Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2)

by Michael G. Thomas

  “Weapons fire!” cried the Lieutenant.

  Admiral Anderson looked back to the mainscreen where the vast pentagonal shape was sending stream of projectiles out and toward the newly arrived ships.

  “Communications, get greetings sent out on all frequencies!” snapped the Captain.

  “And light up those projectiles! Get our turrets moving!” added the XO.

  His words were unnecessary, however, as the tactical officer and his team of experienced crew was already busy activating the many defensive systems throughout the ship. It took only a few more seconds before the stream of rounds from the station reached the T’Kari ships that had pushed out far from the Alliance warships.

  “What the hell are they doing?” snapped Captain Parker.

  Admiral Anderson watched the tactical display with calm precision. He could already see their position, and it was clear to him what was happening.

  “They are moving into defensive positions around their lost ship. Look, the first scout vessel is in two halves.”

  As he pointed at the nearest ships, the first rounds from the station arrived. Round after round hit the T’Kari scout ships, and with each impact a piece of metal armor was ripped off. Anderson wiped a bead of sweat from his face and then called out to Captain Parker.

  “Bring us into position ahead of the T’Kari. I’ll bring up Crusader and Serenity to watch our flanks. We have to keep the weapons fire off them until they can recover their wounded.”

  “Aye, aye, Sir,” she replied smartly.

  The idiots. They are either unable to defend themselves, or they refuse to do so.

  It only took a few deft hand movements to connect directly to the commanders of the other ships. Each followed his commands without argument, and in seconds, the ships were all moving. With a lurching feeling, the great warship powered up her main engines and pushed out and past the smaller T’Kari warships. Anderson looked at the images of the Crusader class warships and couldn’t but be impressed with their speed and power. He just hoped they could keep them alive long enough to either withdraw or find a way to stop the violence.

  Good, first job is to protect the ships. Second is to stop this insanity!

  “Admiral, we’re in range of their projectile weapons. Our rules of engagement are confused, can we return fire?” asked Captain Parker.

  Admiral Anderson looked up to the mainscreen and shook his head. Much as he wanted to open fire, he was loath to turn a violent first encounter into a full-scale war; at least, not yet.

  “No. For the sake of damage to our ships, I cannot risk a war. Our mission parameters are clear. We are to investigate Helios, clear the Rift, and maintain the security of the Alliance. We cannot leave backdoors into any regions of space we have access to.”

  General Daniels nodded at his words, “Yes, the last thing we need is to turn another race against us. We need the Helions on our side, or at the very least neutral.”

  Captain Parker looked unimpressed at the response and turned back to her XO with whom she had a curt confrontation. Anderson commanded the fleet, but the operations of the ship belonged to the Captain. He looked briefly at the tactical screen, along with General Daniels.

  “This is taking too long,” said Anderson, now realizing the T’Kari must be in a worse state than he’d imagined.

  “I don’t like this,” said the Marine officer slowly.

  Anderson nodded.

  “I agree.”

  He then called out to the CAG, the single man responsible for command of the fleet’s fighter squadrons. Normally, he would coordinate just the fighters from ANS Victory, but today he was controlling the position of the fighters from each of the Crusader class ships.

  “Get birds in the air and put a protective cordon around the fleet. We have to keep the big stuff away from our hulls. The point defense gear can deal with the rest.”

  The young looking marine saluted and proceeded to move icons about on his large glass vertical display. It was a fast and effective way to communicate directly with each of the pilots.

  Anderson looked to the XO, who was doing his best to keep the crew on task while avoiding damaging the station that seemed so intent on destroying them. He almost called out an order before forcing himself to take a step back. He had the tactical control of the situation from his position in the CIC. The tactical display showed him the status of every vessel under his control, as well as direct communication with any ship in the formation. He tapped the lead T’Kari ship, surprised it actually connected. He breathed a sigh of relief as the image of T’Kron appeared.

  “About damned time! What the hell is going on?” he roared.

  “Admiral. We are evacuating our crippled ship. They were fired on by the automated systems on the station upon arrival. It is…”

  “Enough of that!” interrupted the Admiral, his voice straining with impatience. “Why have you not told them to stop firing?”

  The image flickered for a moment and then went black before quickly returning.

  “Admiral Anderson, you do not understand. They are broadcasting a general alert in seven languages. It says they are treating all of us as intruders. They will continue firing until we leave. Any vessel moving closer to their station will be attacked with their anti-ship systems.”

  Anderson shook his head angrily.

  “What do you mean, closer?”

  “Where our scout was hit. By moving out here to protect us, you are inviting their wrath.”

  Anderson’s face was starting to redden with anger and frustration.

  “T’Kron, get a dammed move on. Look after your people, and keep sending the Helions our messages. This madness must stop. I will protect your ships, but this cannot go on forever.”

  He paused as he contemplated the situation they were in.

  “How long do you need to get your people out?”

  “Fifteen minutes, maybe more. Some are trapped in the wreckage. I have teams bringing them back.”

  “Good, I want updates every five minutes. If we can’t stop this fighting, then we will have to withdraw. I am creating a cordon around your ships. If you have any defensive systems, I suggest you use them.”

  T’Kron nodded and the feed cut.

  I need status reports from the rest of the fleet. We need time to sort this out.

  He then looked at the tactical display in front of him. His fleet was strung out and vulnerable, and he was acutely aware of how fragile the ten ships were if it came down to a major confrontation. He thought back to some of the greatest battles of the Uprising. In those encounters, he’d witness columns of dozens and dozens of ships moving in to deliver broadsides of railgun shots. The battles had gone on for hours, and the casualties had been terrible.

  I’d forgotten how vicious this can get!

  “We need to know what the hell is going on out here.”

  The Alliance ships had already altered their formation, and as expected, the gunfire from the station switched to the nearest of the ships. With ANS Victory at the forefront, the bulk of the fire targeted her flank. Small dimples on every part of the ship moved as the multitude of rapid-fire point-defense turrets opened fire. Each was fully automated and contained multi-barreled kinetic weapons and a mixed visual and radar based tracking system. Lines of tiny rounds streamed away and struck at the approaching weapons fire. Even so, a small percentage managed to penetrate the protective screen and make it through to the thick hull of ANS Victory. Dozens of rounds struck the armored flank. At first, they seemed no more serious than rain falling upon a thin roof. The intensity increased until emergency alarms sounded.

  “Captain, the reactive plating is breached!” called out Lieutenant Powalk.

  It wasn’t as serious as it sounded, as the reactive plating was an additional layer of armor that extended out several meters from the hull. It was thin and equipped with modular explosive plates that detonated when an impact was detected. Though it could only be used once, the modular components we
re small, each no more than a meter in length and able to stop a large projectile or warhead from causing serious harm when it finally struck the primary armor.

  “Keep the guns running. Everybody else, get me information! The armor can only take so much.”

  Admiral Anderson watched the approaching fire from the pentagonal station at his formation of ten ships. The T’Kari vessels were moving out of the line of fire, and now the heavy warships were doing their work. On the tactical screen were various clouds of projectiles, but the Crusader class ships appeared to be fending off the worst of it.

  “Captain, armor is holding,” said the tactical officer calmly.

  “Good. Power up the primary weapons, but do not fire.”

  Lieutenant Powalk nodded in agreement. At the same time, the gruff XO examined all the data coming in from each station. He made a mental note of the most important pieces of data before passing them on to the Captain. Commander D'Vani, on the other hand, had already run through scans and looked first to the Captain before speaking.

  “Captain, scans are complete.”

  “Good, give us a précis.”

  Admiral Anderson smiled grimly at her curt reply. The Commander looked to the Admiral before starting.

  “The description given to us by the T’Kari seems close to what we have encountered. Orbiting the star are five planets, all populated to various degrees. We are closest to the first planet in the system. There is a belt at approximately twenty-seven astronomical units from our current position. I’m getting odd readings from it.”

  “Forget the belt. I just need information on what we have around us.”

  The Commander looked back at his screen but was instantly overawed by what he could see. Admiral Anderson stepped closer, leaning in to look. He shook his head in surprise at the variety of images flashing by as the Commander classified them by group.

  “What is it?” asked Admiral Anderson, expecting trouble.

  “Its…it’s just the amount of traffic. Our threat indication system has flagged over three hundred vessels within a day’s travel already. Not even Terra Nova has this concentration of craft. All five planets are populated have similar traffic levels.”

  “That is all very interesting, Commander. What I really need to know is the tactical situation.”

  “I have that, Sir,” announced Lieutenant Powalk. “There are four ships on an intercept course for us. They are of a similar size to ours and are escorted by a dozen smaller vessels, possibly fighters. Scans indicate energy weapon capacitors, possibly similar to our own.”

  He then pointed to the nearest planet that was over twelve hours away.

  “Closer to the nearest planet are another thirty plus craft, and they look like they are activating their systems. They are not a threat, not yet. I suspect they are preparing for a fight, just in case.”

  Captain Parker sighed at the news. She looked at the center of the detailed system-wide model and tapped the station.

  “Sir, there’s something else.”

  With those words, he enlarged an image of a region of space well out from their current position.

  “Our optics are unable to isolate detail at this distance, but we are picking up a number of collapsed Rift signatures in unprecedented numbers. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

  Admiral Anderson looked at the shapes appearing on their star chart as it filled in with details. At different points through the solar system, Rift after Rift appeared like exit points into a hive.

  “I’ve got over a dozen, including the one we came through, and more are still being picked up.”

  “So, it is true. Helios really is the center of this Network. No way is this natural. The Helions and their friends must have built this at some point.”

  “Not just that, Admiral, there is this one right out on the periphery.”

  The man’s finger stopped on an empty region of space. As his finger sat there, a large number of flashing red boxes appeared in an almost hexagonal shape.

  “It looks like a distortion to me, and there are massive objects, possibly moons or maybe artificial objects have been positioned around it.”

  “A Rift?”

  Lieutenant Powalk nodded.

  “Probably, but a Rift unlike any of the others here.”

  Captain Parker considered the information for just a few seconds.

  “My guess is those are stations, much like this one here, and it is designed to stop whatever is on the other side from coming through. Keep the scanners going. If we have to leave in a hurry, this intel might be all we can get. ”

  That has to be the entrance to the enemy’s domain! So, the T’Kari were right all along. So Helios really is the center of this artificial Spacebridge Network, and they have barricaded the entrance to the most dangerous race out here. She didn’t know whether to feel happy or concerned at the information.

  She turned to the Admiral, a look of satisfaction now showing on her face only to see grim determination on his face.

  “Admiral, I think this is the entrance the enemy’s domain. It matches all the facts of the last two years, including the intelligence given to us on the Helions. They fought their last war, and this must be how they keep them from coming back.”

  “The eighth race,” confirmed General Daniels. His voice sounded doom laden as he answered. Admiral Anderson glanced at his comrade, noting with surprise at how he was taking the news. A moment of doubt entered his mind that he was the right man to lead the marines if things turned bloody.

  Too late now you fool, he thought angrily.

  General Daniels was right to feel unhappy at the news. He wasn’t compromised by the words, but the scars of the ground combat on Euryale flashed back to him. In the years since those battles with biomechanical creatures and legions of warriors, he’d developed a healthy respect for the enemy and the damage and terrors they could bring to a fight. Being this close to what might be their own empire left him feeling almost queasy at the opportunity of sending so many men and women to their potential deaths.

  “Good, this is what we came for,” said Admiral Anderson.

  Captain Parker looked at him, surprised at his words. She spotted the look on the General’s face and noted that although he didn’t look surprised, he also didn’t appear particularly pleased at the news. That was when her brain raced ahead as the facts coalesced in her mind.

  So we are not just here to explore. We sent three battalions of marines through the Helios Gate to use as an expeditionary force, surely not?

  She looked back at the Admiral, trying to gauge his reaction to the news. The more she thought about it though, the more surprised she was that she had been left out of the loop. As far as she was aware, the operation was an exploratory mission to map out the Network and to secure access for the Alliance.

  “Admiral, are we here to finish the war with the enemy?” she finally asked.

  Admiral Anderson looked to General Daniels who politely smiled back at him.

  “No, our orders are flexible. Three battalions does provide us with a great deal of flexibility, however.”

  The young General did his best to avoid choking with amusement.

  The ship shook at another volley of gunfire. A computer display flashed and then exploded, the shards of hardened metal and glass embedded into the arms and torso of its operator, a young woman with short black hair and narrow framed glasses. She was knocked from her seat and was helped by two of the Marine guards.

  “Get her to medical!” called out the XO as he moved in to manage the situation.

  The blast shook her attention from the distortion and back to their immediate situation. She watched the ships on the display, but Admiral Anderson was already looking back at the station.

  “So, they have build defenses around all of the Rift entrances, including this one back to T’Karan. They must think we are vessels from the enemy as well.”

  “Then why attack the T’Kari?” she responded.

&nb
sp; Admiral Anderson smiled, “They attack themselves, don’t forget. They must have less faith in the T’Kari than we have.”

  General Daniels finished speaking on his comms unit and leaned over the tactical display, placing his hand directly in the middle.

  “What about the station? We can’t maneuver anywhere in this system until it is dealt with.”

  Lieutenant Powalk walked around the central table and was forced to grab the side of the unit as a powerful impact made the ship shudder. He almost lost his footing but quickly recovered and moved into position. He pointed at the shapes representing their own ships and then the point where they had arrived.

  “If you look at the distances involved, it’s pretty clear this station was built specifically to monitor and control this point of space. Either they want to stop their own people from activating it and traveling through…”

  “Or they want to stop the T’Kari from returning. If you ask me, they want this area secured, and if that means firing on the T’Kari, so be it. We need to change the situation and bring force to bear on them. At the same time, we need the T’Kari to make contact and let them know that we come in peace,” finished Admiral Anderson.

  The schematic of the station was becoming more and more detailed with every extra second they were in the system. At the center of the object, a glowing orb increased in intensity.”

  “What’s that?” demanded the Admiral.

  Captain Parker was already turning to her crew and shouting out so that every single officer could hear her. At the same time, the XO was barking orders to the science team. On the main display, the object appeared to split apart into two-dozen ultra high-speed missiles. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to either of the senior officers on the ship. Admiral Anderson almost shouting before spotting the objects on the display. It was quite clear why they were all suddenly distracted.

  “Hypersonic missiles, estimated time for impact, seventy-two seconds, Captain!” shouted the tactical officer. “Sensors are picking up low yield nuclear payloads on board.”

  “Atomics!” said the Captain in a hushed tone. They were the most feared weapons used in space combat, as once embedded in the armor of a ship, they could obliterate all but the most massive of warships. The only defense was to explode them outside the structure of the vessel. There would still be a superheated burst from the warhead, but with no air in space, there would be no damaging shockwave. All major warships were heavily shielded against radiation and magnetic pulse attacks.