Scimitar's Glory: A Swordships Odyssey Novel

by Dietmar Wehr

  “So, they have some kind of cloaking technology too?” asked Koenig.

  “Of a limited capability, yes. There is a high probability that the wing ships would be easier to see if they were closer, but at longer ranges, they can become effectively invisible to optical detection. No data on whether that technology is effective against radar emissions,” said the AI.

  “I’m willing to bet it is,” said Dejanus, “but at least they’re not shooting at us. Com, tell them we brought three of their freighters back with us as a gesture of goodwill in the hope that they’ll help us to acquire gravity cannons to defend our people from invaders. After you send that message, order the freighters to come down to a low orbit.”

  There was no immediate reply from the Arenians. When the tactical display appeared to show the three Arenian freighters change course for a landing on the planet instead of heading into a low orbit, Koenig realized that the Arenians had found a way to retake control of them.

  The reply, when it did finally come, was positive. The Arenians were willing to assist the humans and asked how they could do so. An hour later, everything was settled. Apparently the Arenians had AIs too, and there still existed some that appeared to have been installed in underground complexes that were still operational. Those AIs began to exchange signals with Excalibur’s Astro with the goal of converting Arenian astrogational data into a form that humans could use. That took longer than Koenig and Dejanus expected, but the end result was worth it. The display now showed where all the Arenian colonies and outposts were located, what ships or other military equipment was there based on the latest pre-plague data, and astrogational data on all the stars that had been mapped.

  The star system that reportedly had the most ships was MR7, which fit the observations made by the Fleet when it had passed through there. The collections of ships located closer to human space were far smaller in number and only contained three wing ships. Ten times that many were deployed on the opposite side of Arenian space, which correlated quite well with the direction the hostile aliens seemed to be coming from.

  As Dejanus and Koenig watched, a blue line appeared, starting from the home world system, then jumping to systems with giant stars in a huge curve that eventually came back to the home world system.

  “The Arenian AI has transmitted an offer from the Arenian leadership,” said the com AI. “If TF71 is prepared to jump to all the systems on the far side where ships are located and transmit the coded signals that they will give us in order to recover those ships, the Arenians will then give us as many gravity cannon as we can carry, along with detailed engineering data on their function and construction.”

  That sounded like a good deal to Koenig. He and Dejanus exchanged looks; she seemed pleased with it too.

  “How long will that circuit take, Astro?” asked Dejanus.

  “Thirty-three point four days.”

  “Those look like very long jumps. Am I right?” asked Dejanus.

  “Affirmative. Each of these jumps is almost twice as long as the longest jump any human ship has done successfully, excluding the alpha9 miss,” said the astro AI. “Based on the very precise astrogational data that we now have on these stars, AstroComp calculates that all three light cruisers would have miss probabilities of less than 4% for each of these jumps if Curtana and Durendal matched Excalibur’s trajectories. The two support ships would have higher miss probabilities and therefore should not attempt any of these jumps.”

  “And if we just collect the cannon from the three wing ships located closer to human space; how long will that take?”

  “Thirty-seven point one days,” said the AI.

  Koenig saw Dejanus frown. “Why would that take longer if we’re only travelling to two Arenian systems instead of seven the other way?”

  “The Arenian AI did not supply the same level of detailed astrogational data for the space closest to human space as it did for the far side. Therefore, we would have to make 2.4 times as many jumps of shorter durations, and when transit times to cross star systems in order to line up for the next jump is added, the total elapsed time totals 37.1 days.”

  Dejanus folded her arms in front of her and said nothing. Koenig recognized her expression as denoting that she was now deep in thought, and he could guess why. Thirty-four days just to return here, added to the time needed to get back to human space even without a raiding detour through Tong space, would equal almost two months. A lot could happen in the war with the Tong and Jabs in two months. He decided to wait, knowing that she would eventually ask him for his thoughts. She did.

  “Those Arenians are cunning buggers, I’ll give them that,” she said in a low, almost conspiratorial voice. “They deliberately made the grand circuit,” she gestured at the blue line, “as attractive as possible and our preferred option as unattractive as possible, without giving us false data. Even so, I’m still tempted to decline their offer and go for the three wing ships that are closest to home. We know each wing ship carries ten gravity cannons; that’s thirty in total, and even if we install six on Excalibur, Curtana and Durendal, that leaves 24 more. That could make a real difference in the war, but only if we get back fast enough to be able to make use of them.”

  “You’re right about there being 30 gravity cannons for the taking IF those three ships are still there. What concerns me,” said Koenig, “is the location for two of those ships. Look how close that system is to known Tong space. For all we know, the Tong might have already found those ships and either looted or destroyed them. And what if none of those three ships are actually there any more?” Koenig paused and Dejanus waited. “What if…suppose we make a counter-offer. We agree to undertake the grand circuit if right now the Arenians let us have the 20 cannon that are on the two wing ships guarding this system so that one of the support ships can take those back to human space immediately. The other support ship stays here to help install cannon on the three cruisers when we finish the circuit.”

  “Interesting idea. Before we take it any further, let’s make sure the support ship can get home by itself. How about that, Astro?” asked Dejanus.

  “The jump path will be longer than that taken by TF71 to get here, but the support ship would be able to reach human space with acceptable jump risks and would arrive approximately 21 days sooner than if it stays with TF71.”

  “Hmm. 21 days is worth considering, but how likely are the Arenians to let us take all their defensive weaponry leaving themselves defenseless for weeks?” aske Dejanus.”

  “They wouldn’t be defenseless if Curtana and Durendal stayed here to defend the system against potential hostile attacks. There’s really no reason why all three cruisers need to go on this grand circuit mission,” said Koenig. “And if they get retro-fitted with gravity cannons before the support ship leaves, they’ll be even more dangerous to any attacker, and they’d also be protecting the other support ship.”

  “I like it, but I’m willing to bet the Arenians won’t. There’s no harm in asking though. Com, here is the reply I want sent back…”

  To Koenig’s and Dejanus’s surprise, the Arenians agreed to the counter-proposal, and did so surprisingly quickly too. Both wing ships, as well as the rest of TF71, came down to a lower orbit. The wing ships were ordered to release their gravity cannons, and the technical personnel from the support ships were able to install four of them on Curtana and Durendal in less than two hours, with the remaining 16 tucked into Redeemer’s cargo hold. Dejanus transferred her command to Durendal and laughed when she saw Koenig’s expression upon hearing the news.

  “You’re wondering why I’m leaving Excalibur when it would be easier to send Curtana or Durendal on the grand circuit and stay on Excalibur, right?” she asked. Koenig nodded.

  “It’s very simple, Wolfe. Excalibur’s crew has already been to MR7, and she has the best OAE of the three. That means less risk of missing a jump. You’ve proven yourself capable of dealing with the unexpected. Nakatomi and Torriega have not. And putting one of t
hem in command of TF71 when there’s an unknown level of risk of combat, so that I can go with you, would not be considered a wise choice by senior officers back on Earth, or by me for that matter. If the task force is going into battle, I should be there and in command. You can do this, Wolfe. You don’t need me along to look over your shoulder.”

  “Okay, Tyler. When you put it that way, I see your point. It’s just that I’ve gotten used to having you around,” said Koenig.

  “I know, but it’ll just be for a few weeks. As soon as the Arenians send you their coded signals, I want Excalibur to leave orbit. My stuff is already packed and in the shuttle. God speed, Wolfe. Do me a favor and bring the ship and yourself back in one piece, okay?”

  Excalibur had the coded signals by the time her shuttle returned from dropping off Dejanus at Durendal. As soon as the hangar bay hatch closed, the ship accelerated out of orbit and began to line up for the first long jump. Koenig insisted, regardless of how long it took, that the line up be as perfect as possible.

  Chapter Fourteen:

  The jump to GC1 was successful, and Koenig was surprised at how close Excalibur got to hitting the giant star’s gravity well dead center. The ship had just completed a jump that was much longer than the jump to Alpha9, and they did it better than most TOSF ships did with much shorter jumps. The combination of very low OAE plus excellent astrogational data and careful pre-jump maneuvering had given Excalibur a capability that was beyond the Tong or the Jabs as far as he knew. The star system two short jumps from GC1 had the first location where Arenian ships were supposed to be stationed. It wasn’t even necessary for the ship to get close enough to the planet to see if the ships were still there. Koenig intended to order the recall codes transmitted from long range while the ship maneuvered over to where it could start lining up for the jump to GC2. Either the Arenian ships would respond to the recall code or they wouldn’t, and there was nothing Excalibur could do if they didn’t. Those two short jumps went smoothly, as did the jump to GC2. From there, three short jumps would get the ship to MR7. There would be so many ships orbiting there that Koenig wanted to actually see if they responded to the recall code, and he was determined to get close enough to do so.

  As soon as Excalibur dropped back into normal space in the MR7 system, Koenig knew that this would not be a routine visit. The com AI was picking up EM transmissions from the vicinity of the Arenian colony planet, and since it couldn’t possibly be Arenians sending the signals, Koenig came to the conclusion that the hostile aliens from the attack on the Arenian home world had found the Arenian fleet. That meant that other hostile ships could literally be anywhere in this star system. He decided to relieve Soriya and take over the Command Pod himself.

  “Tactical, send the ship to Battle Stations. Full stealth mode,” he said as he waited for Soriya to unbuckle herself and vacate the Pod. Soriya immediately left the Bridge to go to her assigned Battle Stations position in Engineering. When Koenig was buckled in, he closed the Pod so that he was completely enclosed by the unit. It not only allowed him to get a 360-degree visual of the ship’s surroundings if he chose, along with multiple displays to monitor the ship’s systems, but it also would protect him from hits that would otherwise kill or severely injure him. The Command Pod could also act as a lifeboat, to be ejected if the ship had to be abandoned.

  “What do we know so far, Tactical?” The section of the Pod’s interior directly ahead of him lit up to show the tactical display. Two distinct EM sources coming from the vicinity of the planet and Arenian fleet had been detected.

  “Minimum of two transmission sources that appear to be maneuvering slowly. Unable to determine the range yet. TacComp has designated the two sources as Sierra1 and Sierra2.”

  “Show the ship’s current trajectory,” ordered Koenig. The tactical display zoomed out to include the ship’s current position, vector and projected path. From Excalibur’s point of view, the ship was pointed below this system’s ecliptic, while the colony world was up and to the right of the sun. “Show me the trajectory if the ship approaches the planet from behind and above its orbit at one light second range.” A blue line curved out and to the right. Koenig rotated the image to get a better feel for the three-dimensional aspect of things. Excalibur would come down to a point that was 300,000 kilometers above the ecliptic and then curve along it until it caught up to the planet from behind.

  “A third EM source has now been detected, designated Sierra3,” said the AI.

  “Understood. Okay, Astro, let’s take the new approach. Accel to max now, but I want the ship to hold position relative to the planet when we’re directly over it. We should be able to see reflections from some of the Arenian ships from that position. Is that correct, Astro?”

  “Affirmative, and possibly some or all of the hostile ships too,” said the AI.

  One of the smaller displays told Koenig that the ship would reach that position in less than 18 minutes. He decided to let the crew know what the situation was and then record a log entry. By the time that was done, the tactical AI had detected three more transmission sources for a total so far of six. All were coming from near the colony planet, and while it wasn’t possible to be certain at this point, the AI estimated, and Koenig agreed, that the hostile ships were also in orbit around the colony planet.

  Excalibur didn’t even need to reach its position directly over the planet in order to see reflections from some of the Arenian ships. With just over three minutes to go, the tactical AI made the announcement.

  “More reflections detected. Spectroscopic analysis is consistent with the type of metal used in the Arenian ships.”

  Koenig checked the display and nodded. The Arenian fleet was organized in a loose cluster, and each ship’s relative position to the others was constant, as seen from the first visit to MR7. The new reflections made up a formation that matched part of the Arenian fleet formation. That confirmed the spectral analysis. The six Sierra sources were constantly maneuvering, albeit slowly. As Excalibur got closer, more Arenian ships reflected sunlight back to it.

  “Com, give me inter-craft,” said Koenig. “This is the CO. We’re close enough now to see part of the Arenian fleet that we’re here to recall. I’m about to send the recall codes. The hostile aliens will react when the Arenian ships begin to maneuver. If the Arenian ships are fired upon, or if we’re detected, we’ll fire at the hostiles. Everyone stay alert! Koenig out.” After a pause, he said, “Com, send the recall codes.”

  The Arenian ships that were visible reacted almost immediately by accelerating and veering away from the planet. It was obvious that the Tong ships were caught off guard because it took almost a full ten seconds before there was any visible reaction.

  “Sierras 1 to 6 have begun maneuvering,” said the tactical AI unnecessarily.

  “Any radar emissions?” asked Koenig.

  “Negative.” Before Koenig could say anything, the AI continued speaking. “Sierra2 and Sierra5 have stopped maneuvering. Sierra1 has also stopped maneuvering. All six Sierras have now stopped maneuvering and have gone ballistic. TacComp calculates a 77.8% probability that the hostile ships were hit and disabled by wing ship gravity cannon fire.”

  “Ah, yes. At that short range, there was no way the wing ships would miss. I should have anticipated that the Arenian ships would defend themselves. We’ll wait a while to make sure all the Arenian ships are safely away, and then we’ll fire on the Sierras. I’m not leaving them alone to repair their damage and get back into the fight. It’s time that Excalibur started racking up some kills.”

  When the tactical display showed the visible Arenian ships more than 100,000 kilometers away from the colony planet, Koenig ordered the missile attack. The six Sierras, which still hadn’t changed their vectors, made no move to stop the incoming barrage, and each one was partially vaporized by the missile’s Mark 14 warhead. With half of each ship gone and the other half a twisted wreck, there was no way that those ships could be repaired, even if any of their crew
had survived, which Koenig was certain was not the case.

  “Tactical, stand down from Battle Stations. Astro, let’s head for GC3.”

  When Soriya returned to the Bridge, Koenig filled her in on what had happened. GC3 and 4 were routine. All Arenian ships nearby responded to the codes and headed for the home system. The colony near GC5 was not routine.

  “Multiple EM transmissions,” said the com AI.

  Koenig checked the star map on the main display one more time. This system and the GC6 system were relatively close to known Tong space. “Can you tell if the senders are the hostile aliens from our last encounter or the Tong?”

  “The type of signals being sent here are different from those sent in MR7. There are similarities to known Tong signals. ComComp calculates an 89.9% probability that these are Tong signals.”