Excalibur's Quest: A Swordships Odyssey Novel

by Dietmar Wehr

  “I realize, Commander Koenig, that you had barely started your R&R when we called you back, but this can’t wait. When I spoke to you last, I wasn’t completely aware of the circumstances surrounding the dispute over who was in command of the five light cruisers at the GED base. I am now, and I find the incident disturbing, not only because Sting’s AIs took it upon themselves to refuse to recognize Commander Strucker’s authority but also because it appears as though you disobeyed a direct order from Commander Strucker. That’s a serious issue. However, before I get to that, I want to address Commander Strucker’s charge, leveled against Commander Vasily, of striking a superior officer, resulting in a broken jaw.”

  Vasily opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she saw Corrigan’s raised hand.

  “Before you say anything, be aware that I personally spoke to the other officers who were on Sting’s Bridge at the time of the alleged attack, and they have confirmed that you broke Commander Strucker’s jaw AFTER he took a swing at you.” Corrigan turned to look at Strucker. “Commander, I also understand that you made a lunge at Commander Vasily the moment your restraints were removed after your shuttle landed. Fortunately for everyone involved, there were other personnel there to restrain you, but that attempt lends credibility to the notion that Commander Vasily was exercising her right of self defense when you tried to strike her on Sting’s Bridge. I am therefore dismissing your charge against her of striking a superior office. Your charge of mutiny against Commander Vasily is also dismissed on the basis that she did not relieve you of command. Your AIs did that all by themselves, and when they turned command over to Commander Vasily, she had no choice but to act in that capacity. So, all charges against your XO are dismissed.” The Admiral turned back to Vasily. “You’re free to leave, Commander.”

  There was absolute silence as the three men waited for Vasily to leave the room. Corrigan looked at Strucker. “Your charge of mutiny against Commander Koenig is not so easy to dismiss. However, I have to tell you, Strucker, that I and the other flag officers I’ve spoken to about this are all agreed that your stated plan to wait two to three weeks before even contemplating taking any aggressive action would have been a serious mistake. Commander Koenig’s instincts to bring the five cruisers back to Earth as soon as possible was the logical strategy, and his tactics proved his assertion that five stealthy Javelins armed with gravity cannon could defeat nine super-heavy cruisers if handled properly. I shudder to think what would have happened if you had retained command of those ships. Be that as it may, the fact still remains that you were the senior cruiser CO at the time and that your claim to command of the so-called swordship squadron, as you put it, was backed up by the contents of the encrypted message transmitted by HQ. As much as I’d like to dismiss your charge, I can’t do that based on the regulations, but I can offer you a choice. You can withdraw your charge, in which case no further action will be taken and you will be re-instated as CO of Sting. That’s choice A. Choice B is what happens if you insist on pursuing this charge of mutiny. You should know that Commander Koenig would be within his rights to file a charge of cowardice against you. If you continue with your charge against him, I’m sure he will file that charge, and then there would be two court-martials. However, prior to any court-martial proceedings, both of you would have to undergo psychological evaluations. I’ve checked with our specialists; they have told me that their tests will reveal any tendency towards cowardice and that there’s no way to hide those tendencies. If Commander Koenig is found guilty of having committed mutiny, that would be a serious blow to his career, but the penalty can be mitigated by other factors such as his successful attack on the Tong fleet. On the other hand, if you are convicted of cowardice, there are no mitigating factors, and you would be subject to the full penalty that the regs allow and require. If you need time to consider your decision, you can have that time. If you withdraw the charge, you won’t be allowed to change your mind later. Well?”

  Koenig had noticed that Strucker had started blinking a lot when Corrigan brought up the issue of cowardice. Now Koenig could see a nervous twitch in one of Strucker’s eyelids.

  “I, ah…will withdraw my charge of mutiny against Koenig, Admiral.”

  Koenig thought he saw the faintest hint of a smile on Corrigan’s face. He made a mental note never to play poker with the Admiral.

  “I think you have made a wise decision, Commander, and I’m sure that Commander Koenig will not file any charges of cowardice. Am I right, Koenig?”

  Koenig took the hint. “That’s correct, Admiral. I’m just as happy to put that incident behind us and move forward.”

  Now Corrigan did smile. “Very good! In that case, you’re free to leave as well, Strucker. I’m sure you want to get back to your ship. I’d like to have a private conversation with Commander Koenig.” When Strucker was gone, Corrigan leaned back in his chair and looked at Koenig with a bemused expression.

  “You like to live dangerously, don’t you, Commander?” He continued before Koenig had a chance to respond. “Technically you did commit mutiny, and frankly I’m glad you did, but I feel compelled to warn you. Officers like yourself tend to end up either promoted and decorated or court-martialled and dishonorably discharged. To use a well-known poker expression, if you go all in often enough, eventually you’ll lose the bet. You might want to remember that the next time you consider crossing a line.”

  “Yes, sir,”

  “With all the unpleasantness out of the way, I may as well talk to you about the strategic situation now instead of later. Your discovery of the DNA-changing super-wave confirms what the Tong told us while their ships were orbiting overhead. They attacked the UETO because they feel the need to shift their population away from the super-wave, and they know that there are half a dozen planets within our space that could be colonizable by them. They assumed that if they came to us with the super-wave story and a request to let them move their people to our colony planets, we’d say no, and that’s probably what we would have said. So, from their perspective, they took the only real choice they had. I can’t fault them for their logic. If we humans had found ourselves in a similar situation, I’d be advising our civilian leadership to do exactly the same thing as the Tong did. Now that we know the super-wave is real, there’s a chance for a negotiated settlement, but our xenologists are telling us that the Tong won’t agree to any ceasefire if they think they have the upper hand. We’re going to have to counter-attack and hit them hard. That means knocking out their shipbuilding capacity so that we’re not at a huge disadvantage in terms of rebuilding our fleets. When they realize that they no longer have the upper hand and are willing to talk, then we’ll be willing to negotiate letting them evacuate their population to one or two of our less populated colony planets. The planning staff are working out a plan of attack. Preliminary feedback is leaning towards using two swordships. Right now, Excalibur is the only one equipped with the hyperspace maneuvering units, but it won’t be the only one for long. GED will be sent the materials and equipment they’ll need to retrofit all the swordships. As soon as a second ship is retrofitted, the counter-attack will commence. Once that mission is accomplished, I hope we’ll be able to spare Excalibur for another tech acquisition mission. We have to get our hands on that atomic manipulation tech if we’re to have any chance of rebuilding the Fleet fast enough to do any good. Even if we can convince the Tong to stop fighting, we’ll still have the Jabs to deal with. They’ve taken control of two colonies that deserve to be liberated, but right now the TOSF can’t even consider doing that. That’s why we need to be able to build ships as quickly as possible. What’s your reaction to what I’ve just told you?”

  “Well, sir, while having more ships is clearly preferable to have fewer ships, I’m wondering if we’re overlooking the impact of being able to make much faster hyperjumps. If our existing ships can move around five times faster than before, isn’t that effectively the same thing as having five times as many ships? And what about trai
ned crews for all those new ships that will be built in weeks rather than months or years?”

  Corrigan took some time to think before responding. “Actually, the crew question is only an issue insofar as senior officers are concerned. Our training program is still intact. In the short run, we’ll have more technical personnel than we really need, but in the long term that will solve itself. What does worry me is having to promote officers to command positions before they’re ready. Your other point about substituting speed for fleet size is a valid one. You have to understand, Koenig, that twelve months ago I had a fleet of a hundred and fourteen ships. Now I have less than a dozen. That’s a difficult transition to get used to. I take it you think we should go after some other tech first?”

  “Yes, sir. If we can get the same kind of cloaking tech that the Vergon have, then five swordships equipped with it should be able to push the Jabs all the way back to their side of the Rift. Then we could use the cloaking tech to acquire the atom manipulation tech either by trade, or maybe by stealing it without the Xenophobes even being aware that we’ve done it. All things considered, from what the Vergon have told us about the Xenophobes, I’d prefer not to give them any tech that enhances their military capability if there’s an alternative.”

  “You’re not the only one with that opinion, Koenig. Some of the planning staff have been pushing that argument as well. I expect the department will issue a majority and a minority report, and then it’ll be up to both the military and civilian leadership to decide which way to go. Who knows, maybe we’ll send out two swordships to try to acquire both techs at the same time. The one question we haven’t discussed yet is where to deploy the Vergon communications module. In your report, you recommend deploying it at the GED Base system in case Earth is unable to keep the Tong or Jabs at bay. While I understand the logic of your argument, if we deploy it there, HQ won’t have instant access to communications with the Vergon, and we’d have to set up some kind of courier system to carry messages there and back. After consulting other senior officers, I’ve made the decision that the module will be deployed in this system, and I’ve already given orders to that effect.” Corrigan paused and Koenig waited. “One final thing. When Sting’s crew return from R&R, Strucker will be reconfirmed as CO. Given how he currently feels about his XO, whatever working relationship they may have had in the past is now gone. If I leave her there, I’m afraid that sooner or later one of them will kill the other, either in self defense or otherwise. Commander Vasily has to be transferred. For reasons that you don’t need to know about, I’ve decided that Soriya and Vasily will exchange places, effective when Sting is ready for deployment again.”

  Koenig’s immediate reaction was one of concern for Eriko. Strucker’s resentment against Koenig could transfer itself to Eriko, and his tendency towards violent impulses could turn out to be a serious threat to her safety. His concern must have shown on his face.

  “If you’re worried about your XO under Strucker, don’t be. I told him he’d be re-instated as Sting’s CO, but I didn’t say for how long. His apparent lack of aggressiveness in terms of taking his ship into combat is something that can’t be overlooked under the present circumstance. Before Sting is deployed again, he’ll be quietly relieved of command and given a staff assignment. You’re the only other officer who knows this, and I want it kept that way. If word of this leaks out ahead of time, he may not be the only CO who loses his command. Am I clear on that, Koenig?”

  “Yessir,”

  “Good. I think we’ve covered everything that needed covering. You’re dismissed, and you can resume your R&R activities.”

  Chapter Seven:

  The R&R ended after ten days. Soriya took up her new duties as Strucker’s XO without Koenig having a chance to talk with her. Sting and Tizona relieved Durendal and Curtana on sentry duty. Curtana was ordered to Earth for R&R while Durendal was ordered to the GED Base for retrofitting of hyperspace maneuvering units. Excalibur would meet her there, and when the retrofit was complete, both ships would head for the Tong home system. But that was still in the future. Right now, Koenig had to get the ship ready to leave orbit with not only a new XO but also several other new crew replacements.

  When Vasily reported for duty on Excalibur, Koenig realized that he hadn’t noticed how tall she was back in Corrigan’s office. Where Eriko was petite and only reached his shoulders in height, Karine Vasily was actually slightly taller than he was, and her figure was decidedly curvaceous. The thought of her as an Amazon warrior popped into his head. No wonder she had been able to break Strucker’s jaw with her fist. The difference between Karine and Eriko was just a little bit intimidating. Karine certainly wasn’t lacking in self-confidence, or opinions, either. She quickly got up to speed on the maintenance work that had been done on Excalibur during the R&R. The ship was perhaps not quite as good as new, but it was as close to it as the engineers could get, given the loss of all their orbital support facilities.

  With the ship ready for new orders, HQ told Koenig to stand by. Clearly something was up. His expectation to be given the go-ahead for a quick trip to the GED Base to wait for Durendal now looked to be pre-mature.

  “CSO on Tac1,” said the com AI. Koenig, who had taken over as BDO, switched his Command Pod com equipment to the audio-only channel, wondering why the CSO didn’t use visual communications.

  “Koenig here, Admiral.”

  “Change of plans, Koenig. Your rendezvous with Durendal at GED is still on, but since she has to take the slow way to get there, there’s time for Excalibur to make a detour. While you were on leave, Excalibur’s astrogational data was carefully examined. HQ’s AstroComp has calculated a fifty-five point six percent probability that Tassafaronga may have hit a gravity well in human-explored space after it missed the second short-cut giant star, and may be incapable of further hyperjumps. Even with all the time that’s passed since then, the crew would have had enough food to survive this long. Given that probability, they deserve to be searched for. Your Astro will have the uploaded calculations by now. Go look for her and be back at GED in 21 days. Good luck, Koenig. Not only does her crew merit being rescued, adding that ship to what’s left of the fleet would be a bonus. Corrigan out.”

  “Astro, let’s see where they want us to look.” The display shifted and zoomed out. Eleven star systems, all lined up in a row, were highlighted with a yellow line. Koenig’s initial thought was that there wouldn’t be time to check out all eleven and be back at the GED Base in 21 days. “Can we search all those systems and make the Admiral’s deadline at GED?”

  “We can if we use pre-jump velocities of fifty percent of light or more. The more time we take to search each system, the faster we have to enter hyperspace in order to make up the time.”

  “Okay. Let’s get this old girl moving, Astro.” As the ship roared out of orbit at 1,597Gs, Koenig made up his mind that every system on that line would be searched carefully even if that meant getting to the base late. He couldn’t help but wonder about the other ships that were lost in hyperspace — Saratoga, Reforger and the first three ships lost in trying to reach Alpha9: Surigao, Hood and Midway. He said a silent prayer for all the souls aboard those ships.

  The first target system, now designated as TS1, was reached after a 106-hour jump. It was a relatively ordinary red dwarf star with only a couple of rocky, airless planets. Excalibur made two complete orbits close to the star in order to detect any reflected light from Tassafaronga’s hull but saw nothing. The next nine target stars also had negative results. As Excalibur searched TS11, Koenig began to wonder how accurate HQ’s AstroComp had been. When it was his turn again as BDO, he took the opportunity to find out.

  “Astro, did HQ’s AstroComp take into consideration Tassafaronga’s OAE bias when it projected this jump path?”

  “Affirmative. However, the calculations assumed that the OAE increased by thirty-four point four percent from the error recorded upon arrival at SC1. The OAE at SC1 was forty-four point three perce
nt larger than that recorded from the previous jump. If the calculations are redone using the higher figure, the projected trajectory looks like this.” The star map now showed two slightly diverging lines. The further away the lines went from SC1, the wider the divergence.

  “Why would AstroComp use the lower percentage?”

  “Because the higher percentage does not give more than a nine percent chance of hitting any star’s gravity well within human-explored space.”

  “Show me the system closest to the higher percentage trajectory in human space.” The image shifted and zoomed-in to a blue giant star that had a gravity well almost touching the second line.

  “That looks to be very close. That’s only nine percent?”

  “It appears close from the scale of the image. The trajectory misses the gravity well by over eighty-eight million kilometers; however the nine percent figure takes into consideration the difficulty in determine the precise location of SC1 relative to the stars in human-explored space. If the relative position of the starting point is off by point zero five percent, the trajectory would hit the gravity well.”