Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2)

by Michael G. Thomas

  “And?”

  “Well, Sir, Spartan from the APS Corporation was also here. He was on board the Raider vessel when they entered an uncharted Spacebridge. It has now closed, and there is no sign of the ship, or of Spartan and his operatives.”

  This news seemed to get the Admiral’s attention. He paused as he considered the news he’d just received.

  “Secure the area and lay out surveillance probes. I will be in touch shortly.”

  The screen went blank, and she was left to consider her options. She was a young Captain, perhaps the youngest in the fleet, but she was also known for playing by the rules and taking no chances. If what Spartan had said was true, then something suspicious was going on, right under their noses.

  Whatever is happening out here, I’m going to figure it out, she thought seriously before turning to her navigator.

  “Bring up all the charts for this region of space and overlay functioning, collapsed, and potential Spacebridge sites. Things are not as they seem.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  New Charon was the first Star System to be colonized in the rich cluster known as the Orion Nebula. Just months after the arrival of ANS Beagle, great fleets of military and civilian ships spread through its moons and planets. New Spacebridges would eventually be constructed and the great Network expanded to include dozens and finally hundreds of stars. Few realized how New Charon would become the Nexus of a myriad of peoples, our own included.

  A Concise Guide to Interstellar Travel

  Teresa entered the conference room aboard ANS Beagle with some feeling of trepidation in her heart. Alongside her walked the great bulk of Gun, the leader of the Jötnar, and right now, the only person she could honestly trust. As she moved inside, she thought back to the message she’d just received from the APS Corporation’s head office. A number of the senior executives had sold off their stock, and she half expected a hostile move to occur at any moment. Teresa really wished for it to just be over so she could get out of the business. Inside the room, she spotted the figure of Admiral Anderson, as well as several Alliance and T’Kari officials, and her attention immediately turned to them. The door shut behind them and Gun looked to her, a suspicious look on his face.

  Okay, what the hell has Spartan done now?

  The Admiral beckoned for her to sit down, and she calmly complied. If it had been anybody else, she would have remained upright, but Anderson was a man with which both she and Spartan had a long history. They’d met during the operation to rescue Spartan at Prometheus and had worked together ever since on a great variety of operations. Admiral Anderson had been the commander of the Prometheus Research facility on the other side of the bridge, but in recent months had transferred permanently to this new sector of space where he was responsible for all Alliance activities. She made herself comfortable and then looked directly across the table toward the seated Admiral.

  “Ms Morato, thank you for coming to see me,” he started.

  It was formal, and in her experience that wasn’t a good thing.

  “Gun, you are always welcome here.”

  Gun nodded but said nothing. Words meant little to him, only action, and he had yet to hear anything from the assembled group. Unlike the others, he remained standing, mainly because none of the chairs were suitable for his great bulk.

  “You’ve heard the news with regards to the bill that has just been pushed through by the Senate? All private security companies have been blocked from working on board Alliance funded facilities. This includes stations, ships, and bases such as this one. I know this is a blow to you and Spartan. You built this company up with hard graft after leaving the Corps. I understand that investors from the Carthago Trade Consortium are in the process of initiating a hostile takeover of APS Corp. That’s got to be hard for you?”

  Teresa inhaled and did her best to suppress feelings of anger. She’d only just heard the news herself and was livid. The Consortium was an entity built from a number of traders, mining companies, and speculators. They’d become rich in the last year, while APS had been hit as public support faded for the private security companies. But what worried her most was the anti-Biomech language being used by their executives.

  “Yes, Spartan would be furious if he was here. If they succeed, their first order of business is to cancel all contracts with Biomech operatives. We have over three hundred on our books, half being Jötnar.”

  “Your people are the finest warriors we have met. You will always find work alongside out people,” said one of the T’Kari while gazing upon Gun.

  The alien’s voice was synthesized, as with all of their species, due to their reliance upon their suits’ inbuilt translator system. Gun’s great size and strength had been a source of great wonder to the T’Kari. His people had been treated as honored guests ever since, much to the surprise of Alliance High Command. Admiral Anderson looked taken back by the announcement from the aliens.

  “Ms Morato.” He was formal for the benefit of the others present. “Things are changing fast in this sector. We are having a hard time keeping up with what is happening.”

  He nodded to the three T’Kari representatives who waited patiently.

  “Since meeting our friends here, we have started to learn a great deal about the many worlds outside of our own systems. There are stars, planets, and races we never knew existed before. The T’Kari are the first, and we hope to meet others, if any of them still exist. There are many questions coming from our politicians, generals, and the public at large. Who are we? Where do we come from, and are we related in some way to the T’Kari?”

  The three aliens sat motionless in their civilian body armor, listening patiently as the suit translators altered the sounds into their own tongue. The suits were very much like those worm by their warriors but missing most of the armored plates and extra equipment. Their resulting figures were similar but far more slender than that of humans and their skin pale like glossy alabaster.

  “Nonetheless, this isn’t important right now. As of today, we have some rather more important issues to contend with. As you know the Alliance has established a number of bases through T’Karan, at the invitation of the T’Kari.”

  Teresa nodded but still found it odd that the region of space so recently called New Charon had changed name. She recalled hearing something about the T’Kari calling the star T’Karan, and that their name derived from the star itself. It had been a political decision, but she suspected many in the Alliance would continue to use its given name. The Admiral continued explaining, this time in a slightly quieter voice.

  “Many T’Kari have visited our own worlds to share knowledge, technology, and resources. In many ways this is our Golden Era, and our citizens have embraced them with surprising courtesy.”

  He stood up and walked around the room to Teresa.

  “Plans have been in motion for over a year now to send an expedition with T’Kari guides to visit ancient worlds that we have never even heard of. The opportunities in the worlds of science and economics are staggering. All of this has been accelerated because of a new development that involves your husband.”

  He looked at Teresa. She could see his expression already changing.

  “As you might expect, Spartan has managed to get himself into another situation, and one that has now altered the direction and timeframe of this operation. He’s got himself into trouble,” he then looked over to Gun, “and so has Khan.”

  This part grabbed the attention of the weary looking Gun. As the unelected leader of his own people, he was well used to responsibility, but Khan was something else. They were like brothers, and the group of four had witnessed some of the greatest and most violent events in the history of the Alliance together.

  “He’s managed to get himself into major trouble again, this time with a group of T’Kari Raiders in the asteroid belt. It’s about two astronomical units from the red subgiant star here in T’Karan.”

  Gun looked down to Teresa, who was by now looking v
ery worried.

  “What exactly was he doing there that caused this situation?” asked the Admiral.

  Before Teresa could answer, one of the T’Kari lifted her hand. She started to speak; there was a short delay before the suit converted the voice to something more familiar.

  “Spartan and the APS Corp were carrying out security work on behalf of our mining outposts in the asteroid belt. Raiders have been appearing and attacking our transports. We arranged a contract with APS to assist us with the capture of them.”

  Teresa looked at the T’Kari and wondered why they were unconcerned at giving up private information so freely, and for no obvious benefit to themselves. She looked to Anderson and noticed he didn’t seem suspicious of the information; it looked more like he was worried about something.

  “Admiral Anderson,” she started, “the T’Kari Raiders are a small group of perhaps five or six ships and several hundred exiled T’Kari that have been preying on their brethren for years. If you recall, last year when the T’Kari co-signed the Hades Accord, they provided us with a detailed history of their people, and we did the same for them.”

  Admiral Anderson nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, I am well aware of the information the T’Kari shared, as well as the information that is only now coming to light since your last little, well, assignment?”

  Teresa looked at him and then to the T’Kari who looked on with nonplused expressions on their faces. Admiral Anderson continued speaking before she could say any more.

  “The Raiders started attacking at roughly the same time as our victory at Hyperion. It would appear that our victory also weakened the enemy’s outposts in T’Karan. We’ve found the remains of the Rift entrance, as well as factories and equipment on Hades. Something remained in this part of space though, and the T’Kari are now telling us that it might be to do with a number of their recent exiles.”

  Teresa was surprised at the tone used by Anderson. She knew him well enough to recognize that he was angry, and perhaps a little disappointed at the information he’d received from the T’Kari. It didn’t come as much of a shock to Teresa, however she was surprised they had given them so much information to start with. The slightly taller of the aliens nodded and then spoke with hushed tones. The translator built into the armored suit worn by the alien altered her voice. It was machinelike but perfectly serviceable English.

  “We brought this matter up with your Senate, and they assured us that your ships had T’Karan secure. We were still the victims of three Raider attacks.”

  Anderson scratched his temple with frustration.

  “Yes, and we stationed five Alliance vessels around your moons for protection. The last attack was forced back, and we destroyed the ship before it could escape.”

  The T’Kari representative nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, and for that we are thankful. Even so, we arranged an additional contract for extra security to assist with the protection of our people, especially after the losses we sustained after the attack on Hades. APS has provided us with large numbers of excellent operatives. Without them, the Raiders would have taken even more slaves.”

  Teresa tilted her head to Gun.

  “The Jötnar are the most requested of our personnel for this kind of work. Any time Raiders arrive, they always give ground. It is like they have a genetic fear of them.”

  Admiral Anderson sighed as though becoming bored with the discussion.

  “Look, I know where Spartan was and what happened. What I don’t know is why he was there. How did he find it?”

  “It?” asked Gun, now intrigued.

  He said no more and waited for Teresa to explain. She paused for a moment, knowing full well that there were a number of implied levels of secrecy involved with her contract. The T’Kari nodded to her in a gesture she could only assume meant it was acceptable for her to speak.

  “Very well.” She looked at them before turning back to the Admiral. “Khan’s people found a lead, and Spartan was leading four of our best teams to investigate. The plan was not just to stop the Raiders. This time we were supposed to capture them, and if possible, return them to Hades for trial.”

  The Admiral turned to the T’Kari.

  “Your capital? When were you going to tell us that you were paying Alliance citizens to conduct private operations in this Sector?”

  The senior of the three remained motionless, with just her mouth moving.

  “T’Karan may be under the jurisdiction and protection of the Alliance, but we will continue to exercise our right to self defense, as well as to operate under our own laws on our colonies.”

  The other two nodded politely in agreement. Now Teresa was beginning to worry. The Admiral seemed to be avoiding the one subject she was most interested in; that of her husband, Spartan.

  “What has happened?” she blurted out, unable to keep quiet any longer.

  The Admiral leaned on the table, trying to look as compassionate as a man in his position could be. The T’Kari listened in, but it appeared they were already familiar with what came next.

  “It seems that whatever Spartan found has become more than just of interest to the T’Kari. He found a ship alright, but it didn’t just have T’Kari Raiders, It was also infested with harvested Biomechs.”

  This caught Gun’s interest. Like all the Jötnar, he had made it his duty to find and rehabilitate all and any Biomechs. The harvested creatures were something else though. Like Frankenstein’s monster, they were actually constructed from the material of the dead or dying. Whereas Gun and his fellow Jötnar were actually synthetically manufactured, but some would argue that their raw material was still originally sourced from the same place, but perhaps not directly to their faces. The Admiral stood up and moved back to his previous position on the other side of the table. He then beckoned to one of the naval officers, an old, white-haired Captain she was unfamiliar with. The man tapped something on his secpad, and a three-dimensional model instantly projected over the table. The Admiral then continued.

  “Now, you can see the main asteroid belt that lies between the second and third planets of T’Karan. We’ve received contact from one of our patrol ships, ANS Serenity out on patrol in this sector. They found Spartan and several others on board a T’Kari Raider and embroiled in some kind of major gunfight.”

  Gun laughed to himself.

  “Yeah, sounds like Spartan.”

  Teresa looked less amused by the story, however. She had no doubt he would be involved in such a scenario, but she was also well aware that Admirals didn’t request to meet with you to discuss it.

  There’s more to this, she thought.

  “A Spacebridge opened up right in the middle of the asteroid field, and the Raider escaped.”

  Teresa jumped up at the mention of the ship vanishing.

  “What do you mean, just opened up? Where is he? Don’t you know?”

  Admiral Anderson shook his head.

  “No, we do not. The ship and the rest of his team vanished with her.”

  Teresa looked panicked, but the Admiral lifted his hand to calm her.

  “I have spoken with our T’Kari friends, and they tell me that the whole of T’Karan is filled with potential Spacebridge sites. They thought all were either sealed or being monitored. This one suggested there could be others, and if true, who knows what else is out there. They’ve already told us of the ones they know about, and we have drones and equipment monitoring each one. It would seem there are many more that we don’t know about.”

  Gun seemed intrigued at this information.

  “Yes, I saw the information on Hyperion about this. There was a map of different stars. It was like a network of tunnels.”

  “Exactly, though our information until now has been, well, somewhat scant,” replied the Admiral.

  He then nodded to the Captain nearby, and he changed the model of the asteroid belt to a number of images from the ruins of Hyperion. Teresa and Gun instantly recognized some of the d
esigns.

  “This design only shows the access points to the Network in Alpha Centauri, as well as the key nodes in other star systems and galaxies. What it doesn’t show is the detailed maps of other areas. T’Karan, for instance, all it shows is one connection in and a dozen more heading back out. Each of these is being guarded by drones and T’Kari and Alliance patrols.”

  Teresa tried to absorb the information, but the thought that Spartan, the person she cared about the most other than her children, simply overrode her other thoughts. With every extra word they spoke, she imagined the horrors he might be facing with creatures, machines, and alien worlds, all of them light years away. The Admiral continued speaking, but his words started to fade into background noise. Eventually, it lowered, and she looked back at the Admiral to see him staring at her, waiting for a response.

  “Well? What do you think? Are you up for this operation?”

  She looked over to Gun who actually looked quite excited at the prospect. She considered asking for confirmation, but the idea of explaining that she hadn’t been listening was far from ideal. Instead, she nodded politely before asking one last question.

  “What about Spartan?”

  The Admiral looked to the T’Kari and spoke quietly before moving back to her. His face was serious, and it was clear that whatever had been discussed was significant to both the Alliance and the T’Kari.

  “If this mission succeeds, it will give us our only chance of finding him. More importantly, I think this is the only way we will be able to bring him back home. We need to understand the rest of this Network, and the only way to get the information is by performing a full reconnaissance of Helios and all Spacebridges from it.”

  Gun snorted at the comments.

  “Spartan is no fool. He has Khan with him, and I have no doubts about those two. Spartan and I used to cause heads to roll, but with Khan, pah!” He turned to Teresa.