by SF Edwards
“Will do, boss, grab the SisTeRs. Any thoughts on what happened?”
I fired my suit jets to slow my approach to the transport. I neared the largest breach in the hull. “I don’t want to say anything yet, but those militia fighters were Mark 5 Hammertails,” I said pointing at the thruster port. “Not exactly easy kills for pirates.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Hammertail taken out by a pirate. Chewed on sure, but never destroyed.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
I reached out and grabbed hold of the damaged hull and peered in. The hull consisted of three layers of the same shell-like material. Between the two innermost hulls I found wires and conduits of what looked like white gold. I’d never encountered or read about a ship like this. I pushed off into the interior, headlamps and image intensifiers in my helmet on. I almost retched at the sight. The hold of the ship was packed with dead aliens. “Oh my God,” I gasped, “Dagonites.”
“No way,” Tomer replied as he floated in alongside me. “Are you sure?”
I moved in close to one of the nine metra tall bodies. Other than how it looked like it had been flash-frozen and then freeze-dried, it was a dead ringer for the holos I’d studied recently. Its fishlike eyes and grey-green skin no longer bore the sheen common to the amphibious beings. Instead the skin was dry and stiff, like an overcooked piece of jerky. “They must have been trying to escape, to make it back into Confed territory.”
“You think the Earthers did this?”
I didn’t want to speculate. This was clearly a cargo ship, like all the other destroyed ships we’d found of late. They didn’t even have any defensive armaments. This was not war, it was mass murder. How many others were obliterated before this one made it this far?
“Let’s find the bridge. Maybe there’s a SisTeR equivalent.”
We picked our way through the wreckage. It was overwhelming. The interior bore the signs of extensive battle damage, and dead Dagonites were everywhere. None had weapons. Some appeared to have died when the hull was breached. However, many appeared to have fallen to weapons fire.
Structural members that reminded me of coral hung in place. We came upon several sealed compartments, but there was neither heat nor life signs coming from any of them. As we reached the front of the ship we came upon a hatch to what I assumed was the flight deck. It too felt cold.
I pulled out my pry bar and stuck it in the door jamb. Tomer joined me, and, setting ourselves, we managed to get the hatch open. A shower of ice crystals floated out of the door in response. I stopped in case we’d opened a pressurized space. Closer inspection indicated that the ice crystals were of a type that tended to collect on the inside of a water tank hatch. Looking in, I could tell that this was some form of control room. The seats looked like they’d been made of conch shells which had been hollowed out. In front of them were antiquated controls. Knobs, wheels and dials dominated. The whole room was covered in ice, all of which began to sublimate upon contact with hard vacuum.
“Looks like the crew tried to save themselves by sealing the flight deck,” Tomer commented.
“Looks like, but they developed a leak I’d hazard.”
“What’s with all the ice? Even that Lodran ship we salvaged two cycles ago wasn’t this wet inside.”
The interior had a pearlescent sheen. I ran my hand along some of the evaporating ice. It almost steamed at my touch. “Dagonites are naturally amphibious and prefer to live underwater. They might have kept the interior flooded for comfort. Do you see anything that might be a log or a flight recorder?”
“Maybe. Do you think we can pressurize this room and get the humidity back up?” Tomer asked. I turned to find him examining a concave depression in the wall.
“Just set a pressure bubble around it and spray in some of your suit’s water.”
Tomer did as instructed and I hooked what I hoped were the power leads into my portable generator. A moment later mist sprayed into the depression. A holographic menu of some sort appeared. “You recognize any of these symbols?” Tomer asked.
I looked them over. They were all unknown to me, but some looked vaguely familiar. I reached through the bubble carefully and swiped at one. A new set of entries came up. They were accompanied by still images of a Dagonite’s face.
“Nice guess, boss.”
“I try. How about this one?” The entry I picked did not show a Dagonite but instead empty space. When I moved my hand the scene wavered then shifted to reveal the forward view out of the cockpit. There was a flash and a ship raced past. Another flash and another ship.
“Can you slow it down?” Tomer asked, maneuvering to get a better look.
“I have no idea what I’m doing, so it may take a bit, hold on.” I let the recording proceed until one of the craft swept by giving a perfect planform view. I stabbed at the mist and the recording stopped. The shape was unmistakable. It looked like a writing stylus with wings. I’d seen too many recordings of these Galactic Federation fighters lately. “Bugger me sideways.”
“Another attack—you can’t be serious. How many does this make now, a dozen this tridec?”
“Why go after this ship? It was a refugee transport, nothing special, just Dagonites trying to escape.”
I pulled my hand back and floated there for a long moment. “Call in a tug. We’ll tow this back to base and analyze the rest there.”
“Confed Command’s going to want to know if any ships made it through. And they’ll want to know how those fighters followed. I doubt Geffer fighters are hyperspace capable.”
“Which means a hyperspace capable carrier brought them. That means Confed vessels in this sector are at risk as well. This is serious. This isn’t about war, it’s about genocide.”
UCSB DATE: 782.091
Edrin System, Cathedral Station 3, Café Trimal
Cathedral 3 was our new home base. It provided ready access for our forensic study of the wreckage of Galactic Federation vessels and that of the ships they’d attacked. The Cathedral Stations were a marvel of engineering. The massive stations were each home to millions of sentients. Powered by a direct hyperspace tap, they had a seemingly infinite energy source from which to operate. Prefabricated domes were arranged within a three dimensional grid system spread around the main ring of the station. The domes contained whatever environment and facilities were needed by the occupants.
I sat in a cafe along a cobblestone street, lined by trees from a dozen worlds in one of the massive observation/entertainment domes. Shops and restaurants filled the space, creating a picturesque and relaxing environment for oxygen breathers.
The scene was wasted on me. My entire focus was trained on the beauty who sat across from me. Jemma was radiant in the light of the local sun, her flowing blue sundress leaving just enough to the imagination. We didn’t even have our typical entourage of spirit orbs. Jemma had sent them throughout the station to collect emotions and psychic flux.
“Sorry I’ve been so busy lately,” I said after the waiter took our order.
“Is it really getting that bad?” she asked, reaching across the table to stroke my hand.
“Three more transport groups were hit this decle. They were all military, so there were no civilian casualties this time. But the Geffers made off with several tons of military hardware from some of the ships. That gives them a lot of material to reverse engineer.”
“I heard their ships weren’t as advanced as ours, how are they doing so much damage?”
I sighed and sat back. “Force of numbers. They’ll launch three or four fighters to every one of ours. Even with their weaker weapons and shields… It’s like a wolf pack attacking a bear. One might not be enough to take it down, but overwhelm it and…”
“I understand. I just wish we could negotiate some kind of peace, but they refuse to return to the table. They insist that all further talks be at one of their facilities.”
“Is the diplomatic corps agreeing to that?”
“Yes, we
have, but they refuse to set a meeting location.”
The way she drew in her shoulders and stroked her chin told me that the discussion was beginning to bother her so I looked for a way to change the subject.
A little girl chased her pet skitter tail across the street. I laughed as it leapt from the street and clambered up a tree, its thin body and tiny legs disappearing behind the trunk that was barely wider than my arm. “You ever have any pets like that growing up?”
Jemma looked over and smiled as the skitter tail dropped back onto the little girl’s shoulders and curled around her neck like short scarf. “My family has a neigh ranch back on Anul. I used to ride all the time as a little girl. My bark, Drake, would also run with us.” She sighed and took a sip of her drink. “What I wouldn’t give to go back to that time. It was so much simpler back then.”
I leaned across the table and took her hands. “But then I wouldn’t be there to share it with you.”
She gazed back at me with those piercing green eyes. “Let’s go back there. Next chance we get, let’s go to Anul and go riding. We can camp out under the stars beside the lake that I used to…,” she paused for a moment and flushed. “That my friends and I used to skinny dip in.”
I felt my own cheeks go red in response. I was raised on a space station. The most public place I’d ever been nude was a doctor’s office or locker room. “I’d like that.”
Our meal arrived a moment later and we began to make real plans for a future as we ate. It was wonderful, and I couldn’t imagine doing any of the things we discussed without her. After our meal, we took a walk around the dome.
It was beginning to get dark as the station fell into the shadow of the gas giant it orbited. We’d spend the next cycle in utter darkness, but I didn’t mind. I was used to it. Plus, I’d get to spend time with Jemma.
Jemma hugged my arm as we proceeded and a chill wind swept the street. “Sorry about that. This happens when we fall into the night side.”
“I don’t mind at all, makes it feel like back home,” she replied, pulling in closer.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her towards the front of a nearby store. “I know that we’ve only known each other for four tridecs, but I love you Jemma.”
“I love you too, Jard.” She had to get up on her tiptoes to do it, but she kissed me, and I kissed her back.
A sudden commotion drew our attention from across the street. It was a typical sports bar so I figured some team had scored a goal. The image on the screens was not any sports field though. I stepped towards the street, dragging Jemma along. From the corner of my eye I spotted the mass of orbs racing towards us.
“I repeat, the Lodran Colony on the Planet Smegrish Three is gone. These images we received before the communications blackout appear to show Galactic Federation craft as they pull into orbit and open fire on the colony. This was an unprovoked attack and early casualty estimates are in the tens of thousands,” the news reporter declared.
I stood transfixed, unable to take it all in. Jemma stood beside me, conversing with the orbs. “It’s worse than that,” she told me a moment later. “They’ve hit two other colonies as well, and a reaction warhead went off at Treaty Station. Admiral Vanor and his staff are all dead.”
I grabbed Jemma and pulled her close. She and Vanor had been friends. Had she not met me, there was a good chance she might have been there with him. “I’m so sorry, is there…”
She shook her head as the image on the screen changed to reveal the Confederation presidential seal. A moment later, the image shifted again to show the president himself. The somber look on his face told me enough. “My fellow sentients. It seems that once again, peace has escaped us. Earlier this cycle, the Galactic Federation delivered a coordinated strike against three Confederation Colonies. Two of those colonies have been completely destroyed. This unprovoked assault and increasing attacks on shipping near the Consign Spur, both civilian and military, has left the Confederation with no choice. The Senate has just voted. We go to war. We are mobilizing the defensive fleets even now, and returning all capable warships to active status. Let us only hope that this war will be a short one.”
I couldn’t watch anymore and stepped away from the bar. But every viewer I saw displayed the speech. Jemma took my hand and wrapped her arms around me. I returned the gesture, kissing the top of her head. “Oh Jard, what do we do now?”
“We do what we’ve always done, press on, and help defend the Confederation.”
She pulled away and looked up at me. “Do you mean, join the military?”
I shook my head, I was no soldier. “No, we just do what we can to end this war. We did not start it but we must do everything we can to make it as short as possible.”
Jemma took my hand and kissed it. “I don’t want to be alone right now Jard, take me home.”
I nodded and walked her back to her apartment. Everywhere we went news of the war resounded. Some people were in shock; others seemed to be celebrating; even more were sad and many were angry. I guess I fit in the angry category. I knew what war and battle wrought. And on a personal level I hated the fact that it began the same cycle that Jemma and I had declared our love.
UCSB DATE: 982.021
Caslar System, UCSBS-Vaurnel, Room PW-316
Chief Engineer Jorden Vaughnt sat back in his seat, setting his notebook style macomm aside as he finished reading the entry. The Journal of Jard Sciminder, what a gift this is. I still can’t believe that his family sent me a copy. They’ve always kept it private before. He sat there for a long moment contemplating how to incorporate the Journal. While the perspective was one-sided, it contained critical personal and scientific information that he needed to craft the historical treatise he’d been working on.
Suddenly restless, he stood and made his way to his view wall. He stared down at the synthetic display of the planet below. An uneasy peace held for the moment. It took almost two centuries and countless lives, but the galactic powers had maintained their armistice for almost a decade now. I just wish I could get more of the Geffer perspective to add to things, but that could be a long time in coming.
The door into the second bedroom slid open and then closed a moment later as Jorden’s wife Laresse crept out. “Sorry I missed story time, how are the kids?” he asked.
“Jell had a hard time falling asleep, so I had to lay down with her. Schan was out in a shot.”
Jorden hugged his wife. “I love you.”
“I know, Jorden. So how is the journal?”
“It told me what I needed, details that weren’t in the official reports. I’ll read the rest of the entries later, but I have enough now to add some real insight to section three.”
“Good, don’t stay up too long working on it. Captain Sadrick’s promotion party is next cycle.”
“I won’t,” he replied, kissing her on the nose. “I’m just going to send the Sciminders a thank you note and one other thing then I’ll come to bed.”
“Want me to wait up for you?” she asked with a sly smile and a waggle of her hips.
“You bet I do,” he replied slapping her on the butt before returning to his desk. “Maybe we can start on our third.”
Laresse gave him a quick wink and trotted off to their bedroom, slipping out of her uniform as she went.
Jorden stared after her and crafted a quick note of thanks to the Sciminder family. He sent it direct to the family’s matriarch, Nilosa. Glancing quickly at the door to his room, he opened the paper he’d been working on. He had a new opening line for it.
“Jorden, don’t make me start without you,” Laresse called as he typed the line.
Jorden took one last look at the screen and rushed towards his room. His hearts fluttering with anticipation, thudding in his ears with such strength that he couldn’t hear the vents. On the screen, his new opening line waited.
Peace is a fleeting state.
UCSB DATE: 985.030
Caslar System, UCSBS-Vaurnel, Command Bridg
e
“Peace is a fleeting state.” The opening line of Jorden Vaughnt’s historical paper on the two centuries’ long war with the Galactic Federation echoed through Admiral Sadrick’s mind as he stared at the sensor operator’s screen. The ionization trail in the planet’s upper atmosphere left him with an uneasy feeling. The readings checked out. The trail could be natural, but his instincts and the new Admiral’s rank on his shoulder told him that their old enemy was on the move again.
Admiral Sadrick stood and looked across the bridge. The knot in his stomach tightened. The Vaurnel was no longer a warship. It was a science cruiser. A condition of the decade-old armistice treaty had called for the disarming of these old Ercil Class Cruisers. The Confederation had designed the ships to duplicate the Galactic Federation’s Aiax Class Cruisers. That had allowed them to sneak about in Galactic Federation territory where they could wreak havoc on the enemy. Now, his ship surveyed the outer systems of the Confederation, disarmed, and he was about to follow its guns into retirement.
Admiral Sadrick sat back down, his guts churning. His first officer walked in a moment later. The Vaurnel’s next captain wasn’t in his duty jumpsuit. The loose shorts and shirt of his slamball uniform ready for the tournament in a few hects.
“You’re worried about nothing, sir. I just came from the sensor control room, and the trail is a nonentity.”
Admiral Sadrick gave his head a slow shake. “Intel reported that the Geffers were developing a new class of cruiser with a faint ionization trail. This could be it.”
“Sir, no ship could leave a trail this faint. Even if it did, why sit here, in the orbit of this planet, and not in the local gas giant?”
“Easy. The magnetic fields here would minimize the risk of detection. That big spike we saw earlier. I bet they heaved to in this orbit to fix a problem.”
