Relentless: Book One of the Union Warship Saga

by Scott Mullins

  Anger flooded his mind. The commander caused this. He unfurled in a burst towards the door. It was beginning to close but he made it out in time. He glided quickly through the corridor until he came upon gravity again at which point he continued in a run. He was going to kill the commander. He would choke the life from him and watch the life fade from his eyes.

  As he approached the control room he spotted a soldier with his back to him. Yasa shoved him into the wall as he unholstered the soldiers weapon and took off at full speed to the control room. He entered the control room, walked up to the commander who started to protest. The soldier he stole the firearm from was hot on his heels but he could not catch him before he raised the pistol to the commander’s forehead and pulled the trigger. The commander’s head flew back and he fell like a rag doll onto the deck. Yasa dropped the gun as the soldier grabbed him and forced him to the ground. He felt nothing. Everyone in the command center went into a frenzy. The soldier was shouting something at him but all he could hear was the ringing in his ears from the gunshot and what he imagined was the weeping of his darlings as they slowly died an agonizing death.

  ***

  Drafting the agreement for the treatment of prisoners opened up a dialog between the Union and the Telarian Sovereignty. Every year on the anniversary of the signing a group of delegates would meet at the border station where the agreement had been drafted and signed. Ambassadors from both sides and various political representatives were invited to come and enjoy an evening of dinner and conversations. Discussion involving the war was strictly prohibited as not to arouse tensions.

  Yasa Tomac, being a highly distinguished individual had no trouble getting named an ambassador. The incident at the stardock when his wife and child were killed had not been subject to punishment. Lex talionis as it was known, had been his right since poor judgement on the part of the commander had caused their deaths. By law he should have waited for tribunal but no one argued about the formalities giving the depth at which it struck. No amount of retribution could ever repair the damage done to his life.

  No doubt his brilliant mind would be good for hours of discussion on virtually any subject. He, however, had different motives not involving peace. He was interested in a “cultural exchange,” just not what his government had in mind. He was looking to exchange his discoveries for the operational file of the incursion on the stardock in which his wife and daughter were murdered. He wanted to know who was responsible. Becoming an ambassador seemed the only way to meet a like-minded individual and that he did. He was an up and coming Bvaltari senator from Menosa, who happened to be a lack luster scientist. After many hours of discussion Yasa asked for his favor.

  “Do you have the ability to gain access to files of a secret nature?” he asked the senator.

  “Are you asking if I can sell you top secret information? That would be treason and punishable by death,” he responded.

  “I’m not interested in buying information. What I can offer you is a leap forward in your career,” Yasa baited him.

  “Continue.”

  “I am the most brilliant scientist my people have. I have developed technologies your people are nowhere close to developing. You are no doubt familiar with the concept of subspace vacuum energy,” ambassador Tomac stated.

  “I am. Are you saying you have developed a zero point energy device that is actually useful?” the senator asked incredulously.

  “I have. I can power cities, starships and more. I will also offer my new drive technology. In trade for my discoveries I would ask for the operational file on an incursion against my research facility that ended in the deaths of several members of my family. What I ask for is of little consequence for you but what I offer could make you the most renowned scientist in your civilization don’t you agree?” Yasa finished his sales pitch.

  From the look on the senator’s face, he had him hooked.

  “What station? How would I contact you if I could acquire what you are looking for?” the senator asked.

  “With this,” Yasa said and slipped a small device into the senator’s hand. “It has everything I need on a format you can access plus a beacon. Once you enable it I will come to you and if you attempt to cross me I will know.”

  Yasa continued to mingle with other guests after the conversation. Among those attending was Admiral Silas Quell. He was dressed in his uniform and carried a distinguished air about him. He and Yasa had been old friends. They grew up together and attended the same schools until adulthood when their chosen career paths took them separate ways. Silas had been the driving force behind convincing the council they needed Yasa for the new weapons program. When he saw Yasa he approached him.

  “Good evening Yasa.”

  They clasped hands.

  “Good evening old friend,” his voice was somber.

  “I have been meaning to get in touch with you. I know what you have been going through brother.” Years earlier the Admiral had lost his wife in an accident. “In light of the situation I have been authorized to offer you a military command and complete autonomy on your project. We realize we cannot,” he paused, cleared the lump forming in his throat and continued, “We cannot bring Beya and Llih back but maybe your caution could save more lives in the future. I also got approval to transfer Lodan to you under your command. He has become quite a talented young man.”

  Yasa stared at the floor trying to hold back tears. His only reason for living now was Lodan. Since he came of age and joined the military he had not seen him often.

  Since the incident on the station he had contemplated leaving. He avoided the hallway he had lived on at the time. Everything about the station reminded him they were gone.

  Humans would think it ridiculous how the death of a mate affects a Telarian. The physical dependency is worse than any drug mankind ever developed on their own. It had taken a month afterward before he could leave his new quarters. The doctor paid regular visits to administer medications to ease the loss. For the rest of his life Yasa would be on replacement therapy.

  On the other hand, also the route he had chosen, was to stay. He could use his influence and position to make sure the individual or individuals responsible paid with their lives. What Silas was now offering to him was considerable more than he hope for. Yasa knew with the Parthess under his command and Lodan by his side they could wipe the interlopers from existence.

  “I accept Silas.” He looked to his friend again. “I must admit, leaving has weighed heavily on my mind but the opportunity to have Lodan by my side and to never have to defer to someone less competent makes it worth staying. Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it my friend. Get the Parthess completed and ready for battle and I’ll see to it that you both can go home with full retirement.”

  ***

  Within a month of their conversation the senator activated the beacon. Yasa approached the rendezvous in the Parthess. It would seem the senator had chosen this location because it was a hole in Union sensor nets. Once he was certain that the senator was alone he approached his ship. Inside the senator’s shuttle the incoming transmission light flashed and he opened a channel.

  “Greetings my friend,” Yasa said to him. “Are you prepared to trade?”

  “I have the information you requested. If that is to your liking we can ‘trade,’” said the senator.

  “Dock at the aft hangar bay. We will examine our trade goods before we make our final decisions. Agreed?” Ambassador Tomac asked.

  “Assuming my ‘goods’ are the right one I figure I’m the only one needing to verify anything,” the senator told him.

  “Fair enough. I will allow you all the time you require to verify my goods are in fact an honest representation of my words for I am honorable,” Yasa conceded.

  The senator brought his shuttle around skirting the intimidating hulk of the Parthess. It had a very organic, flowing, metallic hull, a bulky midsection with down swept and up swept wings meeting at the tips, the length of whic
h was a large cannon. The other weapons where hidden behind many irised portals, one that he passed uncomfortably close to. A cannon of some sort, large enough for his tiny craft to fit in. He was very nervous thinking that maybe this was a mistake. He came alone and this Telarian brought the biggest warship ever constructed, except the Ragnarok of course. The hangar doors split down the center. A seam of light breached the crack and grew larger as the doors slid away as he approached. The senator landed his tiny craft in the belly of the beast. He unbuckled from the pilots seat and headed aft. With a few deep breaths and thoughts of his upcoming success he opened the hatch.

  He looked around, a door and large window were along the back wall of the bay. He peered through the glass. Yasa stood alone at a table with matching chair in the adjacent empty cargo bay. No guards and seemingly unarmed. He entered the cargo bay through the door. On the table he had a laptop style computer of Union design. Yasa turned it around to face the senator.

  “Take your time and see that I am telling you the truth. Once you are convinced you make take this device and be on your way. I would ask that you keep the beacon device so that we may possibly have dealings in the future,” Yasa spoke in a reassuring tone.

  The senator put his portable drive, a slim rectangular device, on the table for the ambassador before he seated himself to inspect his prize. What he saw was beyond what he imagined. The Telarian was giving him zero point energy, a new subspace drive technology plus the information to put them together to power the energy hungry drive.

  “With this information you will become a very powerful Bvaltari, will you not?” Yasa asked.

  “You are sure you are willing to trade all of this for just that file?”

  “You obviously know nothing of a blood debt. I would trade that and more but it would seem this is more than sufficient for what I asked for. More than fair,” Yasa said to him, his words dripped with calm reassurance.

  “That it is. If you need anything else let me know. I would also mention, not that it matters, the individual you seek just recently got discharged from recovery. He was seriously messed up by the time you guys were through with him. It’s amazing he survived at all,” the senator told him.

  “I will give him time to recover from his wounds before I seek my vengeance,” the ambassador informed him.

  They shook hands, the senator grabbed his laptop and then boarded his shuttle.

  ***

  The first trial runs of the Parthess were going well. The zero point energy generator was working beyond his expectations. It provided more than enough power to the ship and its powerful engines. He had plans for this extra power forming in his mind. He would construct a weapon capable of great devastation. In his search for alternative energies and faster ways to travel his experiments had sometimes yielded unexpected results. Sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes bad in a good way. For now it was still a dream he hoped to implement, a molecular disrupter.

  Captain Tomac sat his tablet down on the arm of his chair and looked at the viewscreen.

  “Start a routine patrol of the system. Active sensor sweeps and run diagnostics on all sensor nodes,” the captain instructed his crew. “I will be in my private dining area if I am needed.”

  A short while later he was sitting at a table with a young Telarian in his early twenties. Both men seemed sad. The smell of incense was strong in the air.

  It was custom for Telarians to remember the dead on their birthday. On the table were pictures of Beya Tomac. A few personal items were on the table as well. The tiara she wore at their Bonding, the handmade bracelet to symbolize their bond was there and a hair brush she often used to brush hers and their daughters hair as well.

  He would never move on, he would forever be tied to her even in death. The Bonding between them was a permanent imprinting. When Telarians came of age they would attend gatherings of eligible candidates for Bonding. They would mingle and dance until they found a compatible match or the night ended. Some would chose to postpone the Bonding and join military service. Bonding would interfere with the naval lifestyle for one could not be physically separated from ones mate more than a day or so before the Sickness took hold. A chemical process controlled the lives of Bonded couples. The touch of your mate was needed at least once a day to center your being. The Sharing was a chemical transfer of memories and feelings. This aspect was sometimes used on those convicted of crimes as part of punishment so a victim could impart their perception of the crime, but typically was reserved only for mates and offspring.

  Yasa looked at his son. He had had a long road as well when his mother and sister died. They had been a tight family unit. It pained Yasa to see his son hurting. Lodan had grown to be a great scientist and engineer. Together they realized the culmination of the Parthess project.

  “Maybe we should not do this anymore,” Yasa said to him referring to the mourning. “We suffer every day, why should we parade their things around. I love them deeply but all thinking about them does is bring pain to my heart. I miss the days when they brought joy to our lives.”

  “Maybe,” Lodan replied somberly. They had done little more than pick at their food. After an awkward silence Yasa spoke again hoping to lighten the mood.

  “Do you remember the time Llihanan thought she could fly because you lowered the artificial gravity in her room?” he said with a chuckle.

  “Yes. May I be excused? I have tasks that need attending in engineering,” he asked his father quietly.

  “Of course son,” he stood as Lodan stood and embraced him before he exited the room. “You know I love you son? I am sorry if I have not always been the father you needed me to be. It’s just...”

  “I know father. It is a curse of our people and I am more angry with being Telarian than I am at you. As bad as it has been for me I know it has been worse for you,” that brought a tear to Yasa’s eye. “I love you too father,” were the last words his son spoke to him as he exited the room.

  “Captain,” a voice came over the intercom. “We have picked up a gravimetric distortion forming in the star.”

  “Change course towards the star, turn all sensors that way and up link to the gravimetric grid as well,” the captain instructed. “Get as much data as you can. I am on my way.”

  When he entered the bridge the star was centered in the viewscreen. He took his chair.

  “Report,” Yasa said.

  “It was a Union ship. Its jump put it dangerously close to the star. I’m surprised it has survived. It is following a course skirting the star. We are being hailed sir,” his Lieutenant informed him.

  “Open the channel audio only—This is Captain Tomac of the Telarian Juggernaut Parthess. You have entered Telarian space. We are at war with the faction you represent. Stop your engines and surrender. If you do not comply you will be destroyed,” he said in English.

  “Captain Tomac, this is the Union science vessel Solaria. Our FTL drive malfunctioned and we dropped out of our jump here on accident. We do not wish to engage your ship in conflict. We have very few offensive or defensive capabilities and are not a warship. Please allow us to repair our FTL capability and return to our home system. Your graciousness in this matter would be appreciated,” was the response from the encroaching vessel.

  “Your ship is no science vessel and your spying will not be tolerated. Your will stand down your engines, weapons and shields and prepare to be boarded. Parthess out.”

  “They have not raised shields or charged weapons,” his Lieutenant informed him.

  “Maintain course. Charge weapons and raise shields,” he instructed his crew.

  The Parthess continued to follow the Solaria gaining ground on the damaged ship. When the Parthess was almost in weapons range the Solaria changed course towards the star.

  “The Union ship has changed course. She is heading for the star. She has activated some sort of shielding but it is not defensive,” his tactical officer reported.

  “Continue the pursuit and fire wh
en we reach weapons range,” Captain Tomac responded.

  “Firing. She has taken a direct hit, heavy damage, we have debris,” his voice pitched high as realized how big the debris was but he could not know it was not debris. The star drive activated in their path moments before it impacted. The flash of the star drive was blinding and then the viewscreen seemed to go black. It jumped the ship. The crew was thrown about and the wreckage impacted the ship as did the gravity wake. The power failed. Alarms started to sound as the emergency lighting flickered to life.

  “Status report,” Tomac demanded picking himself off the floor.

  “Heavy structural damage. We are venting atmosphere. Multiple hull breaches across the ship. Hyperdrive is offline,” came the report from a Lieutenant. He seemed to be one of the only ones left conscious.

  “Engineering. Mr. Tomac?... Lodan?” he implored. There was no response. “I’m going to engineering. You have the con.”

  He ran to engineering. The ship was filling with smoke in unbreached areas making it hard to see. As Tomac approached engineering he could hear a loud humming and could feel it in the deck plates. The bulkhead door to engineering had tried to seal but the frame must have buckled because the door was stuck half open and he could hear the motor. Yasa slid through the opening. Engineering was a disaster. There were crew members lying about everywhere. He could not tell if they were alive. It seemed the zero point energy generator was making the humming sound. It was almost deafening.

  “Warning. Subspace containment field failing. Jettison of the zero point energy generator will commence in one minute,” came the warning from the computer of an impending collapse in the power core.

  He walked to the main terminal for the power core and went to work trying to avert the impending catastrophe. If the power core was jettisoned they would have little in the way of power reserves. He had no idea what was going on. They could still be flying into the sun. No power and on a collision course with a star would not turn out well. He noticed that power had been severed to the hyperdrive, the main power coupling failed resulting in an explosion. No doubt that was the epicenter of the carnage in the engineering section. The sublights had lost power too so at least they weren’t traveling under power into the star.