“Checking...half a million klicks from our current position.”
“Speak to their comms team and obtain their status.”
“On it, sir.”
Meanwhile, Burner expanded the scope of his sensor sweep. “These twin processing cores are churning through this data as fast as I can throw it at them,” he said. “I’ve located Qul – we’re forty-eight million klicks out, so we came in a little closer than planned.”
“Forty-eight is fine,” said Recker. “Keep scanning.”
“There’s nothing in our vicinity, sir,” said Burner. “I have transmitted my findings to the Aktrivisar.”
“The Daklan ship reports no problems, sir,” added Larson. “They’re fully operational.”
“Good – I want to establish a battle network for our two ships. Do it quickly.”
“Our systems aren’t designed to speak to their systems,” said Burner. “I can think of a potential workaround, but the data passing between our two ships will be delayed.”
“I wasn’t expecting perfection, Lieutenant. If you can think of a solution, speak to your counterparts on the Aktrivisar and put it into action.”
“Yes, sir.”
Recker had no doubt that the two comms teams would figure out a method that worked. While they got on with it, he reduced the Axiom’s speed and set it on a low-velocity course towards Qul. At forty-eight million kilometres, the sensors on a riot class wouldn’t have detected anything more than a cold-blue disc. The Axiom’s arrays, with their access to the warship’s twin main processors, were far more accomplished and Recker saw many surface imperfections which made him believe Qul was mountainous and – like the Daklan had suggested - entirely cased in ice.
It was difficult to obtain promotion to the bridge of a fleet warship if you couldn’t solve problems quickly, and Recker wasn’t left waiting long for his comms team to create a viable battle network.
“That’s our ships linked, sir,” said Burner. “The battle network will show positional data with a short delay and the Daklan have also set their missiles to broadcast their positions to our comms antennae. Their turrets can’t be set to broadcast a discharge and neither can their countermeasures.”
“What about ours?”
“Done for the Ilstrom-6s, negative on the countermeasures. The Hellburners aren’t so easily reprogrammed and I’ve asked Commander Aston to work on those.”
“Well?” asked Recker, turning her way.
“Done.” She shrugged like it was nothing and then offered a grin. “Easy when you know how.”
“That means we’re set,” said Recker.
“I’ve spoken to Captain Jir-Lazan and he confirms his readiness,” said Burner.
“First we scan, to see what we can find.”
“Yes, sir. Already on it. Focusing on the planet and ignoring everything else.”
“Please,” Recker confirmed.
“For a planet with a rocky composition, Qul is larger than average,” said Larson. “Twice the diameter of Earth, all of it covered in ice, except one big patch on its central band.”
“The atmosphere isn’t hospitable but the surface conditions aren’t completely terrible,” said Burner. “If you wanted to take a walk about down there, all you’d need would be a standard-issue spacesuit.”
“I’m not planning on sightseeing,” said Recker. “What’re the chances you can detect any visible side surface facilities from here?”
“Slim, depending on size and composition. I’ve detected clouds in the planet’s atmosphere and they aren’t helping.”
“This is to be expected from our current range, sir,” said Larson.
“Don’t I know it, Lieutenant.”
Recker got comfortable in his seat, anticipating an extended period of scanning, during which he would have little input. Lieutenant Burner came up with an idea.
“Sir, I’ve been thinking about this. The Daklan sent some warships out here, but Captain Jir-Lazan hasn’t given us much to work with.”
“What are you getting at, Lieutenant?”
“If we knew their lightspeed vector, we might be able to determine exactly where they arrived. Since we’re close enough to Qul to work out its speed of rotation, we might be able to calculate which side of the planet the Daklan fleet was facing when it first came to the Lanak system.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Recker, rubbing his chin. “Surely the margin of error in those proposed calculations is going to be enormous given the distances involved?”
“There will be a margin of error, sir,” Burner confirmed. “However, it’ll give us something to go on. The alternative is that we scan from here, inch closer, scan again and repeat. It’ll take time.”
“It can’t hurt to give it a try. Speak to the Daklan comms team and ask them to provide the data.”
A minute later, Burner announced his success. “They’ve sent us the flight plans for their ships, sir. They’re going to work on the calcs as well.”
“How long?”
“If you’re happy with me tapping both processing cores, a few minutes.”
“Do it.”
A moment later, the utilisation on the twin cores jumped to ninety-five percent and Recker stared at the gauge, waiting for it to drop again.
“I’ve got an estimate of the Daklan fleet’s arrival point,” said Burner, as the core utilisation plummeted to its usual out-of-combat level. “Now I’ve got to overlay the arrival point of the Daklan fleet onto the orbital track of Qul, adding in the rotation of the planet.”
Recker drummed his fingers.
“Got it! Sir, from this, the Daklan only arrived ten days ago.”
“Sounds like Admiral Telar didn’t have much time to arrange this joint mission,” said Aston.
“Which implies the Daklan were particularly keen to get things moving,” said Recker.
“Their fleet broke from lightspeed on the planet’s blindside, sir,” said Burner. “Almost directly opposite from us.”
“What chance of error in the calculations?”
“Not as much as I was expecting, sir. It appears the Daklan were being far more cautious than normal – they exited lightspeed about thirty million klicks from Qul. Here’s an overlay on your screen.”
The image Burner had generated showed the planet as a large sphere and the alien fleet as a dot. A series of red lines and overlapping cones showed the likely margins of error.
“We’re looking in the wrong place,” said Recker.
“Yes, sir.”
“Communicate your findings to the Aktrivisar and recommend we execute an in-out lightspeed jump to the current blind side of Qul.”
A short time later, agreement was reached and the sound of the ternium drive warming up filled the bridge. Frustration gnawed at Recker, though he knew that Lieutenant Burner had saved this mission potentially many hours of fruitless surface scans aimed at the wrong side of Qul.
The ternium drives on both warships fired simultaneously and then shut down within a second. The double transition made Recker feel like shit, but he got on with business, ordering sensor scans of the vicinity at the same time as he flew the Axiom evasively. The tactical screen indicated that Captain Jir-Lazan was doing likewise.
“Nothing on the near scan,” Burner announced.
“I’m expanding the search sphere,” said Larson.
Shortly, the comms officers reported their confidence that the Axiom was not under any immediate threat. Recker reduced the warship’s speed and Captain Jir-Lazan did likewise with the Aktrivisar.
“Scan the planet,” said Recker. “Tell me if we’re in the right place.”
He spoke the words, not expecting an immediate answer.
“Crap,” said Burner. “Look at this.”
An enhanced sensor feed of Qul appeared on the centre section of the bulkhead screen. Once again, Recker was impressed by the detail, which wasn’t perfect, but was enough for him to clearly see the pattern of imperfections on this s
ide of Qul where the ice had been shattered by multiple collisions from massive objects.
“Impact craters,” he said.
“Not only impact craters, sir,” said Burner. “See these tiny specks in between and in the area around? I’m convinced they were made by a tenixite converter, except some of these ones are way bigger than anything we saw on Oldis.”
“Way bigger?” said Eastwood. “That doesn’t sound like a positive development.”
“No, it doesn’t,” said Recker. “How many impact craters?”
“Thirty, maybe more. Some are overlapping and it’s not easy to separate them.”
Recker couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. The planet had suffered enormous damage and he knew he was viewing the outcome of a large-scale confrontation.
“Daklan?” said Aston.
“Impossible to tell from here, Commander,” said Larson.
“We’re not going any closer,” said Recker. “Not yet.” He took a deep breath. “Get me Captain Jir-Lazan. We need to have a talk.”
Chapter Nine
“We extracted data from a tenixite converter one of our heavy lifters salvaged from a planet,” said the Daklan, his words becoming easier to understand through repeated exposure. “The cylinder was not operational and had suffered both internal and external damage. Many of its arrays had been forcibly wiped clean, but not all. We located an accessible backup which was only partially erased.”
“It sounds like you weren’t expecting the internal damage,” said Recker, getting side-tracked despite himself.
“We believe the cylinder was subjected to a raid by ground forces, as well as a warship attack.”
“Meklon soldiers?”
“That is the conclusion we reached, though we found no sign of bodies.”
“What did you find on this functioning backup array?”
“Encrypted files. We broke the encryption and discovered a list of coordinates, some of which we believed were Lavorix installations and others which the Lavorix had categorised as belonging to their enemies.”
“What made you send warships to Qul instead of one of the other locations?”
“Intelligence which I am not allowed to divulge.”
Recker held in a sigh. “Yet here we are in the Lanak system, presumably because the Daklan thought something of greater significance was to be found here.”
Jir-Lazan didn’t respond at once and only a faint background hum indicated the comms channel was still open. “The Lavorix had assigned the target at Qul a higher priority than all the others,” he said at last.
“Which is why you sent a whole fleet.”
“Yes.”
“How many, exactly?”
Again, a pause. “Forty, including two of our primary lifters.”
“That’s a serious amount of firepower to lose.”
“It is.”
“Did your fleet have any idea what it was looking for?”
“No.”
Recker paced up and down on the bridge, trying to grasp the motives which had driven the actions of the Daklan war council. Jir-Lazan wasn’t being obstructive, but he was clearly unable to speak openly.
“Why did your war council agree to such a limited response by means of our mission?” asked Recker. “They’ve only committed one ship. And why did they choose to collaborate with the HPA on this in particular?”
“I cannot speak for the war council, human.”
“No, but you can speak for yourself.”
“I imagine the war council did not wish to risk more than the Aktrivisar,” said Jir-Lazan. “It is the only warship we believe is equipped to handle a core override. As for why they agreed an HPA warship could accompany my desolator, that is something I’m sure you can work out yourself.”
As it happened, Recker did have a good idea – he suspected the Daklan were so worried about the Lavorix that they were willing to take a gamble on working with the HPA. That meant they were considering a formal ceasefire and this mission would likely have never happened if it weren’t for the Daklan’s recent losses here at Qul. Assuming those forty spaceships really were lost and, at the moment, it seemed like a safe bet to say that they were.
He asked the big question.
“I am wondering what action you have been instructed to take should this mission stumble upon a weapon or artifact that your war council would prefer to keep for itself.”
Jir-Lazan laughed and Recker had no idea if it was genuine or an act. He suspected the former. “Our two species have fought for many years, human, yet you know so little about us.”
“I disagree.”
“Then you know that the Daklan have no need for subterfuge. When a situation calls for war, we will fight. When it is time for peace, we will settle. There will never be a time when we talk peace while planning for war.”
“Your war council has learned enough about the Lavorix to make them believe they are the greater enemy.”
“Perhaps the Meklon also, though we suspect they are either extinct or on the brink of it.”
Recker had no way to be sure if Jir-Lazan was telling the truth, yet his intuition made him think the Daklan was on the level.
“What happened to the strategy of neutralising the HPA quickly so that the Daklan could focus entirely on the Lavorix?”
“I am not party to such high-level discussions. For the HPA, the reality is that our attacks have stopped. That knowledge should be enough.”
“Perhaps.” Recker felt somehow invigorated by the words of the Daklan, but it was time to move things along. “What does your sensor team make of the surface cratering on Qul, Captain Jir-Lazan?”
“The same thing your sensor team makes of it. Warships have recently crashed into the surface. From this distance, we are unable to identify the wreckage.”
“We have found cylindrical holes, consistent with those made by a tenixite converter, except these ones are much bigger.”
“Yes, my comms team are now searching for another cylinder.”
“You said your fleet came looking for a Meklon weapon or installation.”
“Does it seem so unusual that both sides in this faraway conflict would be equipped with equivalent technology?”
“The Meklon use their Fracture weapon to achieve the same ends as the depletion burst. The effects are not identical.”
“We have many unknowns, Captain Recker. If you are right, these cylindrical holes on Qul suggest that the Lavorix have been here before and may yet retain a presence.”
“Something took out your forty ships. Perhaps the wreckage on the planet’s surface comes from different sources. If so, we will find clues.”
“Yes, that is a possibility. We must continue scanning.”
“I recommend we maintain our current distance.”
“I agree, though my patience is thin.”
“This is not a time for risks.”
“We will see.”
The channel went dead and Recker gritted his teeth. Everything had been going well until the very end of the conversation and now he was concerned that Jir-Lazan might not be prepared for the slow and steady approach.
“Keep scanning,” he ordered. “Find something before our ally decides it’s time to load up the missile clusters.”
A few minutes later, Lieutenant Larson spotted something that provided a clue as to recent events at Qul.
“I’ve detected an object, sir,” she said. “Approximate mass, twelve billion tons, and coasting at fifty-one klicks per second. It’ll pass by within eight hundred klicks of our current position.”
“What kind of object?” said Recker sharply. “Get it up on the screen.”
The object was debris from a spaceship and when Recker squinted, he thought he noticed similarities with the stern of a Daklan annihilator. It was difficult to be certain because the armour plates of this section had suffered an intense missile bombardment, leaving hardly any part of the surface untouched.
“No open receptors,
” said Larson. “I doubt there’s anyone onboard that’s alive, even if the comms hardware was functioning.”
“Captain Jir-Lazan confirms it’s Daklan in origin, sir,” said Burner. “I’ve reverse-plotted the trajectory of the debris and its point of origin was Qul, or more likely somewhere above the planet.”
“This confirms a recent engagement,” said Recker. He watched the slowly tumbling wreckage for another few seconds and then ordered Burner and Larson to re-focus on Qul.
Bit-by-bit, a picture emerged. When – at Lieutenant Burner’s request – Recker held the Axiom stationary relative to the rotation of Qul, some the larger pieces of surface debris became visible to the sensors.
“Not much of the wreckage originated from Daklan warships,” said Burner. “The rest of it must be Lavorix or Meklon. Take your pick which one it is.”
“I’ll choose Lavorix,” said Recker, adding things up in his head. “The Daklan came here looking for a Meklon target which the Lavorix had classified as high priority. What the Daklan found was a bunch of warships waiting for them. They fought and this is the outcome.”
“Which leaves several questions unanswered,” said Aston. “Namely, did the Daklan fleet destroy all of the Lavorix warships and secondly, what happened to the Meklon target that got everyone interested in the first place?”
“And since the Daklan seemed to be on top, where is their fleet?” said Eastwood.
Recker didn’t want to guess and he requested a channel to Jir-Lazan. The Daklan had similar questions regarding the recent engagement but was no more successful in producing answers.
“It seems increasingly unlikely that any of the fleet survived,” said Jir-Lazan, his voice heavy. “My sensor officers believe they have identified fragments of between five and eight of our warships on the surface of Qul.”
“That leaves plenty still missing.”
“Indeed, but those ships have neither returned home, nor contacted the Aktrivisar. Therefore I must assume they are lost.”
“What do you propose?” asked Recker.
“I cannot leave without learning more.”
“I feel the same. It’s just figuring out how to do it without getting blown to pieces. Do you believe the Meklon artifact will be hostile to us?”
Galactar (Savage Stars Book 3) Page 7
