Void Dragon

by William Kephart

  “And Montjoie?”

  “A Mei xenoscholar,” Bruzio said. “He’s our foremost expert on the Enemy. Montjoie has dissected their corpses and gone over whatever tech of theirs we’ve managed to capture. I’ve heard rumors that he’s made a lot of progress in translating their language from computers scavenged from their wrecks.”

  “But we’ve never captured one alive,” Wen said.

  “Perhaps. Perhaps he finally succeeded.” Wu said.

  “And so what if he has? The Mei would strike for this?”

  “Not just any strike,” Song said. “We’re looking at a general strike, as bad the Mei rebellions from before the war.”

  “I’m afraid I wasn’t born then. Was it really so bad?”

  “Worse,” Song said. “You would be surprised how much of our society is dependent on the Mei. They mine the xinium, braving conditions that are too violent and unpredictable to be automated effectively. You need real people with hands and brains handling all of that dangerous heavy machinery. They are also over-represented in our shipyards and other heavy industries. Frankly, we need them more than they need us.”

  “I’d like to see that,” Wen said. “They have to eat. The Tiandao can’t feed themselves. You can’t grow food in a city floating in the Eye of Jupiter.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, girl,” Bruzio snapped. “We have aeroponic farms now, and we’ve engineered crops to deal with the gravity and pressure. There are some who think this isn’t our war at all, that we should just let the Enemy conquer the Ren and they’ll leave us alone.”

  “Surely not,” Wen said. “Wait...you’re serious?”

  “Do those protesters look unserious to you?”

  “Fine, they’re serious,” Wen said. Geez, touched a nerve there, I guess.

  “And we most surely must take them seriously.” Wu said. “At the current rate our strategic reserves of xinium will last six standard months, and thankfully most of the workers on the dispersed shipyards are Ren or can easily be replaced by Ren. However, Ren physiology is incompatible with large scale xinium mining. We’re offering double and triple pay to scabs but not getting many takers. This strike must be resolved, and soon.”

  “So you’re sending the Void Dragon out alone to find these people? Why do they even care? Marine units are lost all the time. What makes this one different?”

  “The difference is Xuanwu hasn’t been listed as lost, or even missing. They were disavowed, scrubbed from the records completely with no official explanation. There were just too many people for this not to be noticed,” Song said.

  Why would you do that? “And Montjoie?” Wen asked.

  “He’s famous,” Bruzio said. “There aren’t many Mei celebrities but we treasure the few we have. Lots of poor kids on the Tiandao look up to any Mei that can attain acknowledgment in Ren circles and move up in the world. I would be just as famous if my work wasn’t classified.”

  “And I’m to find these missing people? Where would I even start?”

  “Harbin,” Wu said.

  Harbin.

  Wen didn’t remember Harbin so much as remember who she was before and who she was after. Before, she was Admiral Wen’s daughter, top student and prize pupil, the very hope of the Academy. After, she was nothing, barely graduated, with one dead-end post after another. Harbin was her life and death, the decisive point for everything. They wanted her to go there?

  “Why?” she asked quietly.

  “Harbin is their last known location,” Wu said.

  “But why there?” Wen pressed. “What’s so important about Harbin? Isn’t it under blockade? How’d they even get there?”

  “Did you think the Void Dragon was the first ship of it’s kind? This project has been going on a long time,” Bruzio said.

  “Yes,” Song said. “I was just as surprised as you to learn that there was a prototype.”

  Bruzio sat back in her chair and her eyes looked far away. “Too large for a ship, even a dreadnought. Our nano-engineering was much less advanced then. The first Bruzio core was the size of a mountain, and required points at both ends of the shift. We planned to use it to transport ground troops. Harbin was to be its test.”

  “What?” Wen couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You mean I’m not the first Wen to do something like this? To test your tech?”

  “No. That was the point of Harbin,” Wu said. “Harbin is an arid world. Our analysts say the Enemy prefers planets with plenty of water so the hope was they wouldn’t fight too hard for it. It has a good mineral profile and the gravity is a bit much for a Ren to live comfortably. It was originally settled as a Mei world after the rebellions. That was one of the promises made in the Equality Edict. We would find planets for them so they all didn’t have to live packed like sardines on the Tiandao. The Enemy took it from us and we tried to take it back.”

  “And then?”

  “Admiral Wen’s last stand wasn’t to cover the withdrawal of the fleet. The bulk had already escaped. It was to give our engineers time to conceal deployment of the B-side of the first core. They managed to hollow out a mountain and install it there, right under the Enemy’s nose. It was a total success.

  “This Mountain Stronghold became a base. We managed to greenshift in reinforcements, turning Harbin into a bleeding wound in the Enemy’s underbelly. They’ve lost more troops there than anyplace else. That was the mission of Task Force Xuanwu. They were to inflict so many casualties that the Enemy would just give up and write off the planet. The hope was if they succeeded we could do it again elsewhere,” Wu said.

  “And did it work?”

  “No,” Wu said. “They tightened the blockade around Harbin and just kept sending reinforcements, endless reinforcements.

  “We were careful never to let the Enemy catch on to what we were doing, only ever sending enough troops to replenish losses. We figured they’d just assume we were dug in underground and in the mountains, and never question why our numbers never went down.

  “We were fools. The Enemy became suspicious, not because of anything we did on the planet, but because of you.”

  “Me?” Wen had no idea what she could’ve done.

  “Yes, you,” Wu said.

  “It’s not complicated,” Song reentered the conversation. “We unveil a ship with new and amazing abilities, a ship that can come and go at will with little or none of the restrictions and limitations you see with dreadnoughts. Well, if we can do that above we can do that below.”

  “They tightened the blockade over Harbin five-fold,” Wu said. “They increased ground forces ten-fold. They launched an offensive into the mountains to drive us out for good. And they captured the core!”

  Oh no. “What can they do with it?”

  “Precious little,” Bruzio said. “Or so we hope. The original core is only one way. Task Force Xuanwu has no way to get word to us through the blockade. We only know as much as we do because we sent in another Void Dragon class to check on them.”

  “We already have another?” Wen asked.

  “Just one more,” Bruzio replied. “The line is in mass production as we speak. Crews are being trained. Your latest action was inspired, by the way. I’m sure the immersion engineers will make great use of it in crafting simulations.”

  Wen was a little too worried to feel pleased with herself. “Are you sure there’s nothing they can learn from the big core? We can’t let this tech fall into Enemy hands!”

  “Our thoughts exactly,” Wu said. “Bruzio, tell her how long we have.”

  “The B-side was only intended to receive greenshifts, not send them. But given given the advanced nature of their dreadnoughts, which we only managed to equal in the last year, it’s conceivable they could reverse engineer the core in the Mountain in a matter of months.”

  “And that must not happen,” Wu said firmly.

  “It would still be a while before they could scale it down to something Void Dragon level, though,” Bruzio added.

&
nbsp; “Must it be me?” Wen asked.

  “We don’t have a lot of options, Captain,” Song said. “The rest of the fleet has been withdrawn from open space.”

  Wait. “And you put off telling me this why? That seems like the first thing you should have told me. They’ve anchored the whole fleet?”

  “Yes,” Wu said. “Excepting yourself, of course, the last month has been the bloodiest for us in years. The Enemy is out in force. They’ve been moving in larger and larger formations, forcing us to do the same. However, we don’t have the numbers to adequately cover our space. We believe it’s the prelude to a major offensive into the inner colonies. The decision was made to pull back rather than risk destruction, not until we have enough frigates to replace our lost dreadnoughts. The loss of New Tianjin hasn’t helped at all.”

  “We lost New Tianjin? The shipyard? You weren’t kidding. This is bad.”

  “That’s not the worst by far. Montjoie was on Harbin,” Wu said.

  “And he was there because…?”

  “To capture members of the Enemy species alive, interrogate them, learn their language properly, see if they can be reasoned with,” Wu said.

  “Surrender, you mean,” Wen said.

  “A negotiated peace,” Song said. “There are many who would accept an unequal treaty as the cost of peace. We take no chances, Wen, you know that. If the Void Dragon class fails, we must have a plan b.”

  Wen took a deep breath and tried to calm down a bit. “I understand. So, what’s to be done with Montjoie?”

  “Rescue him if you can, silence him if you must. The risk of our greatest xeno-anthropologist falling into Enemy hands and allowing them to learn our ways is too great,” Wu said.

  “And I suppose you want me to destroy the B-side of the core to prevent it from falling into Enemy hands as well?”

  “Indeed. That is your mission. You must leave today. Colonel Xia and her unit will accompany you.”

  And, like the devil who appears when you speak his name, that evil-looking marine walked in.

  Just great. “You’re sending me in with her? Why not Zhamisce and his troopers? They have far more experience deploying from the Void Dragon.”

  “Even so, this is a mission that requires great political sensitivity,” Wu said.

  “The Mei unit has been disarmed and confined to quarters,” Xia said, sitting down right next to Wen, bold as brass.

  Wen edged away a bit. “Is that really necessary?”

  “You saw the protests, Captain. We can’t risk the Mei unrest spreading to secure sectors,” Wu said.

  “And you’re okay with this, Professor?” Wen asked.

  Bruzio shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not okay with a lot of things, Cap, but I like the idea of a general strike even less. We really do have a chance to win the war within the next year. I can bite my tongue for a little longer.”

  Xia sneered at that. “I’d hope you’d do better than that, Professor. Wouldn’t want to give us any ideas about your loyalty.”

  “That’s enough!” Song said, and straightened up to his full height. “This is neither the time nor the place.”

  “I tend to agree,” Wu said quietly. “Captain, you and Colonel Xia must leave for Harbin soon. This is something that can’t wait. It may be that by the time you return the Enemy will launch a major offensive. Hopefully, by then we’ll have enough frigates to meet them in open space. Return successfully, and you’ll be at the tip of the spear. Another promotion or two wouldn’t be out of the question.”

  “Just like that? Nothing else for me to go on?”

  “Not at all. The frigate we sent to check on Harbin brought in some useful information.” Wu typed in an authorization code. “There. Relevant maps and data on Enemy and friendly positions should be accessible on your datapad. Please note that their plasma flak batteries look to be configured for upper atmosphere and low orbit. You’ll have to shift in fairly low to get under them.

  “Also, notice that the Enemy is concentrated along a temperate band in the north polar region. It’s the best real estate on the planet so that’s only expected. Our strength was in the rocky hill country starting at sixty degrees latitude and below. There. See this mountain range? That was the location of the Mountain Stronghold, with the B-side of the core concealed within. The Enemy seized control and drove us into the dry badlands even further south. Whatever remains of Task Force Xuanwu must be there. If they have Montjoie, well and good. Extract him and get out of there.”

  “And the core?”

  “Colonel Xia’s unit has some heavy demolitions equipment. Deploy them.”

  “And if that fails?”

  “Destroy the core from orbit.”

  “Are you serious? I thought that was a precedent we didn’t want to set. If either side used dreadnoughts to bombard planets they could be rendered uninhabitable. How many habitable planets are there in the galaxy? Without expensive and time-consuming terraforming.” This was mad, Wen thought.

  “Too few,” Song said. “But it’s a risk we’ll have to take. A surgical strike from the Void Dragon’s comparatively weaker main gun will hopefully not provoke extreme retaliation.”

  “That’s a big chance to take,” Wen said.

  “What happened to you?” Xia asked. “Lose your nerve? They told me you were some hotshot interceptor pilot they gave the experimental ship to because she was suicidal. Pathetic.”

  “And I don’t want her!” Wen said. “Nima is bad enough. The last thing I need is his twin sister standing behind me with a flechette gun while I’m trying to command my ship! You expect me to trust someone like this on a sensitive mission behind Enemy lines? No way. I want Zhamisce’s unit.”

  “Impossible,” Wu said. “They can’t be trusted once they know what the mission is. They’ll mutiny on you, make no mistake. Marine bases across the Gongyue Government are on information quarantine. They won’t be told anything until you deal with Task Force Xuanwu.”

  “And how am I supposed to deal with them?”

  “Extract a few survivors if you can, but I don’t expect many will remain if they were forced to withdraw from the Mountain Stronghold.”

  “And what about the protesters?”

  “If you can provide some proof that they simply experienced defeat with heavy casualties, they should accept that, especially if you can account for Montjoie as well.”

  “Well, if I’m going to do that I’ll need Major Zhamisce’s Mei marines.” She could feel the beginnings of a plan already materializing. Yes, let’s focus on this. Action now, brooding later.

  “Captain, I just said—”

  “Listen. If I’m to bring back Montjoie dead or alive, and we don’t know where he is by the way, I’m going to need all the help I can get, a hammer and an anvil. What if Task Force Xuanwu is completely destroyed as an effective fighting force? What if the survivors have lost their equipment? A marine without their weapon is nothing.

  “I may very well need a diversion to get at the Mountain, and Xia’s group looks like a surgical team to me. I have no tactical flexibility if I only take them. This is to say nothing of my ability to cover ground on an Enemy-occupied planet to search for one man.”

  “You’re in no position to demand—”

  Wu held up a hand and Xia fell silent. “And what else?”

  “We’re going to have to clear out the magazine and most of the non-essential supplies. I’ll need fabricators and an additional autosurgeon so I can establish a base camp planetside. I’m going to need every trigger-puller available and the remnants of Xuanwu may need to be reequipped.”

  “And additional food and water as well,” Song added. “It’s an arid planet, not quite a desert but it’s a concern.”

  “And Major Zhamisce?” Wu asked.

  “I’ll talk to him. If I tell him it’s a rescue mission, especially to rescue a Mei celebrity, do you really think his troops won’t be on board?”

  “Mm, it’s not even a lie, not really. Ve
ry well, Captain, you’ll have your Mei marines,” Wu said. “But I recommend you take at least some ammunition. It’s preferable if you avoid it, but you may be forced to destroy the core from orbit.”

  “I can agree to that, Mr. Wu. Now if you’ll excuse me, if I want to leave within the day I’m going to have to spend the next few hours loading up my ship. I suppose Xia can come too. I really hope you didn’t make too bad an impression on Zhamisce’s company. You’ll have to work together soon.”

  “I did my job,” Xia replied.

  “I hope so. Will that be all?” Wen asked.

  “That’s it, Captain. You haven’t disappointed me yet, and now would be a bad time to start. Destroy the core. Rescue Montjoie and the Xuanwu survivors if at all possible. Those are your orders. Consider this as coming from Chairwoman Cao herself.” Wu smiled at her.

  “Good luck,” said Song and Bruzio together.

  Wen casually saluted and walked out. Xia fell in alongside her. “Watch your back, Captain,” she said.

  Ugh, not another one.

  Chapter 9

  “—and that’s the mission,” Wen said.

  Major Zhamisce’s marines looked restive and surly. At least not mutinous yet, she thought.

  “No pressure,” one said sotto voce.

  “What was that?” Zhamisce asked sternly. Wen had given him the rundown before this meeting and he was quick to clamp down on any dissension in the ranks.

  “Nothing, Major,” said the same one. “Corporal Yimran wants to know why they packed up our gear if we’re being sent right back out.”

  I can field that one. “We’re going to have backup on this one, and may need to establish a base camp on the planet. It’s going to be a tight fit and we’ll need all the room we can get for the additional supplies.” And no need to tell them High Command didn’t trust their loyalty and wanted everyone disarmed before they heard this.