Excalibur's Quest

by Dietmar Wehr

  “If I was commanding that ship, I’d seriously consider going for the least risky jump in terms of distance and gravity-well size and then hope that we could find jump targets that would eventually get us back to human space.”

  “So, does that mean we’re going to ignore the direct path?”

  Koenig pondered that question for a moment before answering. “The problem with checking the most direct path is that if they’ve missed any one jump, they’ll be so far away that we’ll never find them. The only chance I can see of actually finding them is if the path they decided to take is an obvious one, and they were able to successfully jump along it. I don’t want Excalibur to be away from Sol for a long time. Regardless of what we accomplished with the attack on the Tong home world, we’re still at war, and in the long run, that has to take precedence. Astro, head for the least risky jump target, which we’ll designate as LS2.”

  LS2 was empty, as was LS3 and LS4. Koenig was now beginning to wonder if he had made the right decision. The path from LS1 was not getting any closer to human space. It was actually curving away. The astro AI’s look-ahead did see a possible path curving back towards human space, which technically wasn’t THE least risky path, but it was very close to it in terms of miss probabilities. That meant that Excalibur would have two paths to choose from after another two jumps, and there just wasn’t time to check both. In fact, Koenig was finding it more and more difficult to rationalize continuing the search at all given the time it was taking from being able to conduct other military operations.

  When the ship got to the fork in the road, as Koenig thought of the system where the two paths diverged, he made up his mind to try one last jump before heading back to Sol.

  “Astro, if we assume that food supplies would be a concern by the time they got here and that therefore they would take the more direct but slightly more risky path from here, where would AstroComp calculate they’d be by now?”

  The star map on the display shifted and zoomed in. A green flashing dot appeared with a dotted line extending back to the LS6 system that Excalibur was currently in. The flashing dot was a star system that would be fifteen more jumps away. The distance shocked Koenig, but he quickly realized that it shouldn’t have. A lot of time had gone by since the Tassafaronga had missed the first jump. He called Vasily to the Bridge to discuss his decision with her.

  “I’m going to make one more jump to a search target, and then we head home,” he said. “And since this will be the last search target, we may as well roll the dice and head for the most likely system where they would be now. I realize that it’s a huge gamble, but so is checking any other system.”

  Vasily stared at the star map for what seemed like a long time before nodding. “I can see the logic of it, but yeah, it certainly is a huge gamble. How long were you planning on waiting at LS22 if they’re not there?”

  “Waiting? I wasn’t planning on waiting at all if we finish searching that system and don’t find anything. Why would we wait?”

  “Well, AstroComp’s calculations probably don’t include any delays in jumping along the path. It could be that Tassafaronga is moving slower than expected, and we might get there before they do.”

  Koenig hadn’t thought of that. The astro AI did a quick check with AstroComp and confirmed Vasily’s assumption that the computer assumed that each jump along the path would be made as quickly as possible. Even if the ship took a bit longer to line up for each jump than it normally would, that would still add up to enough delay that they could still be in LS21 or in transit to LS22 by the time Excalibur got there.

  “Okay, you’ve convinced me that we should wait there awhile. How long a while is the question, and right now, I don’t have an answer. Astro, get us to LS22 asap.”

  Chapter Nine:

  Koenig and Vasily were both on the Bridge when Excalibur dropped into LS22. Koenig had already given the astro AI instructions on what to do next. The ship would move over to the side of the system that Tassafaronga would head for in order to line up for their next jump. While Excalibur was en route, it was transmitting its ID call sign via a focused comlaser beam that would blanket the area where Tassafaronga was likely to emerge from hyperspace. The ship also had its running lights on in case the other ship was already in the system. By the time Excalibur reached its destination, enough time had passed for Tassafaronga to receive the call sign and reply if it was already there. Koenig told Vasily that he would wait 48 hours, and if there was no sign of the other ship, then Excalibur would head home.

  Forty-seven and three quarters hours later, Koenig entered the Bridge and found Vasily standing next to the Command Pod, which was occupied by Chen as the BDO.

  “You’re not scheduled to start a shift now, XO,” said Koenig.

  She nodded. “I know. I wanted to be here when we call the search off. It just seemed somehow disrespectful to stay in my quarters or enjoy myself in the lounge when that crew’s fate is determined.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  After an awkward pause, Vasily cleared her throat. “Ah, any chance that you’d be willing to extend the deadline, sir?”

  Koenig felt sympathetic and annoyed at the same time. He could understand her desire to keep the ship in this system longer just in case the other ship was late, but dammit, he had to draw the line sometime, and why would it be any easier to give up the search in 12 or 24 hours than it would be now? For all he knew, Excalibur might be desperately needed at home. He was just about to give Vasily a curt response when they heard the com AI’s report.

  “Receiving a comlaser signal from Tassafaronga, Commander. They’ve just arrived in the system and are requesting a rendezvous as quickly as possible. They’re including their position and vector data.”

  Vasily responded before he did. “THEY MADE IT!” She put one hand on Chen’s shoulder and the other on Koenig’s shoulder. Chen was laughing. Koenig was relieved not to have to make that God-awful decision to call the search off.

  “Talk about perfect timing! Astro, calculate a rendezvous for Com to transmit back to Tassafaronga with my congratulations to her CO and crew on a successful journey, and then head for the rendezvous. Then give me inter-craft. The crew need to hear the good news.”

  By the time both ships had rendezvoused and were cruising a few kilometers apart on parallel vectors, several hours had gone by. Koenig talked at length with his opposite number, Commander Teresa Henriques, about her ship’s journey and its current situation.

  “We need additional food supplies badly, Koenig. We’ve been on short rations for so long that we all look like walking skeletons. How quickly can you get those supplies transferred over,” she asked.

  “It’ll be easier if you and your crew transfer over to Excalibur, Commander. It’ll be a tight fit, but we’ll make do, and the trip home will be a lot faster than you’d expect.” He proceeded to tell her about the hyperspace maneuvering equipment. She was properly impressed.

  “That’s amazing, but I’d hate to abandon Tassafaronga. She’s carried us this far, and I’d like to see the old girl get home too. I suppose that’s silly of me since she’s only a hunk of metal parts.” She gave a short, embarrassed laugh.

  “Not silly at all. I’ve become quite attached to Excalibur. I’d hate to have to abandon her either, but we don’t really have any choice. It would take months for Tassafaronga to make it back with her present level of jump capability. Excalibur can’t be away that long, not with the war still going on, and without us to guide your ship, you’re likely to miss a jump target and end up who knows where. If we leave Tassafaronga where it’ll be easy to find her again and take all your people back home, then I’m sure that HQ will organize a salvage expedition that can get back here fast and equip your ship with its own hyperspace maneuvering units. An extra heavy cruiser will be a very handy asset to have, even if the Tong agree to a ceasefire. There’s still the Jabs and the occupied human colonies to worry about. There’s one more consideration. Excalibur isn�
��t carrying enough food for both ships for a slow journey back. We’ll barely have enough for both crews for the fast trip.”

  “When you put it that way, it’s hard to argue against that logic. Okay, I’ll make the announcement, and I think we can be ready to transfer over in about twelve hours. Is that okay, Commander?”

  Koenig assured her that 12 hours was fine. The transfer took less time than expected. Getting everyone settled into whatever spare spaces could be found actually took longer than the transfer itself. It was going to be a crowded trip back, and Koenig thanked the Gods of Space that the journey would be measured in days instead of weeks. Henriques was on the Bridge when Excalibur pulled away from the powered-down Tassafaronga. She tried to hide the tears streaming down her face, and Koenig pretended not to notice.

  When Excalibur arrived in Sol, Koenig was amused by the confusion among the HQ senior officers. Their initial disapproval of his unauthorized side trip quickly turned to embarrassed congratulations at his having found the missing ship and crew in spite of horrible odds. Henriques was pushing the idea of a salvage mission even before Excalibur slid into a parking orbit around Earth. Both crews were given leave to go on R&R, but Koenig had to report to Admiral Corrigan before doing anything else.

  When Koenig arrived at the CSO’s inner office, the expression on Corrigan’s face was anything but friendly.

  “Never mind saluting,” said Corrigan in a tone that was not quite a snarl. “If we weren’t at war, I’d take away your command and bust you back down to SubCommander for risking your ship on an unauthorized detour that you had no business taking, but we are still at war. No sign of the Tong yet, and punishing you for successfully finding a missing ship and her crew under the present circumstances would hurt morale in the rest of the Fleet. So, you’re going to get away with it this time, Koenig. Now, just so you understand why I’m so pissed at you, here’s the impact of your ship not being available for the last few weeks. If it had been, Excalibur would have been equipped with the hull camouflage technology and would be on its way to try to acquire additional technologies from another alien race, and the TOSF would be that much closer to getting back on its feet. And if you’re thinking that the war with the Tong is now effectively over, you can push that thought out of your head. They’ve had time enough to respond and get a courier ship here by now, but they haven’t, and until we hear them say that they’re willing to observe a ceasefire, we have to assume the worst and act accordingly. I feel better now that I’ve vented my anger at you. With that out of the way, I can express my gratitude that you brought back Tassafaronga’s crew. Dejanus’s spirit can rest a little easier knowing that at least one of the missing ships from 7th Fleet found a way home. Okay, enjoy your R&R. It won’t be as long as you and your crew deserve, but that’s what happens when you take a light cruiser for a joyride. Be back here in ten days, Koenig. You’re dismissed.” Koenig saluted and left.

  He felt unsettled by the meeting. The verbal pat on the back about bringing Henriques’s crew home did not ease the sting of being chewed out for taking Excalibur on an unauthorized search. However logical Corrigan’s reasons were for criticizing his decision to search, Koenig still felt it was the right thing to do. He needed something to boost his spirits. Seeing Eriko again would fit the bill nicely. A quick check on the status of all the swordships showed that Sting was not in the Solar system at the moment. Koenig wondered if Strucker was still her CO.

  Somewhat to his surprise, Koenig quickly grew bored just lying around on a tropical beach, and he returned to HQ two days early. Those last two days were spent learning everything he could about the current state of the war against the Tong and the Jabs. The latter still had not made any further aggressive moves, but they had set up a perimeter of picket ships several jumps deeper into human space. That hadn’t stopped Tizona from sneaking past and conducting recon operations in the systems containing human colonies under Jab occupation. She had also been equipped with the hull camo tech, and it appeared to work well enough that she had gotten within visual range of Jab fleets. The number and sizes of the ships in those fleets had not changed significantly for months. Curtana, which was watching the system known as Point Able through which any Tong fleet would pass on its way to Earth, had so far detected nothing. Durendal was in orbit around the moon, while Excalibur was still on the ground having the hull camo tech added.

  Koenig took a flight out to the Bonneville salt flats in Utah, where Excalibur had landed. The Javelin-class light cruiser, while technically capable of landing on a flat surface, had not been designed to do that except on an emergency basis. Since all TOSF space-based shipbuilding and repair facilities had been destroyed by the Tong occupation fleet, the only way to make major external modifications to her had to be done on the ground. Koenig was surprised at how big the ship looked when compared to things like ground vehicles sitting nearby. Seeing the ship in space from a shuttle was one thing, but flying over it while it was sitting on the salt flats was a completely different experience. Even that didn’t prepare him for the awe he felt when the groundcar he was in pulled up to within a dozen meters of the ship. As he got out and looked up, the feeling of awe intensified. As tall as a ten-story building and wide and long enough to cover four city blocks, Excalibur gave the impression of being a very large, sleeping dragon. It took him almost 15 minutes to walk around the ship. He saw that the hangar bay doors were open, with a gantry against the ship so that humans could climb up into the open bay and get access to the ship’s interior. By the time he was in the bay, he was sweating profusely from the exertion and the outside heat. Most of the ship was powered down, but the AIs on the Bridge were still active. Did AIs get bored when there was nothing to do, he wondered. As he entered the Bridge, the overhead lighting came on. A quick check of the Command Pod showed that it too was powered down, as was the main display. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he heard the ping that the main display usually gave when the tactical display was updated.

  “Emergency alert,” said the com AI. “Unknown vessel approaching Earth at high velocity.”

  “Show me the tactical!” said Koenig quickly. The main display came to life showing an Earth icon and the space around it. A flickering red triangle was approaching fast. “Why is it flickering?”

  “The bogey has been detected visually only by its passing in front of background stars; therefore its position is an approximation only. No radar reflections.”

  “Can we get a firing solution with the cannon!”

  “TacComp estimates that the bogey will be below the horizon by the time the cannon can be charged,” said the tactical AI.

  “DAMN!” Koenig heard his own shout echo back to him in the empty Bridge.

  “Durendal has been hit by graser fire,” said the AI.

  Koenig wanted to scream at the AI for not showing the least bit of emotion, which he knew it wasn’t designed to do, but venting his frustration at it would have felt satisfying. His next thought was the fear that the bogey would see Excalibur sitting helpless on the ground and fire at it.

  “Will it get close enough to see us?”

  “Its apparent velocity is sufficiently high that detecting the ship visually would be unlikely. It would not have time to conduct an extensive visual search.”

  That was only partially reassuring. Unlikely wasn’t the same as impossible, and Koenig was well aware that sometimes the unlikely happened, such as finding Tassafaronga at LS22. He wondered if he should head back to HQ asap but decided to wait on the ship until the threat of an attack on it was past. Never mind that Excalibur was unable to maneuver or fight, he was still her Commanding Officer, and if the ship was in danger, his place was right here. As the seconds ticked by, he began to think more calmly.

  “Why didn’t our long-range radar detect that bogey?” he asked.

  “TacComp calculates an eighty-nine percent probability that the attacking vessel is the same stealthy Tong vessel that destroyed Replenisher. If it had si
milar hull geometry and radar-absorbing materials as the Javelin-class, it would be able to deflect both radar and visible light away from detection systems,” said the tactical AI.

  Koenig nodded. That made as much sense as any other explanation. And if it was the case, then the Tong had apparently decided not to entertain the idea of negotiations for a ceasefire, and the xenologists at HQ had badly fucked up their estimate of Tong reactions.

  “Bogey is now beyond the horizon and poses no direct threat to Excalibur,” said the AI.

  Koenig let out a sigh of relief. “What’s the status of Durendal?”

  “Preliminary telemetry data suggests multiple hull breaches and damage to major systems. No confirmed reports of casualties; however four engineering personnel were on board at the time of the attack.”

  With the direct threat to Excalibur now gone, there was no longer any reason to stay on the ship. Koenig told the com AI to notify HQ that he was headed back there asap. It was the middle of the night local time when he arrived at the HQ building where just about all the lights were still on. As soon as the entrance security system confirmed his identity, he received a message to go to the CSO’s office immediately. The outer office was far busier than he had ever seen it. He was quickly ushered into the inner office. Corrigan looked like he’d been awake for 24 hours.