Excalibur's Quest

by Dietmar Wehr

  “Show me the super-wave front in relation to our astrogational data, with as wide a scope as possible.”

  A star map appeared that hinted at the curvature of the spiral arm that humans occupied. A fuzzy red line curved across the map. That was the super-wave expanding outward from the galactic center.

  “Now show me the volume of spaces occupied by all the races that we have data for,” said Koenig.

  Various colored areas appeared on the map. Koenig recognized human-explored space by its almost spherical shape near the Rift. The Jab were shown in yellow, the Tong in blue. Was it his imagination or was the farthest known edge of Tong space touching the red line?

  “Has the super-wave reached Tong space?”

  “Affirmative.”

  Koenig suddenly had an ‘aha’ moment. If the Tong had discovered the existence and impact of the super-wave that had to be threatening some of their colonies already, then their sudden aggression towards humans could be explained as an act of desperation, rather than of mere greed.

  “Zoom out slowly, with Sol in the center. I want to see if the distribution of stars suggests where humans might migrate.”

  As the star map re-oriented itself on the Solar system and then pulled back, Soriya cleared her throat. “I’m not sure that retreating in front of the super-wave is the best option.”

  “Stop the zoom,” said Koenig as he looked at Soriya. “Why wouldn’t we do that? If we got far enough away from it, say a couple of thousand light years? Wouldn’t that give humanity plenty of time to advance and perhaps even evolve to a point where the DNA effects of the wave wouldn’t pose a threat?”

  “Possibly, yes, but we don’t know for sure what our future as a species holds. If, on the other hand, we migrated to a new home BEHIND the wave, then it would no longer be a threat at all.”

  “Yes, I see your point,” he said slowly. “Now that you’ve gotten me to think about other possibilities, I can even see a third option. It just might be easier and quicker to go underground, and not necessarily on Earth either. The biggest problems with going deep underground are heat from Earth’s molten core and the threat of earthquakes; however, Earth’s moon no longer has a molten core, nor does it have any moonquakes. It’s also nice and close. Burrowing deep and building massive shelters would not only be quicker, it would also allow for re-inhabiting the Earth when the wave has passed.” He shook his head. “Who knows, maybe all three strategies will be used as insurance in case one or two of them fails. What concerns me right now is the question of what the Tong are going to do. The super-wave is literally on their doorstep. They don’t have centuries to prepare for it. Their home world might have a few decades. They also might have come to the conclusion that they don’t have time to move billions over long distances. Taking over habitable real estate relatively close by might be seen as a stopgap measure to give them the time for a more permanent solution, and we humans just happen to be in the way.” After a pause, he added, “I wonder if the Jabs know about the super-wave too and if that’s the reason why they wanted to establish a beachhead on our side of the Rift. Anyway, we’ll have plenty of time to ponder these big questions on the way home. Let’s pick up the com module and head for home. I have this nagging suspicion that our people need us.”

  With the Vergon com module safely secured in the hangar bay, Excalibur began to accelerate to jump velocity. Koenig made a half-hearted attempt to convince the astro AI to make it all the way to Sol in one super-long jump, but he let himself be convinced to break the trip down into three segments, each of which was still longer than the longest single jump, other than the Alpha9 miss, attempted so far. With a much higher pre-jump velocity and an almost straight-line trajectory, the total transit time to reach Sol would be less than two weeks of time measured externally and would seem like 149 hours inside the ship.

  Koenig and Soriya both made sure they were awake when the ship was due to drop out of hyperspace in the Solar system. No sooner had the ship made the transition to normal space than the com AI made a shocking report.

  “Receiving a message on the TOSF emergency frequency. Switching to audio.”

  “—all ships. The United Earth Treaty Organization has officially surrendered to Tong forces that now control Earth’s orbitals. Any TOSF ship receiving this message is ordered to approach Earth in an open manner with transponder and running lights active and to obey any and all Tong orders leading to surrender. This message is being sent to all ships. The United—”

  “Shut that off!” snarled Koenig in a shocked voice. He looked at Soriya who had tears running down her cheeks.

  “We’re too late,” she whispered. Before Koenig could say anything, the com AI interjected.

  “Commander, there is an encrypted message being transmitted at very high speeds between each repetition of the audio message. Do I have permission to decode that message?”

  “YES!”

  “The decrypted text message is now on the main display.” Both Koenig and Soriya shifted their attention.

  TOSF CSO TO ALL SHIPS. DISREGARD THE AUDIO MESSAGE ORDER TO SURRENDER. TRANSMISSION OF THAT MESSAGE WAS A CONDITION OF THE TONG ACCEPTING OUR SURRENDER WHEN 7TH FLEET FAILED TO COMPLETELY STOP THE TONG FLEET. 7TH FEET WAS TOTALLY DESTROYED. NINE TONG SHIPS SURVIVED THE FINAL BATTLE. THAT WAS ENOUGH TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR ORBITALS AND THREATEN US WITH NUCLEAR BOMBARDMENT. IF YOU HAVE DECODED THIS MESSAGE, YOU ARE ORDERED TO STAY IN THE FIELD, ATTEMPT TO FIND OTHER TOSF SHIPS AND IF STRONG ENOUGH, LAUNCH A COUNTER-ATTACK. THE SENIOR SURVIVING OFFICER WILL ASSUME FLEET COMMAND. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE WITH TOSF HQ. THE TONG ARE MONITORING OUR COMMUNICATIONS. YOU ARE OUR LAST HOPE. END OF MESSAGE.

  Neither Koenig or Soriya responded immediately. He was certain that she needed some time, just as he did, to recover from the violent rollercoaster ride of shock and despair at the audio message followed by the relief and hope contained in the text message. There was no hurry in deciding what to do now. The audio transmission had been broadcast in all directions. Excalibur was still almost a full light hour away from Earth, and the chances of being detected by Tong ships at this distance was about as close to zero as it was possible to get. That meant he had time to think. His worst-case scenario of having to fight a hit and run type of war in conjunction with the other Javelins looked like it might still happen, but if Excalibur could find the two other Javelins, then the three of them just might be able to ambush the Tong occupation fleet and free Earth.

  “We have to get to the GED base asap and hope that Durendal and/or Curtana are waiting there. Astro, can we make it to the GED base in a single jump?”

  “Affirmative. Excalibur is already maneuvering to line up for that jump. Recommend a 55% light speed pre-jump velocity.”

  “Fifty-five percent is approved. XO?”

  Soriya’s eyes widened at his use of her title instead of her first name, but considering the circumstances, it was probably the appropriate thing to do.

  “Let’s you and me figure out how we tell the crew about this,” he said.

  When Excalibur arrived in the system containing the GED base, Koenig ordered a careful, stealthy approach to the asteroid base just in case the Tong had found it and had ships stationed near it to ambush any surviving human ship. When Excalibur was within three million kilometers, Koenig ordered the com AI to send the recognition code and status query to the base via a tight beam, short burst, comlaser signal. The reply came less than a minute later.

  YOUR RECOGNITION CODE IS ACKNOWLEDGED, EXCALIBUR. WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING? WE HAVEN’T RECEIVED ANY NEWS FOR WEEKS. CARSON.

  Koenig decided to wait until the ship was close enough to have a two-way video conference without too much of a time lag. When the ship was finally within one light second, the channel was established. Koenig was surprised to see General Manager Carson wearing a TOSF uniform with the insignia of a Senior Commander on her collar. She must have noticed his surprise and figured out why.

  “I’m sure you’re wonderin
g why I’m wearing the uniform of a Senior Commander of the TOSF,” she said matter-of-factly. “UETO passed emergency legislation giving the TOSF the authority to essentially draft everyone here and turn this into a military base. We’ve been told our military careers are only a temporary measure, and once the war is over, we’ll be allowed to become civilians again. I’m not thrilled with being drafted, but I just realized that I now outrank you, Commander Koenig,” she said smiling.

  “In theory, that’s true, ah…Commander Carson, but Chain of Command takes precedence over rank. You can insist that I salute you when we meet in person, but a Base Commander can’t give orders to ship COs solely on the basis of rank. So, unless you have something in writing which gives you authority over the deployment of combat ships in this star system, I do not have to automatically obey any orders you might give me. That’s even more true given the news that I have.” He proceeded to explain about the battle fought at Sol, the winner being the Tong, and about both messages.

  “The directive that the senior officer assume command of all surviving ships can only be interpreted as referring to the senior officer OF the surviving ships. As of right now, Excalibur is the only ship I’m certain has survived. I hope there are more, but in any case, given what I’ve just told you about the dire situation humanity is in now, and given your lack of military training and experience, you don’t really want to assume the burden of responsibility for saving the human race, do you?” As he spoke, he noticed Carson’s face go pale when she heard the bad news.

  “Well, ah…my God, that’s terrible news. Ah, no…no, I don’t think I’m qualified to give orders to your ship or any other ship. I won’t try to use my rank to take overall command. I remember you telling me that this base might have to be used to support insurgent operations against the Tong. How confident are you that other ships will show up?”

  “I have to believe that there are other surviving ships. Not every ship would have been in the system when the Tong attacked. Some would have been deployed near the Rift keeping an eye on the Jabs and other ships, and perhaps freighters would have been out visiting colonies and bases. Eventually they all would have returned to Earth. What concerns me are the possibilities that ship com AIs might not have noticed the encrypted message, resulting in surrender to the Tong, and even if they did get the second message, they might not know where to go. Durendal’s and Curtana’s COs know about this base being a rallying point. I have no idea if other COs heard about that.”

  “That all makes sense. I suppose I should tell you what little good news there is here. We’ve figured out how to install the hull camouflage technology. It was tested on a piece of hull and it does make a difference, but only at longer ranges. We have enough raw materials to fully equip one ship, but only a light cruiser. If you wanted Excalibur’s hull set up that way, we could probably get it all done in a week to ten days.”

  Koenig thought about it and shook his head. “I’m reluctant to have Excalibur laid up and non-operational for that long. What if Durendal and Curtana show up in the middle of the refit? If they wait until the work’s done, we might miss our chance to lift the occupation of Earth before the Tong fleet can be reinforced. That’s enough of a reason right there to not do it, but there’s another reason. We picked up some useful tech and data from a race called the Vergon. Excalibur has equipment on the outside of her hull that will modify our trajectory while still in hyperspace. You’d be shocked how fast Excalibur can move between star systems now. I suspect that the equipment would interfere with the hull camouflage and vice versa. There’s also the possibility of acquiring, through tech trade, a much superior technology that literally bends light and other EM frequencies around a ship. The Vergon showed us they have it. They won’t consider trading it to us, but they’ve told us where to find another race that also has it, and they just might be willing to trade it for something else.”

  A wide-eyed Carson interjected before he could go on. “Maneuvering in hyperspace? Are you serious?” She paused long enough for Koenig to nod. “My God, that’s…” While she searched for the right adjective, he jumped back in.

  “A real game-changer? Damn right it is. Distance is no longer an issue for this technology. Forget aiming at a target star’s gravity well pre-jump. Excalibur can now accelerate up to 50% of light, enter hyperspace and travel hundreds of light years, with a careful deceleration at the other end, allowing it to hit the gravity well dead on—although that itself is no longer really necessary—and do it in a fraction of the time it would normally take.”

  “You have to get your ship inside our work area so that we can take apart that tech and figure out how it works.” She was about to continue when she saw him emphatically shake his head.

  “Not necessary. The Vergon gave us all the technical specs and data needed to make our own versions. I’ll have that copied over to your engineers. If and when other ships show up, I’ll want them retrofitted with the new tech just as soon as we clear Earth orbit of the Tong fleet.”

  “Wow. I’m almost afraid to ask, but are there any other surprises?”

  Koenig laughed. “Yes.” He told her about the Vergon com module in the hangar bay, about the possibly superior com technology held by another race as well as about the shipbuilding technology held by the xenophobic race. She seemed almost relieved when he told her that was all.

  “You’ve certainly been busy, Commander Koenig. If the TOSF could acquire the cloaking tech, the com tech and the shipbuilding tech, we’d have a good chance of winning this war.”

  “I agree, Commander, and if we can lift the Tong occupation of Earth and keep it free long enough, we might be able to get those technologies in time to exploit them. How is your base fixed for consumables?”

  “We’ve got plenty as far as for our own use is concerned. If our inventory needs to be used to top up ships, then that’s another story. Now that you’ve brought that up, keeping an insurgency supplied for longer than a few weeks would be difficult.”

  “Maybe not.” He told her about the secret supply depots that Dejanus had informed him about. “I’ll transfer their locations to you. Having a supply ship show up here would be ideal in terms of accessing those depots and shifting supplies around in efficient quantities. Javelin-class light cruisers weren’t designed to carry large volumes of cargo.”

  “That’s true enough. How long are you prepared to wait here for other ships before you decide you’ve waited long enough?”

  “The time stamp on the encrypted message indicates that we arrived approximately a week after it was first sent, which had to have been shortly after the battle. If any ships started on their way here right after the battle, I’d expect them to arrive in seven to ten days. Ships coming back from Rift duty might arrive any time. Excalibur will wait at least a week, and then I’ll decided how much more time I give it.”

  That first week went quickly. The base engineers were able to understand how the hyperspace maneuvering equipment worked and began manufacturing their first prototype. When ready, it would be tested on a small, unmanned jump-capable vessel not much larger than a shuttle. The vehicle would use normal space drives to head out from the system’s sun, turn around and jump back while using the prototype unit. How much deviation from the sun’s center the vehicle ended up with would demonstrate how effective the prototype was in pulling the vehicle to one side.

  Koenig watched their progress with keen interest. The only thing better than having a very fast and very stealthy light cruiser was having more than one of them. However many other combat ships there were left, it was urgent they be equipped with the new maneuvering devices as quickly as possible.

  With the seven days gone and no sign of any other ship, Koenig decided to wait longer. Eleven days after Excalibur’s arrival at the base, Durendal, Curtana, Tizona and Sting emerged from hyperspace and signaled the base. The group’s leader was Karl Strucker. Koenig had met him once when he was still Excalibur’s XO. Strucker had left him with an imp
ression of arrogance that was not justified by his apparent level of competence. When all five ships were within practical video conference range, Strucker had his com AI set one up.

  “It’s about time Excalibur showed up,” said Strucker with a tone that bordered on being a snarl. “We got the shit kicked out of us while you were having a pleasant sight-seeing cruise!”

  Koenig suppressed the urge to snarl back. He had to handle Strucker and this conference carefully. “Tell me what happened,” he said in a what he hoped was a calm, non-confrontational voice.

  “I’ll tell you what happened all right. A massive Tong fleet shows up way before they should have after Nakatomi’s early warning of sighting them at Point Able. Nakatomi, Torriega and I were on sentry duty. We were all too far away to take part in the battle. Hell, Durendal wasn’t even in any position to catch the Tong fleet visually. The CSO, realizing that he’d dropped the ball by not assigning a flag officer by that point, handed Dejanus responsibility for 7th Fleet, and she almost managed to pull off a victory, or at least a draw. Her super-heavy managed to rip the guts out of most of the Tong before they blew her and the rest of the fleet to pieces. She cut Hanson’s Tizona loose before the battle, figuring another light cruiser might be more useful after the battle than during it. When it was obvious that the Tong had won, I picked up the pieces, found out about your idea of using this base as a rally point and brought the group here. Nakatomi and Torriega seem to think that you’d take over command of this group if you got back. I don’t see what justification there is for that. I’m clearly senior to you and every other CO here. So, now that we’ve got that settled, here’s what we’re going to do. Our five ships will wait here two, maybe three weeks to see if anyone else shows up. Depending on how strong we are by then, I’ll decided if we make a hit-and-run attack on the Tong fleet in Sol or look for easier pickings elsewhere such as Tau Ceti maybe.”