Fractured Horizons (Savage Stars Book 2)
Page 23
“And?”
“I was told it was a step too far. That we lacked the resources required to accomplish such a feat.”
Recker closed his eyes. “I spoke to a Daklan officer – Admiral Ivinstol – and he told me one of their planets was destroyed.”
“We have no defence against those tenixite converters, Captain. If these distant species decide to aim a depletion burst at Fortune, there is nothing we can do to stop it.”
“Yes there is, sir.” Recker muted the comms. “Lieutenant Eastwood – warm up the ternium drive. Target planet Fortune. Half a million klicks out.”
“Half a million klicks it is.”
With the comms off mute, Recker filled Admiral Telar in with as much detail as six minutes would allow. As the timer counted down, he felt a terror building within him.
“I hope you’re wrong, Captain,” said Telar.
Those were the admiral’s last words before the ternium drive activated and the Vengeance entered lightspeed.
“It’s a six-hour journey to Fortune, sir,” said Eastwood, when the spaceship had settled after the transition. “A hell of a lot quicker that it would have been on another warship.”
“That’s six hours too long,” said Recker.
“You think the planet will be attacked?” said Aston. “It hasn’t happened yet.”
“The Daklan lost one of theirs, Commander.”
“I know, but…”
Aston looked close to tears and Recker could tell she didn’t want to consider the possibility of such a catastrophic loss.
“It’s only six hours,” said Recker, pretending sudden optimism. “The Daklan lost their planet days ago and nothing happened to Fortune yet – Admiral Telar was still receiving comms.”
“What’s the plan, sir?” asked Burner. “When we get there, I mean.”
“We’re going to park the Vengeance at a low altitude and leave it there. If the Lavorix target the planet with a depletion burst, the mesh deflector should activate automatically.”
It was a tenuous chance and Recker knew it. So many unknowns still surrounded the Vengeance and he dearly wished to have a stack of specification sheets that he could read through, which would tell him the technical details and limitations on the warship’s capabilities. Without them, he was left guessing.
“What did you make of that Daklan admiral?” asked Eastwood.
“I don’t know, Lieutenant. He talked sense, but I don’t have a point of reference.”
“The Daklan took a hit and they thought the best course of action was to attack one of our planets,” said Burner. “I can’t understand it.”
“They wanted to knock us out of the war so they could focus on a new one,” said Eastwood. “At least that’s what I took from the conversation.”
“Change is coming, folks,” said Recker.
“It’s always bad change.”
Recker didn’t mention it, but he privately thought that the HPA was about to enter a new age of turmoil and bloodshed, even before the previous one was finished. Humanity had already been stretched near to breaking point and it didn’t seem like things were going to improve anytime soon.
“It’s been a long shift,” said Burner.
“You ready for sleep, Lieutenant?”
Burner lifted a cup. The contents weren’t visible, but Recker had a good idea of what they were. “I’ll stick with this for now, sir.”
The hours passed and all Recker could do was watch the timer. Eventually, Eastwood shouted out the ten-minute warning and the crew straightened in readiness for their arrival at Fortune.
“Anyone got relatives here?” said Recker belatedly.
“No, sir.”
“Corporal Hendrix does. Maybe a couple of the other squad members do as well,” said Recker, trying to remember snippets of conversations he’d picked up.
“This isn’t really about to happen is it?” said Eastwood.
“We’re going to be dragged into another alien war, Lieutenant. No matter what happens at Fortune, it’s coming.”
“I hope you’re wrong, sir.”
Recker did too. More than anything. “That makes both of us, Lieutenant.”
“Two minutes.”
The timer reached zero and the Vengeance entered local space.
Fortune
The planet was gone. Even though he’d mentally prepared himself for the possibility, Recker couldn’t at first allow himself to believe it. He ordered Lieutenant Eastwood to confirm the lightspeed calculations were free from error, but the sensor feeds told the undeniable truth.
“Dust, sir,” said Burner. “The planet got turned to dust.”
Where Fortune had once been – a home to twelve billion souls – now there was only a rapidly dissipating cloud of dust, as if the planet had been so comprehensively unmade that nothing more than particles remained.
“We got here too late,” said Aston. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
For a long time, all Recker could do was stare. The dust was thickest near to where the planet’s core had been and even now, it retained enough heat to glow with a diffuse redness that faded with each passing moment. The cold of the vacuum would claim it all, eventually.
A few vessels – shuttles, mostly, and a couple of riot class warships – had been far enough away to outrange the depletion burst. The passengers and crews of those craft were as shellshocked as Recker felt and he got no real sense out of any of them. He didn’t push, lacking the physical and mental energy to do so.
After an hour, the FTL comms arrived in a rush and Recker gathered what little strength he had in order to deal with the questions. Already, the finger pointing had started. From the depths of calamity, it seemed there was always somebody wanting to blame someone else. He ordered Burner to block any further comms, except those which came directly from Admiral Telar.
“What now, sir?” Aston had found some resolve, pulled it from deep inside.
“We go on. We fight.”
It was an easy answer, but it seemed enough to satisfy her. She nodded and bowed her head.
“And one day it’ll be over.”
“I don’t like to lose, Commander.”
Aston raised her head and Recker saw her strengthen at his words. For the shortest of moments, he felt like a fraud and that he didn’t deserve the respect. Then, he hauled himself back from the brink.
“And by hell we’re going to win this one,” he said.
This time, he almost believed it.
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