by Tori Harris
Unwilling to engage in further meaningless debate, Prescott said nothing, but simply inclined his head politely and waited for the Guardian to continue. When it finally did so, its bright, casual tone had returned.
“In any event,” it said dismissively, “I suppose there was no harm in allowing the Sajeth Collective vessel to depart the system. As for your Leadership Council, I am sure that Chairwoman Crull’s actions will be deemed wholly appropriate upon further investigation. It also looks as if Terra will be taking her rightful place as a member in the Pelaran Alliance very soon. Once that happens, I will be much more at liberty to share what we know of interstellar politics and the projection of naval power. In the interim, please do be careful to choose your friends wisely.” The Guardian narrowed his eyes as the corners of his mouth turned upwards in perhaps his most pompous facial expression to date. “Griffin out.”
There was a brief period of silence during which Ensign Fisher could be heard letting out a long sigh as he released some of the tension from the encounter with the Guardian. “Jeez, what an ass,” he muttered to himself.
“Mm-hmm,” Lieutenant Lau agreed in a low voice that only Fisher could hear.
Chapter 19
TFS Navajo
(CIC conference room 2)
“I’ll say one thing for you, Prescott,” Admiral Patterson said, leaning back in his usual CIC conference room chair, “when you’re in the area, things rarely turn dull. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a man who stumbles into more situations where he’s forced into making far-reaching, life or death decisions without anyone else’s input.”
“Oh, I get input, Admiral. Just this morning I sought out the counsel of my wise and experienced XO and got a solid ‘Why not?’ in response. With advice like that backing me up, how could I go wrong?” Prescott smiled, winking at Reynolds as he did so.
“You’re lucky to have her, and I’d say that sometimes that is the best possible advice,” the older man chuckled. “Honestly, though, I don’t have much to say about the incident with the Gresav. There really wasn’t any way we could prepare for her arrival, given all the things that have changed since you left her a week ago. You just happened to, once again, be in the right place at the right time, and you did exactly what I would have asked you to do if I had been given enough time to do so. I don’t know that I would have sent them to Location Willow, but I don’t know that I wouldn’t have either. It was their data that helped us find the Resistance rally point in the first place, and whatever we’re about to do will probably be over by the time they get there anyway. Are you ready to depart?”
“I believe so, sir. We’re hoping to hear an update on Admiral Naftur’s condition from our medical bay shortly, but even under the best of circumstances, I don’t think he will be in any condition to assist us during our parley with the Resistance.”
“That definitely complicates things, but it doesn’t change the essence of what you’re going out there to do. When Ambassador Turlaka is available, perhaps she can stand in for the admiral. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m convinced that the Resistance task force was thrown off their game a bit by the arrival of our Hunter recon flight. The fighter that deployed our comm beacons detected two additional outbound hyperdrive signatures not long after the original twenty-four, so I’m sticking with my theory that we’re seeing late arrivals trickle in and then get forwarded on to a different location.”
Patterson paused, looking as if the discussion had led to him to some new conclusion that he had just noted for later. “In any event,” he continued, “your two flights of Reapers departed half an hour ago and are standing by for your orders at Location Willow. Don’t hesitate to call them in if things start to turn sour. I don’t have to tell you that this is a potentially volatile situation that could degenerate from a parley into a knife fight in short order. Don’t get me wrong, I am hopeful that your negotiations will be successful, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that they came here with hostile intentions in the first place. They are a dangerous, rogue faction from a potentially hostile alliance. I think it’s safe to say that the best we can hope for at this point is to convince them to return home in the hopes that cooler heads will eventually prevail.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Keep in mind that I’ll have a full tactical view of the battlespace as soon as Theseus transitions to normal space at Location Dagger. If we find ourselves in a fight, it’s obviously my preference to do so out there rather than here in the system where we will be forced to commit the bulk of our forces to defense. If I see an opportunity where sending you some additional help might prove decisive, I’ll do what I can, but, for the moment at least, I have precious few C-Jump capable ships at my disposal. Unfortunately, most of our capital ships are a twenty-hour flight away, and I can’t justify the risk of not having them available to defend the Earth, if necessary.”
Patterson paused and studied both of their faces. He knew full well that Theseus was the only realistic option he had for this mission, but he was also painfully aware of the unrelenting stress that her captain and crew had been under for the past month … not to mention what they had already been through just this morning. One more month, he thought. If we had had just one more month before all this hit the fan …
“Do either of you have any last-minute questions for me?” Patterson finally asked.
“No, sir,” both Prescott and Reynolds replied in unison.
“Well then, Commodore … Commander … Theseus is hereby authorized to hoist a broad pennant and depart immediately. Good luck and Godspeed.”
TFS Theseus
“Commodore on the bridge,” Lieutenant Commander Schmidt announced as Prescott and Reynolds emerged from the captain’s ready room. This being the first time their captain had officially been in command of a squadron of ships on detached duty, all six officers and the Marine sentry stood at attention as he made his way back to his Command chair.
“Thank you all,” Prescott said quietly. The admiral mentioning the occasion had been one thing, but something about having his bridge crew make this seemingly simple acknowledgment struck him with an unexpected wave of emotion. He swallowed hard before attempting to say anything else, feeling that now was hardly the time for a display of foolish sentimentality. “I appreciate that very much … more than you know, in fact. When we at last reach the point where we are no longer responding to the crisis of the day, every one of us — every member of our crew — has much to celebrate. I promise you when that happens, we will celebrate … and we’ll do so in a way that’s worthy of our accomplishments.”
“First and best, sir,” Commander Schmidt said proudly.
“First and best,” Prescott replied, smiling broadly. “By the way, let’s just stick with ‘Captain’ for now, if you would. I’m afraid if you all suddenly start calling me ‘Commodore,’ I might miss something important. Are we ready to go?”
“Yes, sir. All systems in the green. The ship is at General Quarters for combat ops and ready to C-Jump,” Schmidt reported as he made his way back to the Tactical 1 console.
“Very good … Commander Logan, bridge.”
“Logan here. Go ahead, Captain.”
“If you’re having doubts about any of our critical systems, particularly the shields and the C-Drive, now would be a good time to say so.”
“As much as I hate to tempt fate by answering that question, everything down here is exceeding expectations so far, sir. That short C-Jump provided some data that allowed us to dial the C-Drive in a little tighter, so you should be able to expect good positional accuracy and the full one-hundred-light-year range. In fact, you might see a little more than that if the current trend holds. As far as the shields go, they are almost completely managed by the AI, so there isn’t much either of us can or should do other than hope they work when we need them.”
“We aren’t going far, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we get a warm greeting at first when we arrive. If you see
the slightest indication that the shields are not going to hold, I need to know immediately.”
“Aye, sir, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Thank you, Commander. Stand by for C-Jump followed by possible incoming fire. Prescott out.”
SCS Hadeon, Pelaran Resistance Rally Point
(3.3 light years from Earth)
“Perimeter drone contact!” a Wek lieutenant called from one of Hadeon’s four Defensive Operations workstations. As if to further emphasize the lieutenant’s announcement, the sound of the battlespace defense cruiser’s reactors increasing their power output was clearly audible on the bridge as she automatically opened fire with her starboard energy weapons banks. “Only one ship this time, and in almost exactly the same location as the previous two scout ships. The AI classified the contact as a probable Terran warship and has already engaged.”
“That much I can hear for myself. Who gave the order to fire?” Captain Miah demanded, furious not because of the attack so much as the idea that anyone would presume to take action without his expressed permission.
“Captain,” Commander Takkar said, leaning over and speaking in a low voice in an attempt to save the pompous Damaran from further embarrassment, “the task force’s standing rules of engagement allow the battlespace defense AI to autonomously attack hostile targets if there is sufficient data to classify them as such. The system was designed to provide force protection over a large area of space. Removing the need for manual intervention is a key …”
“I’m fully versed on the design of the Keturah-class BD cruiser, Commander,” Miah interrupted with such a vehement tone that Takkar pulled quickly away — his mind instinctively preparing his body to defend itself, if necessary.
The massive Wek commander’s reaction caused an equally involuntary chill to run down Commander Miah’s spine. Realizing that he was perilously close to crossing a line that might yield an unpredictable response from this simple-minded barbarian, he immediately moderated his tone.
“Apologies, Commander. I am not sure the original rules of engagement should still apply, given the dramatically diminished size of our current force. That, however, is a discussion for later. In the meantime, does it make sense to you that the Humans would send a single vessel back to the precise location where they lost contact with two of their scouts?”
“I prefer not to speculate, Captain Miah, but the Terrans might simply be looking for their missing ships,” Takkar said, furrowing his brow. “It’s also possible they know we are here and wish to communicate with us.”
“If that were the case, I assume we would have received their hail by now. Besides, I’m sure they are intelligent enough to realize that our immediately opening fire on them is a strong indication that we are not here to chat,” Miah sneered.
“The Pelarans seem to be in the habit of sending in a single ship … one with such an asymmetric technological advantage that additional ships are simply not required,” Takkar said as he called up a real-time video feed of the intruder from the closest surveillance drone. He had offered this final explanation not because he believed it to be the case so much as he knew that it would both irritate and terrify the Damaran.
“Nonsense! There is no indication the Humans have done much more than putter around in the immediate vicinity of the Sol system with a few small scout ships and maybe a frigate or two,” Miah scoffed. “Surely you don’t mean to imply they have anything that might pose a serious threat to several of our warships at one time.”
Commander Takkar, having long since grown tired of Miah’s seemingly endless stream of insulting comments, simply nodded towards the view screen in reply. The light-amplified and thermally enhanced image of the approaching Terran warship was rendered with a stunning level of clarity, and it was with no small degree of satisfaction that Takkar detected a renewed stench of fear from his so-called captain.
TFS Theseus, Location Dagger
Since the primary objective of Theseus’ mission was contingent on the Resistance task force agreeing to a parley, there was no particular need for subtlety upon her arrival at Location Dagger. In fact, Prescott had intentionally chosen their transition point to coincide with the final recon location of the two missing Hunter RPSVs in the faint hope that it might provide some indication of their intentions.
“Four contacts,” Lieutenant Lau reported immediately from Tactical 2. “Passive sensors only so far — approximate range: three million kilometers — four Sajeth Collective cruiser-class warships. They’ll have us in six seconds, Captain.”
“Understood. Designate as Charlie 1 through 4 and bring up a tactical plot on the starboard view screen, please,” Prescott replied calmly. “Dubashi, begin transmitting Admiral Naftur’s parley request hail in a continuous loop until we get a response.”
“Aye, sir,” both responded as the somewhat intimidating tactical plot appeared on the right side of the view screen. With the exception of Lieutenant Lee, every member of the bridge crew had witnessed firsthand the huge volume of firepower even a single cruiser could bring to bear, and each now struggled to steel themselves for the potential battle to come.
Sensing the tension in the room, Prescott spoke up in as confident a tone as he could muster. “Everyone take a deep breath and relax. We may well get fired on shortly, but we’ll be just fine. Keep in mind that we’re here to defend our home, and while we would prefer to avoid a fight if we can, we’ve brought exactly the right ship for the job if a fight turns out to be what’s required.”
“Hooyah, sir,” Lieutenant Lau replied.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Prescott asked.
“Hooyah!” every member of the bridge crew shouted as one.
As if on cue, both Tactical consoles emitted a series of warning chimes indicating that the threat posed by the nearby warships had increased to critical levels, requiring the crew to take immediate action.
“They have opened fire with energy weapons, sir,” Lau reported. “It’s a little wide … almost like they are still working up a firing solution … or maybe just trying to bracket our position.”
“The AI says it’s also a little early,” Schmidt added from Tactical 1.
“Now there’s some actionable information,” Prescott replied eagerly. “Patterson suspected they were using something similar to NRD surveillance drones as some kind of wide-area fleet defense network. See anything nearby?”
“Not yet, sir, but it would have to be close … they opened up almost immediately after we transitioned.”
“We’re here to talk, but we don’t have to sit here and allow ourselves to be an easy target for them. Use an active spherical scan at maximum power and let the AI know what it’s looking for. Take it out as soon as you find it.”
“With pleasure, sir,” Schmidt said.
Working feverishly at her own touchscreen, Commander Reynolds opened a tactical assessment window on the port side of the bridge view screen. Multiple views of each of the four enemy ships were displayed with all known vulnerabilities highlighted. Glancing up quickly from her own Command console, she was gratified to see that two of the four cruisers were of the same type they had encountered previously — each suffering from the same field of fire limitations Ingenuity had used to great advantage in the battle at Gliese 667. Thus far, no such vulnerability had been noted for Charlie 3 and 4, but since all four warships had similar hull configurations, she had confidence that something similar would apply to them as well. Completing an exhaustive analysis of the cruisers’ engine configurations, the AI added the now-familiar gap between each ship’s sublight engine nozzles and their aft shields.
“Same lobing pattern as before near the engine nozzles on all four targets, Captain,” she reported, nodding in the direction of the tactical assessment. “Charlie 1 and 2 also have the same limited firing envelope on their main weapons we saw before. The other two cruisers are something different — defensive platforms maybe, based on their long-range energy weapons.”
/> “Excellent. That might come in handy, but I’m still hopeful it won’t come to that. I’m not all that concerned about this incoming fire just yet. We’re well out of their effective beam weapon range based on what we know about their cruisers so far. What we’re seeing right now actually seems like some kind of automated defensive response. For the moment, I think we just need to sit tight and see what they do. We have to give them time to receive our message and decide how to handle it before we take any definitive action ourselves.”
“Do you intend to close with them?”
“Unless they stop shooting at us, hell no!” Prescott laughed. “If we’re going to have a conversation, however, it would be helpful to get a little closer. If they agree to talk to us, I’d say we can move in to three hundred thousand kilometers or so. That will give us a manageable, one-second comm delay, but still provide us enough room to maneuver if they do something unexpected.”
“I have their surveillance drone, sir,” Schmidt reported, excitement creeping into his voice. “Firing …”
Outside, a single, gimbaled beam emitter mounted amidships on Theseus’ starboard side swiveled in the direction of its target and discharged, vaporizing the drone within a fraction of a second as if it were barely worthy of the destroyer’s attention.
“Target destroyed,” Schmidt reported.
“Nice job. That should at least make us a little harder to hit. We must have transitioned right on top of that thing, and I’m guessing that’s how they got our two Hunters as well. Make a note that we need to tweak our passive scans to pick those up, if possible. They have to be giving off some kind of emissions we can detect.”
“Aye, sir.”
Just prior to the surveillance drone being destroyed, Hadeon’s fire-control AI had finally perfected an extreme-range firing solution for its target, sent the necessary corrections to its starboard beam emitters, and fired. Ten seconds later, the salvo began arriving at its target. In response, Theseus’ AI detected, then localized the infinitesimal interactions occurring between the incoming energy and its own gravitic fields, performed the immensely complex calculations required to deflect the energy, and then dramatically increased power to create an intense gravitic distortion at the chosen location. The first set of shield intercept events occurred above the destroyer’s bow, each one creating a brief flash of light in the visible spectrum.
