The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3)

by Kocho Trajchevski

  Bradley stepped forward and joined the group of officers. So did Dr. Paterson.

  “Seven hundred and sixty nine sirs…There are seven hundred and sixty nine of them sirs.”

  His voice was serious. It was the voice of a man who can recognize the loss that he was now seeing. And he could feel the pain it brought.

  As they watched a shimmering light appeared in front of them. It took them by surprise and they stepped backward. The light disappeared and they all saw a beautiful young woman. The hologram smiled weakly and turned toward the coffins.

  “They were members of my last crew. They never managed to see this world but they died so that others may have that chance, so that you may have this future.”

  At those words she looked at them and in her eyes Bradley saw gratitude for his words.

  Simonson looked at the coffins and at the strange flag that covered them. It was torn at places, a casualty of time. Then he looked at the avatar of the AI. He knew that her name was Aria from the briefings.

  “They will be buried with all honors Aria. They will be buried alongside our own, like heroes.”

  “Thank you Admiral.”

  General Alexander looked at the admiral and nodded. Malcolm Alexander knew the price of the sacrifice that he saw now. He saw lots of that in his long career. He was a veteran from the first Golf War, and the war on terror in Afghanistan and in Iraq in the beginning of this century. He looked at the AI. He sensed that although she was artificial, she felt pain.

  “If you allow, my men will take care of them.”

  Aria turned and looked at the bodies. She didn’t feel pain but she could steel feel sadness and pride as well. They were finally home.

  “They are in your care. Treat them as they deserved general. Treat them like the heroes they truly were.”

  “We will.”

  The AI just nodded with its head and disappeared.

  General Alexander turned toward the admiral.

  “If you allow me I will go and make the preparations for their removal.

  Simonson looked at the general and nodded.”

  The general and the rest of the soldiers left the room. The small group of officers left with them leaving Simonson alone.

  He looked at the bodies and raised his hand to wipe a tear from his face. The bodies brought back memories of the people, of the friends he lost. The pain was still there.

  He kneeled and raised the torn flag that had fallen from the nearest coffin and gently he placed it over it. As he raised himself he kept looking at the coffin. He wondered if this was just a premonition of what was to come, of the death he and every other soldier will soon have to face. He felt fear inside him but as he looked at them he also felt pride. He remembered the words of the AI.

  “They never managed to see this world but they died so that others may have that chance, so that you may have this future.”

  “You gave us this chance. Thank you.”

  He saluted and left the room. As he did that the AI appeared again. She looked at the admiral as he was leaving and then she turned towards the bodies.

  “You are finally home.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  12 May 2018 12:00 hours

  Sedna Sol System

  Dr. Paterson looked at the beautiful view from the bridge of Argus. He couldn’t believe that just seven days ago he was back on Earth. Now the small moon humans called Sedna was circling before his eyes.

  He never dreamed that he would get a chance to be in space. Not even when the first news about the discovery arrived. But with the arrival of the Demetrion everything changed. In just seven days the cruiser transported five and a half thousand people. Beside the large contingent of soldiers that arrived and the pilots, there were hundreds of scientists, engineers, linguists, and many other people. Most of them were Americans and people from NASA, but there were also people from almost every nation from Earth. He turned and noticed the Demetrion. The cruiser was preparing for another trip to Earth. It was carrying the rest of the dead crewmen of both the Argus and the Hidea. The ship this time had no crew on it. Aria was good enough to make this trip alone. She was taking them to join the rest of their comrades. She was taking them on their last trip.

  As he watched the ship started moving forward. He felt eve as he watched it leave. He admired the technology that he was now watching. A small smile appeared on his face as he noticed the other ship that was visible in the distance. The Deadalus, the first real starship that humanity managed to build. The Deadalus was preparing for its next mission. The last three days the small, but fast shuttles that all three ships had made dozen trips to the warp point placing a hundred nuclear bombs around it that the Demetrion brought from Earth. They were bombs that came from the large stockpiles of Russia, the United States and China, and several came from several other countries as well including to the surprise of everyone from South Africa, Iran and North Korea. As he watched the Deadalus drifted slowly in the hangar bay of the Argus. As the ship did that he heard Anaya.

  “The Deadalus is in the hangar bay Admiral. We are ready for the mission.”

  Simonson looked at the AI before him. He came here in the first trip and took command from Captain Jennings. The captain was now on the Deadalus together with the marines and several scientists. From the original crew several scientists were staying here and they were replaced by several new astronomers. The reason for that was simple. The Deadalus was going to make the first trip to another star system. He smiled at that thought. The sixty people on that ship were about to make a trip that every human wanted to make. They were going to make history.

  “Ok Anaya. Let’s make the delivery.”

  “Yes Admiral.”

  The AI turned and just seconds later the ship started moving. He couldn’t feel the movement, but he knew that they were moving thanks to the fact that Sedna disappeared from the screen. The trip didn’t last long. Even with all the damages that the Argus had, the mighty battleship made the trip in less than an hour. When the ship stopped he noticed the data map showing the presence of one more ship. It was the second cruiser, the Hidea. The cruiser arrived here several hours ago and it was planned to stay on watch until the Deadalus returned. The Argus was supposed to stay as well.

  When the ship stopped he stood up and looked at the place where the warp point was supposed to be. He couldn’t see anything but from what he could see on the sensor readings it was obvious that the point was there. The screen also showed the hundred nuclear bombs that were now drifting around it.

  “Anaya give me a link to the Deadalus.”

  The AI complied.

  “Deadalus your mission is a go.”

  “Thank you Sir.”

  The voice on the other side belonged to Jennings.

  Moments later the far smaller Earth starship exited the hangar bay. It moved slowly and stopped just before the invisible warp point.

  “Godspeed...Godspeed.”-the prayer exited from his leaps without noticing.

  Jennings looked at the people on the small bridge of the Deadalus. He noticed excitement on their faces. And he knew that his face showed the same. As he was watching them several of them smiled.

  “Well let’s make history.”

  “For the second time…”-the comment came from Linda.

  “Yes…for a second time. Well let’s make history. Take her slow Linda.”

  She smiled at him and activated the engines. The ship started moving slowly. They approached the point carefully not knowing what exactly to expect.

  “Are the sensors showing anything?”

  “The readings are indicating strong gravities but we still can’t see anything sir.”

  “Take us in slowly. And continue relaying the information to the Argus.”

  “Yes sir.”

  As the ship neared to the warp point Simonson stood up. It seemed as if the Deadalus was hanging in space until it closed in with the warp point. Then it simply winked out of space and disappeared ins
ide the warp point. As it did that Simonson and the rest of the people on the bridge gasped.

  “Is there any contact from the ship at all Anaya?”

  “There’s nothing there sir. The ship is not there. It’s not in this system anymore.”

  “Is this normal for when a ship enters a warp point. Do you have any information’s about it in your database?”

  “Your ancestors…sorry my creators rarely used the warp points. They are rare and not represented in every system and are hard to discover. But the information’s gathered at the time confirm what we are seeing. Once a ship enters a Warp Point it can’t be tracked.”

  Simonson looked at the screen and then at the AI. He knew that there was nothing he or anyone else can do now, but he felt that he needs something more. He needed more information’s.

  “It seems that they started the journey. I’ll be in my office, inform me if there is any news. Retreat to Sedna and inform the Hidea that they should keep a close watch and inform us of any changes that occur.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “And send me all information’s you have about the warp point in your database. I would like to have a better understanding of the warp point next time we do this.”

  The AI looked at the captain as he asked the question. Every day that passed she got to know her new commander better. She read the information about the way his career developed through the years and was intrigued by his rapid success at rising among the ranks. The request he made now was the same one that almost every other officer and scientist made since the ship came here and it proved that the crew and all the others took the upcoming threat very seriously and that they are ready for anything. She knew that on Earth extensive preparations were being made to ready and prepare the population for what was to come, massive productions was already on the way in producing the known military hardware and as the information she gave them about the weapons they could develop quickly were implemented and understood the construction of those weapons was already under way. She was amazed at how quickly some of the weapons went from theory to practice and testing and then production, not by the speed but because it was understandable considering the threat that production would be implemented before the real testing could be performed, but they still managed to avoid some real mistakes and disasters in the process so far. She hoped that that that will continue to be the case as the production was only going to increase as the invasion got nearer. And the behavior of the commanders that took command of the ships in the fleet were proving to be a real asset and capable and more importantly they were ready to learn and ask questions about everything. That was a good thing from her experience. It was good also that they treated her with respect and as a real person. It only deepened her affection to them.

  “Yes admiral. I will relay the information’s you asked for on your terminal. All that I have will be at your disposal.”

  “Thank you.”

  Simonson turned and with slow steppes headed toward his office.

  Anaya turned back to her duties. She still held control over all ship systems but the crew was already starting to learn about how to control the ship without her. It was going slowly but it was going good. They had time. And from the way they performed she knew that they will be ready when the day comes.

  As she concentrated on the ship the ship the hologram disappeared. In space the Argus slowly turned and headed back to Sedna while the Hidea remained stationary on a safe distance from the warp point at full alert and ready for anything.

  Jennings and everybody else on the bridge looked out through their screen as the Deadalus moved through the warp point. According to the watch they were inside for almost an hour and a half. The first fifteen minutes he tried to contact both the Argus and the Hidea but as the attempts failed he realized that the warp point prevented the radio or any other way of communication. Not even the communications system on the jumper that they had instead of one of the shuttles worked. After that they continued to gather whatever information could be gathered and to look at the mazing view outside. While normal space was dark with distant starts that could be seen as tiny dots here you could see flashes of light outside. He had no idea what they were, some of the crew guessed that they must be stars or light that is moving at speeds that could not be understood or is compressed. No matter what it was it was amazing. He and everyone else wondered how far they were going to end up. And how fast were they moving. He knew that from what Anaya told them that for going back they should only enter in the warp point on the other side. According to her and to the information he got from her about the warp points they always connected between only two points of space or two star systems. That didn’t give him peace do. Until they could see it with their own eyes nothing was certain. He believed her but he still wanted the proof. In a way they were like guinea pigs. They were trying, testing something for the first time. He knew that the information they would gather would prove to be invaluable later on. And the chance to be the first human being in another solar system, to see another star that was a reward that far outweighed the risk. And everyone on his ship was thinking the same, about that he was sure.

  Time passed slowly and he could see that everyone was feeling the strain. The pressure was rising. He hoped that the journey would be over soon. At that moment they all saw the white light in front of them.

  “Is there anything on the sensors? What is ahead?”

  “The readings are similar as the ones we had just before we entered the point on our side. They are just more pronounced here… stronger. It seems that inside the gravities are greater than in normal space.

  Jennings turned to Linda. She looked back.

  “Announce to everyone that we are about to emerge. Tell them to be ready for anything.”

  “Yes sir.”

  A moment later he could hear her voice on the speaker as she carried out his order. All over the ship the crew started getting ready for the next phase of the mission.

  When the moment came it came just as it did when they entered. It came quickly. One moment they were looking at a bright light the other they were in normal space. Jennings looked at the dark horizon filled with stars.

  “Are we detecting any ship in the vicinity, anything on the radar?”

  “There’s nothing sir. The radar shows nothing but empty space in the close vicinity.”

  That comment from Kaminski helped Jennings relax a little. He turned toward Rivers who was in control of the sensors.

  “Activate the sensors at full power and make a sweep of the system. But make it just a ping. Let’s make it hard for anyone up there if there is anyone to find us. And prepare the ship for immediate return to the warp point if we are detected.”

  “Yes sir.”- came from both stations as both sensors and helm responded at the same time.

  “Activating sensors now…”

  The moment passed and as it did and as the information flowed the tension grew.

  “There is nothing sir. No ships in system. There are no unknown objects. And no signals at all.”

  The comment made everyone relax instantly. It seemed like an eternity had passed since the moment they entered till now.

  “Okay then let’s see where we are. Rivers make a full sensor sweep of the system. Give me everything you can. Linda I want you to tell Antonov and Heller to check the star charts. Let’s see if we know this star.”

  He unstrapped from the chair, stood up and drifted to the main window. He looked at the empty space outside and pulled a small picture out of his pocket and looked at it.

  “Schedule a meeting in half an hour. I want everything ready and all information’s gathered till then.”

  Linda looked at him and nodded.

  “Yes captain.”

  Jennings nodded back and returned his look on the small photograph in his hand. As he did that no one spoke anything to him. They all knew who it was on it. His nephew was on board the Jimmy Carter the Seawolf class submarine that became th
e first casualty of this war. The young man was a radar technician and he had close relationship with his uncle. They all knew how hard his death hit Jennings. No one dared to break the silence.

  Not even five minutes later Antonov burst in the bridge with a smile on his face. Moments later Heller entered as well. She was smiling as well.

  Linda looked at both of them and then at Kaminski. She was still looking at the information’s the sensor station was sending her so she was surprised to see them.

  “Well what is it?”

  “We know where we are.”

  “What. How could you that soon?”

  Heller smiled.

  “Once we saw the information about the star about its size, density, brightness, dear it didn’t take long. It didn’t take at all actually. We have all the information in our own databanks for a long time about this one. It was one of the first stars we studied actually.”

  “What do you mean? Which star is it?”

  Antonov smiled at her.

  “Red dwarf, class M5.5Ve with density 40 times smaller than that of our sun, seven times smaller…”

  As they heard him speaking all on the bridge suddenly understood.

  Linda looked at Antonov and smiled as well.

  “Proxima…you mean we are at Proxima Centauri?”

  “Yes. We are at our closest neighbor, at the star that we planned Long Shot to visit. I guess…mission accomplished. “

  They all smiled at his last comment. The rest of the time passed quickly after that.

  Jennings smiled as well. The spell was broken. His face relaxed and he put back the photograph into his pocket.

  “Well that makes things easier. Now let’s see if there are any surprises.”

  “What surprises?”

  He turned toward Heller.

  “O something small like planets maybe, or maybe something else. It’s a new system people and a system about which we all speculated for a long time. Let’s see if we can find anything and if our SF community had a right to think that there is planet in this system, or planets.”