“Miss Hanlon if you would have the Dirk maneuver into position. Prepare a five percent shot.”
“Aye, sir. Captain Hill reports the target section is evacuated and sealed off. He will be in position in three minutes.”
“Very well. Commander Ktenu, I would like you to take a moment to examine your resolve and that of your people. We've run the numbers, and a five percent shot shouldn't do much more than scorch the hull. Against one of your ships, you would expect a breach and significant secondary damage. The level of protection the EM field stabilized armor has is several orders of magnitude stronger than what you currently use.”
“Sir, weapons are charged, Dirk is in position.”
“Signal Captain Hill we're firing in ten seconds.”
“Aye, sir.”
A countdown appeared on the screen next to Ktenu's silent, disbelieving face. When it reached one, Drogue said, “Fire.”
Broadsword's gun fired into the starboard side of Dirk. Less than a second later, Hanlon said, “Sir, Captain Hill reports minimal damage limited to the outer centimeter of hull and extensive scorching. Zero internal damage.”
Ktenu said, “Impossible! It's a trick of some kind. You humans are just as mad as-”
Drogue speared Ktenu with his blue eyes, hard as chips of glacier. “As mad as what, Commander?”
“Admiral, I am ordering you as alliance commander and leader of the alliance command committee to never do anything like that again.”
Drogue merely nodded from his command chair, not deigning to respond verbally. This seemed to frustrate Ktenu as the communication channel was closed from his end without further comment.
“Sir, are you sure that was wise? We're here at their sufferance.”
“Without us, they won't even be here six months from now. They're learning some hard lessons right now. They've had five thousand years of peace...” Drogue trailed off into silence.
“Sir?” Hanlon said.
“Five thousand years. Humans have been on Lashmere for five thousand years. Do you remember what they said about taking the offensive?”
“I think so, sir. Something about an enemy so bad they tried to completely wipe them from existence.”
“And yesterday, Ktenu mentioned we live up to our reputations. As far as we know, humans haven't been out of the Lashmere system for five thousand years.”
“So unless there's another group of humans running around that the alliance has had recent contact with...” Hanlon's eyes widened in shock. “It can't be, sir. They must have known our ancestors.”
“I'd like to think so, too, Captain, but there's only one conclusion my instinct agrees with. The alliance nearly destroyed humanity five thousand years ago. Get Watkins and his entire team on it. Find a way to break into their database and find out for sure. We can't tip our hand now. In the meantime, I doubt Ktenu will question the veracity of our offensive and defensive claims. We need to find a way to dismantle the changes we've made and make it impossible to reconstruct from sensor logs when we leave the area. I have a crawling feeling in my gut that says we've been arming our enemies this whole time.”
“I'm forced to agree with your conclusions, sir. This is getting complicated, fast. Should we engage in our exercise tomorrow?”
Oh, yes. We'll run the exercise. Tomorrow, we'll deliberately lose. Set up a plan with Kelper to make sure our ships maneuver badly and expose us to too much enemy fire. Also program the simulation computer to always assume the worst case damage from the simulated hits. Try to make it believable for Ktenu.”
“From Ktenu's reactions, sir, if we blow up the first time he sneezed at us, that would be believable.”
“Maybe for a man of his arrogance, captain, but his sensor operators must include some competent analysts. Have Watkins take a look at the on board computer architecture for any security weaknesses he may be able to exploit. If we can get an uncensored look at their information database, it would provide some much needed answers.”
“We'll start right away, sir.” Hanlon turned from the admiral and began giving rapid fire orders to see things done. The following ten hours were relentless for the entire crew of Broadsword. Those not directly involved in the data gathering effort were covering for those who were. Everyone was stretched thin as computer technicians and systems specialists worked on the information sharing protocols and data storage architectures. Finally, well into third watch, Hanlon was able to report to Drogue there had been a measure of success.
Drogue, who hadn't left the bridge in all that time, freeing up officers to supervise their divisions, was sitting, bleary-eyed and slumped in the command chair.
Hanlon entered the bridge holding a tablet in her hand. “Sir, we've gleaned some information from Ktenu's ship. We used the simulation network to create a data connection to the ship's database. There wasn't a lot to find. I suspect more information may be in the base computer, but it's too far away to try anything like this. The commander's ship is very close by so there's no lag of any kind.”
Drogue took the tablet. “Thank you, captain.” As he scrolled through the information, his eyebrows shot up. “This raises more questions than answers, captain, but it does confirm our most serious concerns. This must be disseminated to all ships. Put me on the general announcing circuit.”
An attention signal played throughout the ship. Admiral Drogue's voice, sounding tired and worn came through the speakers. “Officers and crew of the Broadsword, we've learned some disturbing information about our new allies. Some five thousand years ago, their alliance was formed in direct response to human encroachment along their borders. At some point, humans and the alliance entered into a state of war. The alliance designed and disseminated among humans a virus that had a one hundred percent lethality rate. The virus was meant to destroy humanity completely, but our ancestors were too clever for them. Our colony was hidden in the Lashmere system and provided with something the alliance wanted very badly to help us when we ventured back out into interstellar space. The information we were able to glean doesn't specify what this something is, but you can rest assured the alliance will be actively seeking it, and so we must as well. We will continue our activities here, but we'll deliberately lead the alliance into believing our military capabilities are a result of misinformation, exaggeration, and incorrect claims.
“At one time, the five races of the alliance agreed to destroy us. The individuals who made that decision have long since died, but their legacy lives on in the alliance we know today. We will not be responsible for assisting them in learning how to defeat us. We will also not be responsible for helping them survive without full disclosure. I intend to use the advancements made to our ships to force the alliance to meet us on more equal terms. We won't be the tip of their spear just to have our skill turned against us after we defeat their enemies for them. Stay strong for the people of Lashmere. Drogue out.”
The circuit clicked off. Drogue said, “Captain, get some rest. I'll need a relief in about four hours.”
Hanlon left the bridge in a haze of disbelief. So many things she didn't know. How many humans had there been? How far had their reach grown before the alliance nearly destroyed them? Her mind was swirling with unanswered questions as she lay down in her cabin to try to get some rest. Had humanity been the aggressors or were they defending themselves when the alliance tried to wipe them out? Perhaps most importantly, what had their ancestors left for them?
Chapter 7
War. The word reverberated through the bridge of the Aeternum. Cobb sat motionless in the central chair on the bridge with his long fingers steepled in front of his face, elbows resting on his knees. "Commodore," he said, "Before we can prepare, we must discover the capabilities of this ship and how it can help us. We must return the ship to Lashmere and use it to assist our people. This must be our top priority. We can revisit whatever quarrel we may have once that is complete."
Stokes hated to admit it, but Cobb had a point. "I'll assign Miss Simm
ons," A relief to make her someone else's problem for a while, "And my executive officer. He is an experienced and competent command trained naval officer. You will need his help to control this ship, I suspect. Miss Simmons, would you please begin looking into systems operations and faster than light travel for the Aeternum?"
“Aye, sir. Searching now. The user interface is pretty intuitive, but the amount of information stored here is vast in the extreme. This may take a little bit, sir.”
Cobb nearly rolled his eyes and said, “Computer, describe method of faster than light travel. Summary only please.”
The emotionless, androgynous voice of the computer seemed to come from every corner of the bridge once more. “The faster than light system used aboard the Aeternum is a gravity and space/time deflection system. The ship creates a deep fold in space/time and then travels a short hop across the intervening space. In a technical sense, the ship never exceeds the speed of light and actually travels through each point of the intervening space, but because of the depth of the space/time deformation, it appears so to objects not within the same space/time deformation. The ship then uses a gravity distortion generator to reduce the effective mass of the ship as it interacts with the space/time around it to near zero. This has the advantage of creating a massive well of potential energy to use for ships systems that would normally require the use of huge engines and/or gravity slope generators to cause the ship to move through space.”
“What is the expected startup time for the faster than light travel?” Cobb asked.
“System is ready for use. It was started along with all other systems when you gave the startup order seventeen minutes ago.”
Patho gasped. “Wow. The faster than light system on Rampart takes the better part of three hours to warm up before it can be used. Impressive.”
Simmons listened to the conversation with half an ear just in case Stokes wanted her to do something else. Her fingers flew through the database, searching for the information she wanted. Ancient humans who built this ship had a far better understanding of the universe around them than her contemporaries did. Her search dove into the medical section and then into a series of experimental research activities humans had been engaged in while they were fighting the alliance. Human lifespan at the time Aeternum was placed in orbit around Buckman's Star was roughly a hundred ten years. Scientists had been on the edge of a breakthrough that would extend that as much as five times. Her heart thumped so hard in her chest she was sure someone would hear it beating as she tapped away at the console in front of her.
“Miss Simmons? Marli? Can you hear me?”
Simmons jumped as if woken from sleep by a loud noise, nearly falling to the deck plates by her chair. Righting herself, she looked around and said, “Sorry. I was engrossed in looking at the database. What did you say, sir?”
Stokes suppressed the urge to say something else to Simmons. She had demonstrated some real backbone just before coming over, and Stokes was sure she could be molded into a good, solid officer eventually. She just needed a lot more guidance. Too soon after one scolding, another would just seem like abuse to her mind. Instead, he said, “Miss Simmons, Are you all right?”
Simmons took a second getting herself righted in her chair before responding. “Sorry, sir. I was reading the database is all. Would you please repeat what you said?”
Stokes nodded and said, “I'm going to assign you, Mister Kri and eight enlisted crew to assist Agent Cobb in getting Aeternum back to Lashmere. I will also leave Lieutenant Aves' marine detachment aboard for security. There won't be any problems with you and Mister Kri assisting Agent Cobb in managing the ship back to Lashmere?”
“Of course not, sir.”
“Good. I'll head back to Rampart and design a flight path back to Lashmere. The faster than light drive Aeternum uses sounds like it operates on an entirely different set of principles from the one on Rampart.”
Patho said, “I suggest we set up a series of check points along the path back to Lashmere where we can meet up to make sure both ships are safe and making progress.”
“Good thinking, Mister Patho. Computer, what is the estimated time to transit to the Lashmere system from here?”
“Nine point two days, Commodore Stokes,” the computer said.
“Miss Simmons, set up a watch rotation. I want a maintenance and tech team over here within the hour to run a full inspection and systems check. Once I am assured the ship is safe and ready to fly, we'll begin the trip.” Stokes waited for a moment to see if Cobb would continue to try interfering with his decisions. When the intelligence agent confined himself to a nod in Stokes' direction, he continued, “Mister Kri will act as the senior officer here with Cobb in command until Aeternum is turned over to the Lashmere Space Navy. Does anyone have any questions?” No one spoke, so he continued, “I will be taking the shuttle back to Rampart with Mister Patho in ten minutes. Computer, please provide guidance for return trip to shuttle bay.”
A path lit up silently along the floor, and Stokes motioned to Patho. The pair strode off the bridge.
Simmons turned back to the database console she was seated in front of. The data entry she had been working on still sat, waiting for further input. The inquiry input had shown her humans working on extending the natural lifespan. She'd been sure Stokes was going to order her back to Rampart at any moment, potentially cutting her off from the information stored on Aeternum permanently.
Keying a new input, she ordered the computer to display all classified installations that were involved in advanced medical research. Unfortunately, the computer didn't have explicit details on every operation ongoing at the various locations. Her breath caught when she saw the number of star systems on the list. Humanity had once commanded a truly vast empire, spanning thousands of light years in every direction from Earth.
Earth. The center of humanity's existence. She took a moment to examine the planet displayed in detail. Somehow, she expected to feel some... kinship for the planet, but she felt unmoved. Shaking her head, she switched back to the list of planets. Adding coordinates and any details the computer had, she downloaded the list to her tablet computer. She started on a new inquiry but was interrupted by Agent Cobb.
“Miss Simmons, your scientific expertise will be of great value to me. I look forward to having your insight into this ship's primary functions and capabilities.”
“I'm looking forward to working on this ship, agent.”
“Good. I want you to begin a full analysis of the function and capabilities of the Aeternum. By the time we get back to Lashmere, I want a full brief ready for the Lashmere Naval Command.”
“I'll start working on it now.”
Back aboard the Rampart, Stokes sent his tech teams to the Aeternum. Stokes watched as the two pinnaces full of systems and operations experts moved across the main plot. He pondered the situation. “Mister Patho, come here. Sit in the second command chair.”
Patho walked forward and sat down next to Stokes at the center of the bridge. “Yes, sir?” Curiosity tinged his voice.
“I'm promoting you to acting executive officer. The assignment is only until we return to Lashmere, and Commander Kri is back aboard. I also want to apologize for how Agent Cobb treated you. I wasn't aware of the fact that your family is involved in the resistance, but you've proven your loyalty to my satisfaction. I don't intend to allow people unable to let go of old hatreds and prejudices besmirch the honor you've brought on yourself with your service. No one can put the loyalties and ideals of your family before the actions you've taken. Don't let inflexible and reactionist jerks like Cobb bother you.”
Patho struggled to form words appropriate to the situation. He felt the need to be completely honest with Stokes given the trust and support he'd unflinchingly offered. “Sir, I have to admit I have had doubts at times. My family has been against my serving from the time I said I was going to do it. The thing is, I can't imagine myself doing anything else. Operating the drone system and ser
ving in space is my first and only dream.”
“A man living his dream is truly fortunate, commander. I hope your doubts are few and far between. If it's of any comfort to you, all of us doubt our chosen path from time to time. Brief your division officer and have him take the weapons station for the return trip. You will be in Commander Kri's position on the watch rotation.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Work up a return schedule and brief me in one hour, exec. I'm going to work with ops to get a comm relay set up between Rampart and Aeternum.”
Patho took a few minutes to look over the projected speed of the Aeternum and how Rampart would travel back to Lashmere. He worked up a brief for the commodore and was ready when he returned to the bridge.
“Any luck getting the comm relay set up, sir?” Patho asked.
“Looks like it's working. We're in the process of downloading and backing up the database stored on the Aeternum.”
“Do we have enough data storage space on Rampart?”
“Operations assures me there is. It is a rather remarkable amount of data, but Miss Simmons took to it eagerly. Her division will have the entire download done in the next two hours. Once that's done, we'll depart the system. Provided we have a flight plan, that is. Stokes looked at Patho questioningly.
“I have a plan I believe will work, sir. We'll make eighteen short jumps about three quarters of a light year each. At each point, we'll have about eleven hours cool down while we wait for the Aeternum to catch up with us.”
A hint of a smile crossed the commodore's face. “Excellent planning, Mister Patho.” Stokes checked his command console and then said, “We're scheduled to depart in one hour and fifty-three minutes. Coordinate with Mister Kri to get the tech crews back aboard and to synchronize the schedule with Aeternum.”
“Aye, sir,” Patho said. “Sir, I have a question, if I may.”
A Faded Star Page 14
