Cradle of War (A Captain's Crucible Book 3)

by Isaac Hooke

  Six days, Jonathan thought. We barely missed seeing them in Prius 3.

  “How many invaders were there?” Jonathan asked.

  “Nine, of varying ship classes,” Galileo replied.

  “Nine?” That meant reinforcements had likely already awaited in Vega 951 when the six from the Elder galaxy arrived.

  “Yes. The intruders destroyed most of our mines, and evaded the rest, making their way toward the inner system. We were outnumbered, so remained in hiding behind the asteroid. We watched the invaders proceed directly to the Slipstream above Anvil Prime. Before they passed through, they razed the colony on the planet. Most of the robots and AIs that stayed behind were destroyed.”

  “A terrible loss,” Jonathan said. “You mentioned Dragonflies moved the Gates behind Anvil Rappel III and X after the last manned ship departed. I don’t suppose you have more unmanned corvettes hidden behind either planet? Perhaps guarding the Gates?”

  “No,” Nikola said. “Only Dragonflies.”

  “Too bad,” Jonathan said. “Because we have some heat. Three alien pursuers, about half a day behind. One laser class, two darts.”

  “These classes are in the data excerpt you sent, I believe,” Galileo said.

  “They are, and I’ll go over the various classes with you later,” Jonathan said. “But the gist of the matter is, we require your assistance. I want—”

  “Do you have a larger version of the data excerpt available?” Nikola interrupted.

  “We do,” Jonathan replied.

  “Please begin transmission of the full version,” Nikola transmitted.

  “It’ll take two days,” Jonathan said. “Longer with this radiation.”

  He had omitted the mutiny attempt against Admiral Knox from the excerpted data; he was reluctant to send the unabridged copy, because he was uncertain how the AIs would react when they learned of his actions.

  “Please begin transmission of the full version,” Nikola repeated.

  “All right, after we end this call,” Jonathan said, stalling. “Bandwidth is a little low right now, in case you haven’t noticed. And while you machines might be able to understand garbled speech, a human being has a tough time.”

  “That is acceptable,” Nikola replied.

  “Though I’m probably going to terminate the data transmission in roughly ten hours, before the pursuers arrive,” Jonathan continued. “Because I have a little plan in mind. And I’m going to need your help. And since I’m the highest ranking human officer in the system, you are duty-bound by your precious protocol to obey me.”

  While there was slightly less urgency to return now that they knew NAVCENT had been alerted, Jonathan still wanted to get rid of their pursuers before they became a problem. The enemy ships would have to be faced at some point, after all. Better that it was during a battle of his choosing.

  “We will obey,” the AI responded. “For the moment. But if it is ever determined you are in league with the enemy, we will promptly incinerate you and your vessel.”

  “Yes yes,” Jonathan replied. “You said that already.”

  He detailed the plan that had come to him, pausing at times to consult with his crew and Valor, and together they ironed-out something workable.

  “While this is a good plan,” Rodriguez said at one point. “We should really wait until we join up with a sizable United Systems force before staging any sort of attack.”

  “Why the cold feet all of a sudden?” Rail chimed in. “Like you said, it’s a good plan. I say we fight.” Ah, Rail, ever the reliable warmonger.

  “We all know how important our cargo is,” Rodriguez said. “Even if it isn’t as urgent that we warn the United Systems anymore. We carry a wealth of tactics and information regarding the enemy that must get to Central Command.”

  “Normally I would agree,” Jonathan said. “But we have nine more alien vessels waiting for us in Delta Avalon, the next system. The military garrison there is bigger than this one, but not by much, and we have no idea how many of them have stayed to fight. We could dash into the system and begin transmitting our two-days worth of information, but I suspect the Gates have already been hidden to spare them from destruction.” Without Gates, any comm nodes remaining in the system wouldn’t be able to relay the data. “Therefore, I say we strike now, and bring down our pursuers while we still have the advantage. Otherwise, when we move into Delta Avalon, we could find ourselves facing twelve enemy vessels in a pincer maneuver from the start.”

  Rodriguez had nothing more to say, so Jonathan shared the final iteration of the plan with Barrick for Valor’s approval.

  “Valor likes it,” the telepath said. “He agrees to help.”

  “I thought he would,” Jonathan said, knowing how much the Zarafe alien hated the so-called Elk.

  With the strategizing done, Jonathan closed the communication relay and began transmitting the full dataset to the corvettes, as the AIs had requested; because of the file transfer mechanism he employed, the latest packets were sent first. That ensured his mutiny attempt wouldn’t be seen by the AIs before the plan called for him to cut the transmission and switch to radio silence.

  There was one thing he hadn’t yet cleared with Valor; it was an optional part of the plan, but something Jonathan felt he needed to do.

  “Tell Valor I want to distribute the humans aboard the Talon between those two corvettes immediately,” Jonathan told Barrick. “I’ll stay here, of course, along with ten of the combat robots. And the Dragonfly will return after it finishes transporting our personnel.” He wasn’t going to mention that the Dragonfly’s secret cargo would be transferred to a corvette during one of the shuttle’s runs. Everything would go, except for the holographic drives, which he planned to keep aboard for the time being.

  Disseminating the human personnel would go a long way towards gaining the trust of the AIs, and it would allay some of the unease he felt over keeping members of his crew confined aboard an alien ship.

  Jonathan had a mind to leave the Talon for one of the human vessels as well, but he wanted to keep an eye on Barrick and the aliens for the moment. He doubted he would be able to convince Valor to let him go anyway.

  “Chief Galaal, did you get all of that?” Jonathan asked the chief.

  “I did,” the chief returned. “We’ve packed up our tents and personal belongings, and we’re suited up and ready to go. As soon as the airlock opens, we’re out of here.”

  “Barrick, have Valor open the airlock of the berthing area please,” Jonathan said.

  The telepath was frowning behind his faceplate.

  “Barrick?” Jonathan pressed.

  “Valor is refusing to let them out,” Barrick replied.

  “Why?”

  “He doesn’t want anyone leaving until the peace negotiations have concluded,” Barrick said.

  “But we haven’t even begun any negotiations,” Jonathan said in exasperation.

  “Precisely Valor’s point,” the telepath said.

  Jonathan nodded slowly. “So my tactical officer was right all along. The Raakarr want to use us as bargaining chips.”

  “You have to look at it from Valor’s point of view,” Barrick said. “How can he be sure you won’t present his ship and crew to the United Systems as some sort of war trophy? Scheduling his people for dissection, impounding his ship for reverse engineering?”

  “The same fate the Raakarr originally intended for the crew of the Selene?” Jonathan said.

  “That was the Elk faction...” Barrick replied.

  “As if that excuses anything.” Jonathan folded his arms. “Look. I said I would be staying here with ten combat robots. That should be all the assurance Valor needs. I’m the most valuable bargaining chip he has.” That wasn’t entirely true, given the mutiny Jonathan had committed, but Valor didn’t need to know that.

  “Come on,” Jonathan said. “Time’s wasting away. Every moment we delay brings our pursuers that much closer. We have to move into position before t
hey arrive.”

  “Is it really necessary to distribute the human crew?” Barrick asked. “The AIs are fully capable of completing the mission on their own.”

  “I would rest easier knowing my crew were off this ship,” Jonathan said. “Do whatever it takes to convince Valor those corvettes need to be manned. Tell him the AIs function better when human beings are aboard. That the ships take less calculated risks, because they want to increase the odds that their passengers will survive, and thus the AIs perform better.”

  Barrick’s eyes defocused for several moments, then he returned his attention to Jonathan. “Valor doesn’t seem convinced.”

  Because Valor was a control freak, Jonathan had expected some resistance, but not this much.

  Jonathan stared at the telepath intently. “Should I order my crew to shoot their way out of the airlock?”

  “I’ll pass on the threat,” Barrick said.

  Connie spoke up, excluding the telepath from the line. “I want to remind the captain that while I’ve programmed our laser rifles to penetrate the frequency of their shielding devices, there’s no guarantee the aliens haven’t changed those frequencies since we acquired the darkness device.”

  “Noted,” Jonathan told her.

  Barrick swiveled his torso toward Jonathan. “Valor says he doesn’t believe you will attempt to shoot your way out of the berthing area.”

  Jonathan didn’t want to jeopardize their fragile alliance by doing something like that, but then again, what kind of relationship did they have if the Raakarr wouldn’t even allow them the freedom to leave the ship?

  There was one last tactic he could try...

  “Ask him how much he thinks his bargaining position will be reduced when the United Systems finds out he kept us here against our wishes, when we had a chance to man two corvettes. Ask him what NAVCENT will do when it finds out we were forced to fight our way off the Talon. Valor won’t look like much of an ally then, will he?”

  Barrick retreated into his head once more.

  Jonathan literally held his breath as he willed Valor to accept.

  Barrick shook his head. “He says no.”

  Jonathan glanced at the two combat robots with him on the bridge, and wondered vaguely if they would be able to protect him if the Raakarr guards attacked.

  “Tell Valor that if he does not open the airlock,” Jonathan said. “We will shoot it open.”

  Barrick hesitated, then his eyes defocused. He said: “Valor begs you to reconsider.”

  Jonathan decided to tip his hand. “Tell him we know the penetration frequency of his darkness generators. Tell him if he doesn’t open the airlock and allow my crew to proceed to the hangar bay, my men are going to shoot open the hatch and take down any Raakarr that get in the way. Tell him I’m not bluffing. I’m dead serous about this.”

  Several tense minutes passed.

  Finally Barrick had a reply: “As a show of his benevolence and good faith, Valor will allow the rest of your party to depart, so that they may crew the two corvettes. You must stay of course.”

  “Thank you,” Jonathan said, slumping inside his spacesuit.

  “Have the crew leave quickly,” Barrick said. “Before he changes his mind.”

  “Did Valor tell you to say the latter?” Jonathan asked.

  “No,” Barrick said. “That was my bit. I suggest you hurry.”

  “The airlock is opening,” Rodriguez sent.

  “Then get going!” Jonathan replied. “Leave four of the robots behind in the berthing area, as part of my guard contingent.” Counting the four already in the hangar bay, and the two with Jonathan on the bridge, that made up the ten robots Jonathan had agreed would stay with him. The four in the hangar bay would have to take shelter in the airlock during departure, of course.

  “Any preferences on crew assignments?” Rodriguez asked.

  “Rail gets one corvette, you get the other,” Jonathan answered. “As for the rest, I don’t really care, as long as you all get off the Talon.”

  Jonathan watched their progress on his aReal map, which displayed those portions of the ship his party had previously passed through. When they reached the hangar bay, and were in the process of loading into the shuttle, Rodriguez transmitted: “Good luck, Dallas.”

  “You too, Captain,” Jonathan replied.

  Rail ended up going alone to her chosen corvette, the Tesla. Whether that was by her choice, or the crew members, he didn’t know. She did take two combat robots with her, however.

  Once she was aboard, she promptly rechristened the vessel the Artemis. “My ship, my name,” she sent.

  Jonathan didn’t mind, as the original was too similar to the Talon for his liking.

  Chief Galaal, Helium, Connie, and Sil Chopra joined the rest of the combat robots to serve under Rodriguez on the Galilei.

  After delivering the crews, the Dragonfly re-docked with the Talon, and the three ships proceeded to their agreed-upon positions.

  All that was left to do was wait.

  twenty-four

  When the Callaway and Dagger finally reached the fifteenth moon of the third gas giant, as a precaution Robert had both ships sound general quarters. They left a telemetry drone in high orbit around the gas giant, along with two repeater drones to boost their signals, so that they would be able to remain in contact with the first task unit through the interference of the radiation belts.

  “Take us into geosynchronous orbit above the thermal anomaly,” Robert ordered the helm.

  “Because of the moon’s slow rotation, such an orbit might be a bit higher than you expected, Commander,” the helmsman said.

  “How high are we talking?” Robert said.

  “One hundred thousand kilometers,” the helmsman said.

  “You’re right,” Robert said. “That is a bit high. I was thinking something more along the lines of fifty thousand kilometers.”

  While the telemetry drone had reported no sign of planetary weapons, Robert didn’t feel comfortable getting closer than that.

  “I can certainly orbit above the site at that altitude,” the helmsman said. “But I’ll have to fire thrust occasionally to keep us there, to simulate a geosynchronous orbit.”

  “That’s fine,” Robert said.

  Several minutes later the helmsman said: “Simulated geosynchronous orbit achieved.”

  “All right,” Robert said. “Maxwell, let’s get Dragonflies 3 and 4 down there. I want an automated party: spread a platoon of Centurions between the shuttles. Include a Raptor for close air support.”

  Though the moon had no atmosphere, the weapons engineers had designed the MQ-95 Raptors to operate just as easily in the void.

  “Combat robots only?” Miko asked.

  “That’s what I said. Call it a preliminary scouting party.” He glanced at his first officer. “You were hoping I’d send you down with a couple of MOTHs, weren’t you?”

  Miko shrugged. “The thought had crossed my mind. It would be nice to get off the ship. Now and again.”

  “Sorry Miko,” Robert said. “Not this time. I had a bit of a close call on my last away mission, and I don’t want to risk any human lives this time.”

  “I understand, sir,” Miko said.

  “We’re going to have to string out three more telemetry drones between the landing party and the Callaway in order to receive a decent feed,” Maxwell said. “Because of the interference from the radiation belts.”

  “Do it,” Robert said.

  The two Dragonflies, three repeater drones, and their Raptor escort departed the Callaway shortly thereafter. The repeater drones halted in turn at preset heights on the way down. The Raptor assumed a high-altitude position above the site, and the two shuttles meanwhile decelerated until they were thirty klicks out from the target, codenamed Dark Base. At that point Robert switched to the lagged video feed of the lead Dragonfly to watch it perform a flyover. An orbiting telemetry drone had previously returned images of what indeed looked like a shipya
rd, with a half-built vessel currently under construction. The ship design was unfamiliar, with a hull that undulated as if alive; Maxwell had extrapolated from the existing footage and postulated that it was a Raakarr dart ship. Though the AI could not explain the living hull.

  The video Robert received at that moment from the Dragonfly confirmed the initial sighting. And just like in the original video, the outer hull seemed strangely alive, gyrating and undulating as if some living thing swarmed the surface.

  “Maxwell,” Robert said. “Get Dragonfly 3 to hover near the top part of the ship. Have it keep its distance, though. Fly no closer than an altitude of one klick. If there’s any sign of attack, or anything approaches from below, have it pull back immediately.”

  “Yes, Commander,” Maxwell said.

  The Dragonfly approached. As it neared the requested position, Robert zoomed in on the hull.

  “That’s good, Maxwell,” Robert said. “No closer.”

  He studied the feed and realized immediately what caused the hull to undulate like that: small, crablike robots swarmed over the inside and outside of the ship. Robert’s first inclination was to call them nanobots, but that wasn’t entirely correct, as the things were only a little smaller than the size of his hand, judging from the scale reported by his aReal.

  “Are you seeing this, Miko?” Robert asked.

  “I am.”

  “Maxwell,” Robert said. “Have the Dragonfly sweep its camera over the site. I want to see what kind of specializations those microbots are involved in. If any.”

  As the Dragonfly slowly tilted the camera over the site, Robert had a better picture of how the microbots worked together. They resided side-by-side, forming long lines from the surface of the moon to the uncompleted upper decks of the ship. In mines dug into the moon’s surface, sappers delved small pieces of rock from exposed minerals and passed them to conveyor bots behind them, which in turn passed them on to other conveyors, and so on; the pieces rapidly moved up the hull in that manner, until reaching the top, where more microbots waited to meld the provided raw materials into the ship. Taken as a whole, the microbots were basically a massive 3D printer that used the surrounding surface of the moon as its building blocks.