HADRON Revelation

by Stephen Arseneault

  Mace sighed. “Admiral, sorry we couldn’t protect your people.”

  Frado replied, “Because of your fair efforts, Mr. Hardy, at least some of us are still alive. And as I said, I’m not really an admiral. Those ships were for hire. I was paying all those men personally.”

  Mace shook his head. “I should have let you all go. You aren’t our enemy. Our enemy is the thugs in the Galactic Union.”

  Frado said, “You could not have known. Such deceitful species are insidious. They will use you then toss you away.”

  Mace said, “Well, the least we can do for you now is to take you home. I’ll have to ask that when we get to your station you have your people send out a transport. I’d rather not get near enough to get fired upon.”

  Jeff said, “We do have the screening applied to much of the hull. It should be sufficient to block a hit by that microwave beam. So long as the weapons on that station aren’t any stronger.”

  Frado replied, “The microwave weapons on the station are considerably stronger, with a longer effective range.”

  Nine hours passed before the waveguide construction was complete. The UF workers were brought inside and the weapon tested. The energy output matched that of the dreadnought. A course was laid in for the United Front station.

  As they approached, Liam said, “If it’s where they say it is, we have three minutes until it shows on the sensors.”

  Mace nodded. “Mr. Knuttin, how many people are on that station?”

  Frado replied, “I cannot give out that information.”

  Mace said, “OK, well, how big is it?”

  The UF leader shook his head. “You will see in a moment, Mr. Hardy. I’m sorry, but I cannot talk further about WarStation 56 without feeling that I am somehow compromising its security.”

  Johnny said, “WarStation 56. I like that. Much better than the Lousy or the Petunia.”

  Liam pushed a starmap image to the wall display. “We should have confirmation any moment. Mr. Mallot?”

  Humphrey replied, “She appears to be right where they said. Also detecting the signature of the rift.”

  Mace asked, “Mr. Knuttin, what do you know about the rifts?”

  Frado replied, “We have encountered two other such anomalies during our history. The first closed several thousand years ago. There are those who say our ancestors first came through that rift to our present location. They like to refer to us as a gypsy species. There is a second rift, much smaller than this. We believe its destination is out into the void between galaxies. We have sent a number of probes into the opening only to have no data returned. The probes themselves went offline and were not recovered.”

  Jeff said, “Well that doesn’t sound like the void. You would still get signals from this galaxy and others. Maybe that’s into a black hole or something.”

  Frado shook his head. The gravity signature pushed outward. By all known physics, we would expect an inward pull from a black hole.”

  Jeff nodded. “That’s our understanding as well.”

  Jeff turned toward Mace. “Would love to just travel the galaxy seeing what others have discovered. That would be a fascinating life. Mr. Knuttin, how is the science of your world? Are scientists looked up to, or merely workers?”

  Frado replied, “Science is an esteemed profession, Mr. Moskowitz, second only to our military.”

  Liam brought the Rogers to a stop. “We should be in comm range, Mr. Hardy.”

  Johnny said, “I’m receiving a hail. Pushing it to the display wall.”

  An image of a United Front officer came into view. “Mace said, “We come in peace. We have your citizen Frado Knuttin and some of his crew with us.”

  The image replied, “Identify yourself.”

  Mace replied, “We are Humans. We come from a distant system. My name is Mace Hardy.”

  The officer replied, “This is a United Front defense zone, Mace Hardy. I suggest you leave immediately.”

  Mace gestured to his left as the camera swept with his hand. “We have some of your people, Frado Knuttin. And about two hundred of his crewmen. They were in an altercation with a species called the Dellus. I believe you have been at war with them recently.”

  The officer replied, “The United Front is not at war with any species in this sector. Frado Knuttin is a privateer, not a member of the UFDL.”

  Mace turned. “Is that true?”

  Frado slowly nodded. “It is. Those were my ships. That was my raid.”

  Mace leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe this. Is there an honest species in the whole galaxy?”

  Frado held up a hand. “Please, Mr. Hardy. Let me explain.”

  Mace frowned and twirled his hand in a tight circle. “Spit it out. And if I think you are lying to me, I won’t hesitate to space the lot of you.”

  Frado pursed his lips. “The two systems in the vicinity of this gate… they belonged to my father’s corporation. We had two colonies, Canto and Fombry. The corporation had nearly five thousand colonists on each world. They were uninhabited before we came. My grandfather discovered the rift eighty years ago. He formed the Knuttin Corporation and coordinated the settlement of the two systems. The military moved the warstation to this location shortly after the rift was disclosed to our government. For eighty years the colonies were at peace. They grew and prospered.

  “Two years ago, the Mawga were the first alien species to visit the colonies. They talked of friendship and trade. We swapped mined ores for food a substance they called nutrient bars. Before we knew it, 90 percent of our population had been drugged. Some of our people resisted, and were eventually pushed off world.”

  Johnny said, “Sounds familiar.”

  Frado continued, “My father, brothers, wife, and children were part of those who were drugged. There was no arguing or reasoning with them. I managed to flee back through the rift with several hundred others.”

  Mace asked, “Why didn’t your military assist?”

  Frado replied, “We are outside of claimed United Front space. Colonies such as ours are on our own until such time as we petition the government to join. We were still some years from that goal.”

  Mace leaned back in his chair. “How’d you get those ships and what were you trying to do?”

  Frado sighed. “The colonies made my grandfather, then my father, wealthy men. Once back through the rift, I sold nearly a quarter of the corporation’s assets, purchased those dreadnoughts, and enlisted the crews to man them. Our intent was to rescue our people and take back our colonies. Our ships were more powerful than the Mawga cruisers.

  “That’s when the Dellus showed with those massive ships. Our colonists, our families, were butchered before we could save them. For the last three months, we’ve made every effort to stop their takeover of our worlds, Mr. Hardy. Those cargo ships we captured, they contained goods stolen from our colonies, from our homes. I destroyed those ships, as I would rather that treasure be cast into the void before leaving it to enrich the butchers of Canto and Fombry.”

  Johnny crossed his arms. “Now, that’s a story I actually believe.”

  The officer on the comm reiterated his request. “Mr. Hardy, you will move from our space. You are not authorized to be in this area. Leave or I will be forced to send our vessels to destroy you.”

  Frado gestured. “You should pull back, Mr. Hardy. The military does not mince words. And their ships are far more powerful that the dreadnoughts I purchased. Those were relics from a bygone era.”

  Mace took a deep breath. “Mr. Hobbs, take us back to maximum sensor range.”

  Mace said, “Mr. Knuttin, how do we get you home?”

  Frado shrugged. “I need a ship, Mr. Hardy. And that ship must only have UF citizens aboard. They are very strict about anyone having access to that warstation or to the rift.”

  Mace asked, “So what happens if you get a ship?”

  Frado replied, “With a ship, I can approach the warstation and request an i
dentity check for myself and the other passengers. A vessel will be sent out for a pre-inspection. If anything shows as a red flag, our request is denied and we must move away or be destroyed. If we pass the pre-inspection, our ship and passengers are taken into quarantine for thirty UF cycles. That would be approximately eighteen of your days. During that quarantine, the ship is fully inspected, irradiated and decontaminated from stem to stern.”

  Johnny said, “Wow. Sounds like they are thorough.”

  Frado nodded. “Very thorough. They want no foreign seeds, animals, bacteria, viruses, toxins or anything else that could potentially contaminate the worlds on the other side of the rift. These requirements are also part of the colony assimilation request. You can imagine the hoops one must jump through to achieve a passing grade in all those categories. It is one reason there are forty-five outlier colonies surrounding UF space. Travel to and from them is highly restricted.”

  Mace stroked his beard. “Any chance we could pick up a transport at one of the colonies? Maybe grab a Mawga ship for you and your people to use?”

  Frado replied, “The Mawga have been bringing in transports with colonists. Perhaps we could liberate one of those.”

  Mace looked over at Liam. “Mr. Hobbs, take us back to the Gerty. We need to let them know what we’re up to.”

  Frado asked, “You have another ship?”

  Mace nodded. “We have a ship with a wormhole generator. That’s how we got out here to start with.”

  Frado rubbed his chin. “So it is true. The technology required to create a rift is out there.”

  Mace said, “That would be why the Dellus ships seem to come out of nowhere.”

  Frado asked, “Is this technology common?”

  Mace shook his head. “No. We actually got ours from one of their ships. It requires an extremely rare element called gatrellium. It has an atomic mass of three hundred ten.”

  Frado nodded. “Yes. We have discovered this element. We call it Acoton. It is an anomaly among the stars. Our scientists have yet to figure out a worthy use for it.”

  Johnny raised a hand. “I have an idea. Would it be worth our efforts to trade the technology for a large supply of gatrellium?”

  Mace replied, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. All we need is another species jumping into Earth space looking to dominate us.”

  Johnny frowned. “You’ve got a point. Still, maybe there’s something else we could trade. If it’s useless to them, we might be able to strike a good deal.”

  Frado said, “If you could get me a ship, I can get you a supply of the element.”

  Johnny leaned forward. “How much are we talking?”

  Frado replied, “How much do you need?”

  Mace said, “Ten tons?”

  Johnny spoke out. “Ten? Heck, go for twenty!”

  Frado replied, “In return for a ship and safe passage I would be willing to return twenty tons of the gatrellium.”

  Johnny nodded. “Yes! Let’s go get this man a ship!”

  Mace glanced over at Liam. “Mr. Hobbs, take us to the Gerty. From there we’ll see about getting Mr. Knuttin a ship.”

  Chapter 18

  *

  The Rogers slowed as it reached maximum sensor range from the former colony of Canto. Three Mawga cruisers sat in high orbit. Fatso Geerok moved uncomfortably in his chair, constantly changing positions.

  Mace said, “Geerok, you OK?”

  Geerok replied, “Yes, yes. I’m just struggling with my past as I look at those cruisers. You have shown yourself to be a fair-minded and caring individual, Mr. Hardy. Not only to your crew and your own people, but to everyone. I on the other hand, was arrogant and misguided. I refer particularly to your handling of Mr. Knuttin and his crew. I would have pulled away with them still on the hull. And for that I now feel ashamed. I would not have felt that way before.”

  Mace laughed. “You telling me you’re growing a conscience, Admiral?”

  Geerok replied, “I’m telling you I’m struggling to make sense of what I learned in the Mawga military with what I know now. I was little more than a drone slave to the whims of our emperor. You treat everyone on this ship with respect. On my ship, in my mind, I was the only one who deserved respect. You also have a crew that would fight and die for you. My crew stepped aside when you came aboard. It gives one pause to think about who one really is.”

  Mace gestured toward the display wall. “You have any opinion on our next move?”

  Geerok studied the display. “I would move on those cruisers, asking for a surrender or else disabling their drives. Then I would scan the surface of that planet for a transport for Mr. Knuttin.”

  Mace turned. “How’s that sound, Mr. Knuttin? Or would you rather have one of those cruisers?”

  Frado stood and walked close to the display, looking over the cruisers in question as he thought. “WarStation 56 would not allow my approach in a warship that did not originate from our worlds. If we can locate and acquire a transport of sufficient size, it would be accepted for quarantine.”

  Mace nodded. “OK. Mr. Hobbs, take us in. Johnny, hail those cruisers and demand surrender. And Mr. Mueller, target and disable the drives on those ships if they fail to comply.”

  As the Rogers approached, a single plasma round disabled the first cruiser while the second surrendered after four direct hits on the Rogers failed to show damage. The colony of Canto was scanned and a cargo hauler of sufficient size located.

  Mace said, “That hauler looks to be our only option, Mr. Knuttin. How far will you have to travel on the other side of that rift?”

  Frado replied, “Two days to the Ballisy colony. From there I can acquire a ship that better meets our travel needs. After that, travel to Halion will take three weeks. I would estimate the acquisition of the ore you seek to take another three weeks, followed by a three week journey back to here.”

  Mace frowned, “Two months, huh. OK. How about we return in seventy days. I’ll give you the coordinates of where to meet us.”

  Frado nodded. “Seventy days is good, Mr. Hardy. That will allow me time to put a few of my affairs in order. I have an outstanding staff of managers, but executive decisions still require my blessing.”

  The cargo hauler was commandeered. The UF crewmen along with Frado Knuttin were transferred, and the ship departed for WarStation 56.

  Mace turned to the bridge crew of the Rogers. “So do we head for Rhombia to look for the Dellus Muhatha? Or do we return to Earth to check on our planet?”

  Johnny asked, “What about our deal with the Mawga for food?”

  Mace replied, “They sent some. Stark acknowledged its receipt. I would have to guess the Dellus nixed that deal and the remainder wasn’t delivered. That’s one reason I wanted that done before we would go after that station. This diversion out here against Frado and his ships fouled that strategy up. If we go back to Rhombia, we could try to force the fulfillment of that agreement, I suppose.”

  Johnny nodded. “I like that idea. We have enough gatrellium for a dozen jumps. We still need food for Earth. Once we have that, we can kick the Mawga out of there.”

  Liam held up his hand. “There is another aspect to all this I don’t think we’ve considered. The Dellus lost two Callista ships and a Muhatha out there. They are now in a considerably weakened position. If we were to capture or destroy that other Muhatha, the other Union members might take the opportunity to expel them from the Union and then crush them like the bugs they are.”

  Johnny grinned. “Oh, I like the sound of that.”

  Mace paced back and forth in front of his captain’s chair. “OK. We jump to Rhombia. If we find the Muhatha, we board it, or we destroy it. If the Dellus have run home, we bully the Mawga into delivering the remainder of the food we bargained for.”

  Mace looked around the bridge, with the crew returning a unanimous set of nods.

  Mace turned to face Liam. “Mr. Hobbs, take us back to the Gerty. Coordinate a jump to the Rhombia system
and set us on our way.”

  Mace sat in his chair as the Rogers pulled away from the Canto colony. A two hour ride had the ship approaching the Gerty. Fifteen minutes later, the two ships entered the Rhombia system through a wormhole. Nav coordinates were set, and the Rogers proceeded to move towards the Mawga capital planet.

  Mace stood as the ship arrived at the outer reaches of sensor range.

  Humphrey said, “We have forty-six cruisers and various other smaller craft, Mr. Hardy.”

  Mace asked, “None of those smaller craft are the bomb ships, are they?”

  Humphrey replied, “I don’t have a match for that exact ship, Mr. Hardy.”

  Liam looked over his shoulder.

  Mace waved his hand. “Take us in. They have nothing that can hurt us.”

  Five cruisers raced out to intercept the Rogers.

  A hail came over the comm. “You are in violation of Mawga���”

  Mace interrupted. “Yeah, skip it. This is an ultimatum. Surrender all of your ships or they will each be disabled or destroyed. The Mawga people had a deal with us. A deal to deliver food to the Human planet in exchange for our cooperation. We held up our end of the deal. You will complete the delivery of the food as negotiated or face annihilation.”

  The comm was silent for several seconds. “You are in violation of Mawga space. Bring your ship to a halt and prepare to be boarded.”

  Johnny said, “I’ll have to give it to him for having guts. No brains, but loads of guts.”

  Mace replied, “He’s following orders.”

  Fatso Geerok added. “If he didn’t, he would pay the ultimate price along with his family. The Emperor does not accept reason as an excuse to not follow orders on the battlefield.”

  Mace said, “Mr. Mueller, as we pass, take out her drives. Follow with the other ships in escort.”

  Hans nodded as he typed. “Targeting incoming ship. Secondary targets are locked in.”

  Three minutes later, the first of the Mawga cruisers took two hard hits to her drive systems. The ship began a long slow tumble as the Rogers slipped past her position. The four ships that followed saw a similar fate.