technocrat who lives for his work.
Carson looked like she was about to speak, but Koenig held up his hand to indicate that he would control the conversation. “Have you heard about the war?” he asked.
Bronson nodded. “I heard your voice message before the ship docked. Terrible news. My team is highly motivated to learn about this new technology.”
“Fine. I need to know within 24 hours, if your people can swap the gravity cannon for the grasers that Excalibur currently has, and make them work. That’s the only question your team should be asking itself for the next 24 hours. Can we install these cannon and make them work? Fully understanding how to reverse engineer the technology has to take a backseat right now. If I don’t get a yes answer that quickly, I’m taking the cannon, and I’ll be looking for some other company who can do it that fast. Your boss here will then have to explain to her bosses why GED let this technology get away. I wonder who she’ll blame.”
“Now wait a minute!” said Carson angrily. “I’ve told you we’ll try our best, but this kind of intimidation is uncalled for! Bronson’s team has to understand how the damn things work in order to install them, right Sam?”
Bronson hesitated, and Koenig knew exactly what that meant. Bronson did understand the difference in priorities, but didn’t want to contradict his boss in front of a third party.
“Well, ah, being able to reverse engineer it would certainly help to figure out how to install and hook it up to Excalibur’s power and control systems, but we may be able to determine if it can be done at all within 24 hours. The actual work of installing it will take longer, you understand.”
Koenig smiled. “I understand that, sure; 24 hours to figure out IF it can be done and another 24 hours to actually do it. Good! I’m glad you can see the urgency here. My people will help as much as they can, and we’ll share what little technical data we were able to acquire. Push your people, Sam. Lives are at stake here, and every second counts! I don’t want to see your staff drop their tools when their usual work shift ends. If I do, I’ll make sure my High Command isn’t happy with GED. Do we understand each other?”
Koenig saw Bronson’s face go pale with fear. “Y-yes, we understand each other. I’d better get back down there.” With a barely noticeable nod to Carson, he turned and dashed out the door.
“If you abuse my staff, I’ll make sure my bosses hear about it, and GED will complain to your High Command,” said Carson.
Koenig wanted to laugh. If she intended that statement to be a threat, she failed miserably. “Pushing subordinates, if necessary to the edge of exhaustion in a war-time situation, is something that the High Command would expect from its officers, Director Carson. If GED complains about my treatment of your staff, the High Command is more likely to give me a commendation than a reprimand. In any case, I think you and I are done talking, at least for now. Good day, Director.”
The verdict came literally 24 hours later. Bronson thought his team could figure out how to install the cannon and make them work. Koenig was prepared to wait more than another 24 hours, but didn’t tell Bronson that. Carson kept her opinions to herself. Installing the first cannon took almost another 48 hours, but once they had figured out what to do, repeating the process with the second one took less than 6 hours.
Koenig was eager to field test them. Excalibur backed out of the asteroid and found another one nearby approximately the size of a shuttle. The first cannon fired correctly and cut the target in two. The second cannon misfired. The ship was brought back to the base but held its position just outside the asteroid opening, and Bronson’s team came out in spacesuits. They quickly found the problem. The second test was successful.
When Soriya was told that Excalibur would head for Tong space, she told the astro AI to call up a star map that included MR66, the GED base system and all the space in between, as well as the short jumps that Excalibur would have to make to get to MR66. “We’ll never get to the rendezvous point in time now,” she said. “Too many jumps; not enough time.” She wondered why Koenig had this all-knowing grin on his face.
He turned to the display. “Astro, show the XO the alternate path AstroComp discovered.” A series of long jumps between giant stars appeared. They led from a system not far away from the GED base all the way to a system that was only three short jumps from MR66.
“You’re going to risk long jumps again?” asked Soriya in a voice that clearly showed the idea bothered her.
“Why not? We’ll be doing the same thing we did in the gauntlet, and for most of those long jumps, we’ll be aiming for stars that have been carefully measured from a variety of angles. That will reduce the miss probability to 3% or less. There’s another reason why I want to take this alternate path.” He stepped over to the display. “When we get here”—he pointed to the second giant star in the path— “we make a quick detour to here.” He pointed to a nearby system. “There is, or at least there used to be, a TOSF base there. If they haven’t been destroyed by the Tong, we can let them know that 7th Fleet hasn’t been completely lost and in fact can be brought home. I’ll tell them where I expect 7th Fleet to arrive in human space and request that a resupply task force be waiting for them there, along with orders for the Fleet. That base may still be in contact with HQ and might be able to pass along that information. It’s a long shot, I know, but it won’t keep us from getting to MR66 in time. Astro, get the ship moving along the alternate path, which from now on we’ll call the shortcut. I’ll make an announcement to the crew shortly. Let’s go bring our people home.”
