by T. J. Jones
“Very good, Docent. I’ll notify the battlegroup to make preparations.”
“No. Just this vessel. We won’t need a battlegroup, and they are needed here as the mission states by the prophet.”
“As you say, Docent.”
Vay nodded as the tacent left. He gripped the railing of his position hard to keep from falling into a rage. The very notion subjugates would even attempt an insurrection was laughable. He had half a mind to tell the drivers in the slave pens to execute one slave for every ten just to teach them a lesson. He stopped short of giving the order. He was a merciful docent after all. He pushed the comm button on his control console.
“Beat one slave for every ten. Teach them their places and remind them the folly of insurrection.”
“Yes, Docent.”
He leaned back proud of himself. He was a speaker of the gods, after all. Perhaps they would see fit to one day bestow upon him the honor of prophet, or failing that, the herald of the gods. Such prestigious positions would etch his name in the Holy White Empire’s halls for eternity. His prideful musings interrupted when an elite monk entered his command center and gave him a bow.
He detested this one almost as much as the subjugated. “Rise, Acolyte Dekav.”
The tall silver-maned man rose, his long ivory staff in hand, garbed in the religious robes of the elites. Dekav’s feline looking eyes annoyed Vay to no end. The Holy White Empire had held a long-standing treaty with the elites. They would escort the HWE forces into battle and offer the protection of the gods in mortal form. The prophets would guide them. It had worked for thousands of years. That is until Dekav. Dekav was different. He believed counter to the will of the prophets and presumed to speak directly for the gods themselves. His words were borderline heresy. To lay a hand on him would risk violating the treaty and causing a civil war that would tear the empire apart.
The docent tolerated him and his heresy, and Dekav was kept under close watch and on a very tight leash.
“The prophets request an update on their mandate, Your Holiness.”
“None yet, but we may have an interesting diversion for them. We have just received word of a potential quantum anomaly. If it proves to be real, it may mean the first true rebellion since the Glayan uprising.”
Dekav seemed disgusted with the reference as a point of the docent’s pride. “Perhaps, this time we can handle it with a little more finesse.”
“Finesse is for the weak, Acolyte. We are here to execute the will of the prophets.”
“We are here for the gods.”
“According to the prophets,” the docent corrected. His antennae were twitching visibly; he was on the verge of rage dealing with this insolent man.
Before he could dwell on his anger any further, his tacent spoke up. “Docent Vay, we’ve laid in our course to investigate the anomaly and should arrive shortly.”
Already, the White Empire capital vessel was breaking off formation with its battlegroup and moved to intercept the site of the anomaly.
Chapter Six
“Wait, so you’re saying someone went in after the quantum tunneling drive was installed and rigged it to overcharge itself?” Adrian scratched his head. This was not going to make Lara a happy camper.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It wasn’t sabotaged because all the components are there. It was installed and set up with a secret set of subroutines that made the system start pulling power from all the other subsystems. We wouldn’t have found it until we had already turned it on.”
“Like we did.” Adrian scratched at the stubble on his chin.
“Right. My question is why the hell would anyone do something like this?”
Adrian frowned. This was not going to be a good talk with the captain. The bad news just kept piling on top of bad news. “I think I’ve got an idea. My question is how?”
Tia Axoi sighed and wiped a band of sweat from her brow. She had been elbow deep in the drive since the accident. She gestured for him to have a look. “See that box there?”
He nodded.
“That’s the TD blanket.”
He gave her a look showing he was not following.
She looked like she wanted to roll her eyes but explained anyway. “The QT drive works by generating massive amounts of charged GN particles and coating the ship’s hull with them. Once the saturation rate is achieved, the ship quantizes and essentially teleports itself to a different band of space-time. The Topological Defect blanket regulates the GN particle output and keeps it within tolerances to prevent field destabilization. This was set well above what the Kaku Institute suggested. Which is why the drive went crazy…to reach the tolerance the TD Blanket was telling it to.”
“Rather than what the Kaku Institute had built it to.”
“Exactly.”
“Can you fix it?”
“Yeah, I can reset it and have it all boxed up with enough time. The warp core is a mess and my repair teams are all over the ship trying patch up the power relay networks. It’s pretty low burner until I can keep the ship from feeling like it’s going to rattle apart again.”
Adrian nodded. “I get it. Add it to the list, but make your priority repairing the stress damage.”
Axoi nodded. “Hey, Commander, whoever did this knew what they were doing. No random tech could have pulled this off. Whatever is going on with this…be careful. This shit gives me a bad vibe.”
“Me too, Lt. Keep up the good work.”
She gave him a wry salute and went back to her work on the warp core. He turned and made his way to the lift. He really was not looking forward to the conversation this was going to create with the captain. When the lift doors parted and revealed the bridge, he beelined right for the adjoining office. Keying the chime he heard her announce for him to step inside. The doors whisked with a muffle hush aside allowing him passage. Moving beyond the portal into the office grabbed Lara’s peripheral attention from the tablet she was studying. She glanced up with a question in her expression.
“We need to talk.”
“About?”
“The QT drive accident. It was not an accident. Someone rigged it to work that way.”
Her jaw clenched. “Shorn.”
“You’re positive?”
She nodded. “He was already in there poking around when I showed up. He could have already done whatever it was you’re about to tell me.”
He took a seat after she beckoned him to sit down. “I just got back from engineering. Lt. Axoi says the QT drive was rigged to draw power from the rest of the ship because its threshold was set too high. Shorn must have altered it before you showed up. I don’t know if he would have known quite what was going to happen. Maybe he figured the ship would explode or just dissolve into some other reality. Hard to say. But it worked how he wanted it to.”
“Great.” She sounded bitter.
“That’s the bad news. The good news is that Tia can get it fixed, but it is going to take time. It’s at the bottom of her work list and she’s got quite a hefty plate sitting in front of her.”
Lara nodded. “That is good news. Anything else?”
“We should have a pretty large file compiled by now from the sensor sweeps and recon patrols.”
“Good, may as well make the best of a bad situation and live up to our mission out here. This is about as unknown and fringe of space as it gets.”
“Yeah, I understand Mary Jo’s been burning the candle at both ends to get this done. The whole bridge staff stayed on into Beta shift to get their work finished up.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Adrian.”
He shrugged. “Just doing my job.”
“A job you do well.”
“Ma’am,” he paused trying to find a way to delicately ask this, “just why would Shorn risk trying to blow up the ship to get rid of you?”
She shook her head unsure. “I’ve pissed him off several times now. He has had his hands in many activities that would violate the Unified Code of Conduct
— more than I can count. Somehow, every instance gets swept under the rug. Eventually, I let it go and stopped bothering. Seems like he hadn’t forgotten.”
“So we’ve got a rogue pissed off admiral in the ranks willing to do whatever he can to take us out of the picture. Great.”
Lara nodded with him. “Presents us with a bit of an issue doesn’t it?”
He nodded.
“Adrian, I need you try and compile any and all evidence you can. I know it’s probably going to get buried in some kind of committee he’ll request to look into it, but we have to try and take this to the courts.”
“Will that do any good?”
Lara did not look sure. That made him feel uneasy about getting back home. “It’s hard to say.”
“Then let’s forget about him for the time being. For now, we need to focus on getting back home and doing what we need to fix the ship. We have to see if there is any way to replicate what happened more safely. We can deal with Shorn once we get back.”
“I suppose it’s all we can do. We can’t do anything to him all the way out here, now can we?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Captain Garrett, its Lt. Tiaahl. I think you’d better come have a look at this.”
Lara looked at Adrian and they both shared the same expression. Now what? They stood up together and stepped out onto the bridge. On the screen, a massive white diamond shaped construct moving toward their location at high warp velocity. Adrian swallowed hard.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Time until we reach the anomaly?” Docent Vay asked.
“Ten mini-cycles, Docent.”
“Good. Then we can put this foolish rebellion down and rejoin the Holy Fleet.” Docent Vay straightened out his uniform. Looking his best was always important to him. For a Loerian of his position, it was vital. They had long served the prophets of the Holy White Empire as the military fist of the empire. It was a point of pride for him to be one of the most highly ranked among his kind.
“Long-range sensors are detecting a vessel at the focal point of the quantum anomaly, Your Holiness,” the Glayan sensor tech announced.
He nodded to the Glayan. Perhaps he had been too hard on the low caste. He debated the merit of giving the Glayan a promotion for being a dutiful servant. Make him an exemplar for his people. It would also serve to help keep other Glayans working positively for the empire.
“On screen,” Vay commanded.
The Odyssey popped up on their monitors. He looked at it, perplexed by the ship’s curves and smoothness. This was no vessel built from stolen Empire materials. This was alien to the empire. He scoffed several times. “What is this?”
The Glayan sensor tech seemed unsure. “I do not know, Your Holiness. But it would seem to be the cause of the anomaly.”
He stomped down from his elevated position into the pit of the command center. He wanted to see the enemy vessel close up.
“It’s possible they’ve come to seek the gods as well,” Dekav offered the docent. The scowl he got in return for his comment was a convincing enough reason shut up for a while.
“No, I doubt they are here for the gods. Perhaps they can be made to work for the gods. Prepare the boarding shuttles. Arm all missile and beam weapon batteries. I want the ship ready for combat as soon as we enter the combat range of the enemy vessel.”
“Yes, Docent Vay.”
Immediately the bridge was even busier and frantic as the crew of different racial castes began to scurry about performing their duties with fanatical devotion.
“Now then, let’s see just who we’ve come to subjugate.”
“They’re powering up their weapons,” Lt. Tiaahl said when his console chirped an alarm notice.
“Time to contact?” Lara asked.
“They’ll be within weapons range in five minutes or less.”
“Not a good sign when the locals send a big ass ship with their guns bristling to come say hi.”
“Let’s not fall to blind pessimism just yet, Commander. Maybe we can still salvage this situation. We are an unknown in their territory. Clearly they are being cautious.”
“Back home we got a saying. When your neighbor comes to say hi with his pistol drawn, you greet him with yours first.”
The massive, white diamond-shaped vessel loomed large on the main screen. Lara nodded. “I’m beginning to agree with you. Battle stations. I want everyone combat ready.”
Lt. Tiaahl initiated the battle station mode. The main lights dimmed, and red caution lights winked in various locations as the big red words “Battle Stations” flashed repeatedly while a klaxon played.
“Computer, mute battle stations alert on the bridge,” Lara snapped. She caught the look Adrian was giving her. “What? It’s annoying. I want to be able to think.”
“Fair ‘nuff,” he replied. They both watched as the vessel came into range and then halted. The other vessel’s captain was playing it cautious. If it came to blows, the extreme range would keep things from getting messy fast, giving them both time to maneuver and retaliate.
“Sir, we’re being hailed.”
“Put them on,” Lara said.
An image of a humanoid insect looking male appeared. He was tall. Adrian was guessing six and a half to seven feet easy. He had four antennae coming out of his forehead and a chitinous dermal layer. The way he carried himself belied a sense of arrogant supremacy. Adrian recognized it from Admiral Shorn. He was willing to bet the ingots of gold-plated trillium he had waiting back on Earth that this “guy” was probably some equivalent to an admiral as well. No captain was this arrogant and self-absorbed looking yet.
He seemed to retch before speaking as if the sight of them disgusted him. “They’re all pink skinned…” he muttered. He shook his head. “Listen closely, pink skins. You are in a subjugated zone illegally. Subjugates have not been authorized space-faring vessels. Prepare for boarding. If you resist, we will open fire and atomize your vessel.” Then his image disappeared and gave way to the white diamond shape of his vessel.
Lara and Adrian both blinked. “Well. He’s a real charmer,” Adrian mused.
“Try to hail them again,” Lara demanded.
Vail shook her head. “No response, ma’am.”
Lara folded her arms. “So this is where diplomacy dies? All right, arm all cruise missiles and beam cannon arrays. Prepare all fighters for launch and arm all bombers. Cut power to all non-essential systems and make ready for combat.”
“Well. That escalated,” Adrian said with a blink.
“We’re in unknown territory facing a larger foe with unknown capabilities and hostile intent. I am not taking any chances with my crew. If they came here looking for a fight. They’ll get one.”
“All tactical units report ready. Fighters report ready for lift off on my mark,” Lt. Tiaahl reported.
Lara gave him a nod. “Let’s see their next move.”
The insect man popped back on the main screen. “Pink skins. Your time is up.” He cut back off again before they could reply. Adrian could see that was pissing off the captain something fierce.
At that moment, the mid-section of the vessel opened along a seam revealing a massive barrel of some type.
“Oh, I so do not like the look of that,” Adrian groaned.
“Evasive maneuvers, Trident!” Lara barked.
The ship lurched and was in motion as a largely concentrated beam of tachyon particles seared past the ship. The starboard side’s shield facing took a glancing blow and collapsed. The ship’s power systems strained and collapsed.
“Who the fuck is shooting my ship?” Axoi growled over the comms.
“Locals!” Adrian replied. “Can you hold us together?”
“Not if you keep letting them shoot us!”
“We’ll do our best to ask them to miss!”
“Do that!” she snapped and cut the line.
Lara glanced back at Tiaahl. He looked uncertain. “Their weapon appears to
have been designed to punch through a ship’s shield system and cause damage to its internal power grid. I’m working to compensate but I’m coming up short.”
“Try boosting power to the deflector and generating a field of excited anion particles. They have a negative polarity with tachyons. That should take the bark out of their bite.” Mary Jo said clutching her station tightly while her safety harness held her down to her seat.
Adrian gave her a thankful glance but made a mental note to work with her on her idioms. Tiaahl went to work inputting commands rapidly. “Deploying anion field over shield network.”
The ship lurched again hard to starboard as the enemy shield cannon fired again. This time it splashed against the shields harmlessly.
“Deflection successful.”
“Good. Now let’s show them ours. Open fire. All tubes, cannons, and turrets.”
“Going hot,” Tiaahl announced.
The space immediately near the Odyssey become a violent maelstrom of missile exhausts and phased beam cannons beams and smaller turret arrays discharging. In an instant, the ship became a cornered fox and lashed out with gnashing teeth.
The Truth and Jubilation was a massive command vessel that could take a serious amount of sustained ordnance. Adrian watched as their weapons smashed into its grid, causing ripples of dissipating energy.
“Their shields have taken direct hits, but still holding.”
“Keep up the heat. Launch the fighters and bombers. Tell them to go with mission plan Alpha,” Lara ordered.
Tiaahl input the commands with a nod. “Continuing fire and disseminating orders to Lt. Zezai.”
By now the Truth and Jubilation had begun to fire with its conventional weapons as well. The Odyssey was nimble, but she was no escort. Lt. Vail could only do so much for a ship as large as it was.
“Shields are suffering damage. Damage control reporting fires and hull breaches on multiple decks.”
“Attack pattern Gamma. Missile spread, full load.”
As Trident Vail and Jarod input commands into their workstations, the symbiosis of orders resulted in the Odyssey coming about and putting the enemy at the ships aft as it launched a full volley of Lancer class cruise missiles. These were a special variety of missile armed with a brand new experimental shield collider tech that enabled them to puncture shields and do direct damage to hulls.
