“Is that wise, sir?” asked McGlashan. “What if it’s a weapon?”
Duggan acknowledged the comment with a nod. “We need to find out, whatever it takes. The Dreamers aren’t our friends and I don’t imagine their activity on the planet is benign.”
“We should try and contact the Space Corps,” said McGlashan.
“Yes, we should, Commander. Lieutenant Chainer? Can you get a message to the Juniper?”
“I think so. The signal will be slow and I thought you were concerned it might be tracked.”
“What’s our closest monitoring station?”
“Gamma – it’s the only one in the Garon sector.”
“Good, route the signal through Monitoring Station Gamma. Make the guys there aware of the risks we’ll have subjected them to. They may want to abandon it for a while and I don’t want any more blood on my hands.”
“Preparing the communication,” said Chainer. “What do you want me to tell them?”
“Tell them what’s happened. We’ll update when we can.”
“Okay, I’m sending it. The signal won’t get there for another couple of days. This backup equipment we’re using is old and slow compared to the new stuff. Luckily for us it’s a bit more robust.”
“I’m taking us towards Trasgor. Send a recommendation to the Dretisear to remain at a distance. Nil-Far’s no fool, so I’m sure he’ll do so anyway.”
The Terminus swung around smoothly. To an observer, the warship might have seemed graceful, even with its exterior charred and damaged. To Duggan, everything felt cumbersome and heavy. A vibration grated through the control bars and something creaked behind the bulkhead wall. The recent combat, combined with the planet’s rotation had taken the surface object away from sensor sight.
“If we can’t see them, they can’t see us,” said Chainer, trying to put a positive spin on their situation. “As soon as they come into view, I’ll let you know. I’d estimate it’ll be at least an hour at the speed we’re going.”
“Understood,” said Duggan.
The updates kept coming, piling on top of each other and reminding Duggan how much more there was to consider on a warship as big as this one. It had been a long time since he’d captained anything larger than the Crimson and he didn’t like the idea that he’d become rusty.
“Bad news from the troops below,” said Perry. “Five confirmed dead and another six out of action. Lieutenant Ortiz apologises for the delay in updating you – there’s been a lot going on.”
“Patch her through, Ensign.”
Ortiz spoke through the bridge speakers. There was an absence of background noise at her end and her voice was loud and clear. “Sir, we’re all suited up. The temperatures aren’t too good here.”
“We took a beating, Lieutenant.”
“I saw it on the update feeds in the barracks, sir. Some of the guys weren’t where they should have been – they were practising laps in the aft corridors. They ignored the internal alarms telling them to get the hell away.”
Duggan breathed out noisily. The soldiers who’d been killed had chosen to disregard procedure by remaining in a high-risk area of the ship. Even the experienced guys could become cocky once they’d survived a few engagements. “I’ll get their details when things have calmed down. Is there anything left to give them a send-off?”
“There’s enough, sir,” said Ortiz. Her anger and frustration were easy to hear.
“Very well. We’ll deal with it when we’re able.”
Duggan closed the line, shut his eyes for a moment and sat with his fists tightly clenched. He pushed aside the emotions. “What else has gone wrong?”
“Sir, the lightspeed engines aren’t coming back anytime soon,” said Breeze. “We’ve got some big areas completely burned out and the rest is going to stay hot for days. The gravity drives should improve slowly – you might have another jump in output within the hour.”
“We’ll die of old age trying to get home on the gravity drive,” said Duggan.
“That we will. I can’t tell you when we’ll have lightspeed available. I’m certain we’ll get them back eventually.”
Another hour passed, without significant improvement in the ship’s damage status. The Dretisear stayed within range, though the Ghasts didn’t let on if they could go any faster. The emergency lighting on the bridge remained in place and every one of the displays was a sea of red. Aside from the extensive damage, Duggan was relieved the life support was fully operational and ninety percent of the sensor arrays were undamaged. Most of all, he was happy that the Dreamer warship hadn’t been equipped with an engine scrambler – he assumed they’d have used it if it was available. If the scrambler was something only the mothership carried, it was significant news.
“The surface object is coming into view, sir,” said Chainer.
“Are we close enough for you to see what you want to see?”
“The closer the better,” Chainer replied. “It’ll take longer to get specifics from here.”
“Fine,” said Duggan, leaving the ship on the same course.
“It hasn’t moved from the place I saw it last time. Whatever it is – it’s big. One-point-five klicks to each side and in the shape of a pyramid.”
“I’ve checked out the wreckage we noted earlier, sir,” said Massey. “It’s the SC Lupus – it’s in one piece, but all out of shape.”
“They got taken out by the same particle beam that almost finished us,” said Breeze. “They’re nothing but a lump of ruined metal now. Poor bastards onboard must have been killed in seconds.”
“Yeah,” said Chainer. “At least we got some payback for them.”
“They kicked us in the balls for our trouble,” said Perry.
“It’s rarely clean, Ensign,” said McGlashan. “They might tell you about quick and easy kills in the classroom. The reality is, we’ve taken half a trillion dollars’ worth of damage and we’ve lost some of our men and women. I’m sure Lieutenant Nichols will have plenty to include in his report.”
Nichols said nothing, but he smiled thinly.
“I’m getting a transmission from the Dretisear, sir,” said Perry. “They’ve detected an energy shield around the object on Trasgor, with a diameter of eight klicks. Their AI has calculated the chances of it being a Dreamer artefact at one hundred percent.”
“Did they specify what precisely they mean by an artefact?” asked Duggan.
“I’m querying the word with them,” said Perry. He looked up. “They didn’t mean anything specific, if I interpret their response correctly.”
“Beaten by a damned Ghast comms man,” said Chainer angrily.
“Competition is a wonderful thing,” said Duggan mildly. “See what else you can find.”
“What the hell do they need an energy shield for?” asked McGlashan.
“It’s got to be something important,” said Duggan. “I’m afraid we can’t go anywhere until we find some more information about what’s going on.”
“I think I might know what it is,” said Massey, with a look of nervous pride. “The oxygen levels have climbed since Lieutenant Chainer first detected the unusually high quantity. The closer to the object you look, the higher the oxygen. I believe the artefact is generating it and pumping it out in order to create an atmosphere.”
“What the hell would they be doing that for?” asked Perry.
“To make the planet habitable,” said Duggan. The hairs on his neck prickled at the thought. “The Dreamers could have come through the wormhole specifically to expand into this area of the universe. If they’re making habitable planets, that means they plan to keep coming.”
“There’s hardly room for us and the Ghasts,” said Chainer. “Let alone a third race of murderous aliens.”
“How big was that mothership when we saw it?” asked Duggan, with worry in his voice.
“Huge,” said Breeze. “Twenty klicks to a side, approximately the same shape as a cube.”
“You could fit hundreds of these
artefacts inside that one mothership,” said Duggan. “If they’re dropping them around this sector – or beyond – humanity could be in even deeper crap than we thought. This means our enemy is here to stay, rather than simply have a look around and then leave.”
“What should we do?” asked McGlashan.
“The first thing we’re going to do is destroy whatever it is they’ve left behind on Trasgor. Then, we’re going to return to the Juniper and leave the decision about what to do next in the hands of Admiral Teron and his superiors. This mission is shaping up to be a bad one.”
Chapter Ten
“How are we going to destroy it, sir?” asked McGlashan. “We can’t launch the nukes and I don’t know if I can get them working again.”
“We’ll have to launch conventional missiles at them and see if they run out of power,” said Duggan. “It’s crude and it’s all we have at the moment.”
“Sir, I’ve got the Dretisear on the comms. Captain Nil-Far wishes to speak with you privately.”
“Very well,” said Duggan in puzzlement.
His earpiece squealed with interference and there was an irritating buzzing sound which came and went. “Captain John Duggan, what are your intentions towards the alien artefact?” asked Nil-Far, eschewing the niceties of human conversation.
“We have made the decision to destroy it. It is our belief the Dreamers intend to create a breathable atmosphere on Trasgor in order to populate it later.”
“That is also our conclusion. I would ask that you do not go ahead with your plans.”
“Why not?” asked Duggan, doing his best to conceal his surprise. He wasn’t sure if the language modules could convey emotion clearly, but he didn’t want the Ghast to know he’d been caught unawares by the request.
“I lack the authority to provide that information. We have sent a signal to Vempor. Alas, our backup comms do not travel quickly and we do not anticipate a response soon.”
“Do you have knowledge of this artefact that we should be aware of?”
“I lack the authority to provide that information,” repeated the Ghast.
“It is my belief we should take this opportunity to disrupt the Dreamer plans,” said Duggan. “What action will you take if we proceed with the destruction?”
There was a pause this time – a long one. “I also lack the authority to break the truce between our two races, John Duggan. Therefore, I will not intervene should you proceed with your stated action. I must warn you that the response from Vempor might give me a different instruction.”
“You might fire on us?”
“If I am asked to do so, I will attempt to destroy your vessel.”
Duggan’s surprise had turned to shock and his brain fought desperately for an appropriate response. “There is no time for these games, Nil-Far! If you do not give me a good reason why I should leave this Dreamer artefact, I will proceed with its destruction.”
“It is not a game, John Duggan. I cannot give you the information you request.”
“We will speak again soon,” said Duggan, cutting off the Ghast captain. He looked around at the others on the bridge. The conversation hadn’t been entirely private and the crew had clearly heard Duggan’s side of it. “What the hell am I missing?” he asked in frustration. “Our supposed ally has come near-as-damnit to saying he’d break our truce on the basis of this unknown object.”
“The Ghasts know more about it than we do,” said McGlashan. “That’s a certainty.”
“Could they have found something like it in the past?” asked Breeze. “There was Dreamer wreckage all around the Helius Blackstar. Perhaps there was something like this which they recovered and it provided them with valuable technology.”
Breeze’s suggestion seemed reasonable, even if it didn’t add up entirely. “We’re sure they used alien technology to bolster their own research in order to try and defeat the Confederation,” said Duggan. “We have a truce now and we’ve demonstrated our ability to destroy their populated worlds if we choose to do so. Surely the only benefit they could get from recovering this thing on Trasgor would be to increase their military capabilities to destroy humanity.”
“And since we’re at peace, their actions are unusual,” said McGlashan.
“Unusual at the very least,” said Massey. “Sir, something about this stinks to high heaven.”
“I agree,” said Chainer.
Duggan felt as if he’d been skewered on a spike, leaving his arms and legs free to thrash but with no way to escape. He wasn’t expecting a response from the Space Corps for days, in the same way the Ghasts weren’t able to reach their own superiors. The Dreamers would have certainly sent a warning to their mothership – it would be a stupid man who hoped otherwise. There was no way the Terminus could wait around to see what came back from Admiral Teron. Furthermore, the Dretisear might well receive an instruction to launch a surprise attack. There was little chance of a good outcome from this situation.
“Could the Ghasts make good on their threats to destroy us?” he asked.
“They’ve taken a lot of damage,” said McGlashan. “Some of their weapons have been disabled, but they’re a big ship and I’ll bet they can still pack a punch. There again, so can we.”
“If we destroy each other, nothing will be gained and peace will be lost,” said Duggan. “That’s not an option.”
“I reckon I can get the ship to lightspeed in twenty-four hours,” said Breeze. “It might be enough to get us away before the Dreamers come looking for their missing spacecraft.”
“If we leave, the Ghasts might attempt to recover the object,” said Massey.
“The Oblivion isn’t a heavy lifter,” said Duggan. “All they can do is fly overhead and look at it.”
“What if the Dreamers don’t come back?” she asked. “What if the Ghasts have requested a spaceship to recover the object and they get away with it before the Space Corps sends another ship here? The most charitable reason I can think of for the Ghasts behaving like this is because they’re idiots.”
“They’re many things, but they’re not stupid,” said Duggan.
“At the very least, this system could become a flashpoint, sir,” said McGlashan. “If the Space Corps sends ships, the Ghasts send ships and then the Dreamers show up.”
With each word uttered, Duggan became more certain as to the best course of action. He raised a hand to stem the flow of suggestions. “It seems to me the best way to proceed is to remove the entire reason for any of us to be here. We’ll go ahead with the plan and destroy the object. Ensign Perry, please communicate our intentions to the Ghasts. Advise that we do not expect any interference from them in what is now a Space Corps affair.”
“I’ve let them know, sir,” said Perry. “They’ve acknowledged receipt, with no return message.”
Duggan hadn’t expected one. He’d never seen Nil-Far lie outright and assumed this was inherent to the Ghast species. However, there were plenty of ways to avoid giving anything away and whenever he didn’t want to answer a question, Nil-Far would say that he couldn’t provide the information or any one of countless variations on the same response.
“They’re still following, sir,” said Chainer. “Want me to warn them off?”
“I’d prefer them to stay close, Lieutenant. They have Shatterers that can target from at least ten times further away than our Lambdas. If there’s a betrayal, we can fire back at this range.”
“Sorry sir, I should have realised.”
Duggan waved it away. “Keep monitoring the area, Lieutenant. We need to keep our eyes and ears wide open.”
Another voice spoke up, this one unwelcome. “I disagree with your chosen course,” said Lieutenant Nichols. “In its current state, the Terminus could be repaired and returned to action within months. You’re taking an unnecessary risk in approaching the planet. If we made distance on our gravity drive until the fission engines were ready, we could return to a shipyard. I’m sure the Space Corps will happily send
other ships this way and in greater numbers.”
“You can’t fight a damned war if you’re checking the cost of every bullet!” said Duggan. “I’ve told you what we’re going to do, Lieutenant. You don’t have the authority to cross-examine my every decision.”
“I assure you I do, sir,” said Nichols. He had a look of self-satisfaction that infuriated Duggan.
“We’re going to Trasgor,” said Duggan with finality.
The ES Terminus drew steadily closer to the site of the alien artefact, travelling at twenty percent of its usual maximum speed. The Oblivion shadowed them at a range of a hundred thousand kilometres – comfortably within Lambda targeting range. Duggan was glad - the Dretisear’s proximity suggested there was no current intent to begin hostilities. If the battleship drifted another fifty thousand kilometres distant, then it would likely be time to prepare for an unwanted conflict.
“The artefact is on fairly flat ground, sir,” said Chainer. “There are a few undulations within the eight-klick perimeter of the shield and a couple of valleys. Other than that, you know the score – rock, rock and more rock.”
“Anything else of note?” asked Duggan. “Signs of life or activity?”
Chainer hesitated. “I can’t tell you for certain. The shield distorts our sensors on the way through, which is why it takes a few seconds to get a lock on their spaceships. A spaceship tends to be a lot bigger than ground artillery.”
“You mean you can’t tell me what else might be down there?” asked Duggan.
“I can’t,” said Chainer, with a defensive tone to his voice. “I thought we were going to blow them away from high orbit?”
“We don’t know if that’s going to work,” said McGlashan. “Another couple of minutes and we’ll be close enough to give it a go.”
“How many Lambda clusters can we bring to bear?”
“We’ve got sixteen operational, of which two I wouldn’t want to chance using. Of the fourteen, we can use them all if they’ll successfully target the object. If we need to launch in a straight line, we’ll only be able to bring seven to bear at one time. The nukes are still showing a total malfunction.”
Chains of Duty Page 7
