Nullifier (Fire and Rust Book 6)

by Anthony James

  “Wiping out the rest of the Sekar,” said Griffin. “The control entity didn’t divulge how the Nullifier does that.”

  “The dark cannon?”

  “Or something else we don’t know about.”

  “Why make some things easy for us while keeping others hidden, sir?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You are a man who instinctively knows when something is amiss, Captain Griffin,” said Isental.

  “I guess right more often than I guess wrong.”

  “Whichever way your guess lands, the Nullifier will not be able to harm our people. At the end of its lightspeed journey it will be a long distance from populated worlds. We can study it safely. Extract the data from its arrays and hunt out its secrets.”

  Griffin sighed. “I hate not knowing.”

  “A trait I understand,” laughed Isental. “In my younger days I fought a constant battle with impatience.”

  The conversation ended, though Griffin couldn’t get rid of the worries. A part of his mind whispered that the Nullifier might well have been designed for a malicious purpose by a hostile species. Perhaps it was a Sekar construct after all and the aliens wrapped their warships in the dark material that had been clinging to the battleship.

  He growled angrily to himself. Then, another idea struck. Maybe the spaceship was able to read his thoughts through the neural link. Griffin couldn’t take his hand away from the interface bar, so he tried to stop himself thinking anything which might give away secrets. He told himself he was treading dangerously close to madness, but the idea of mind reading wasn’t so totally far-fetched that he could ignore it entirely. In fact, the ULAF had equipment which could read basic human thoughts, so an advanced alien spaceship could certainly go one better.

  It came as a relief when the Nullifier came to the pre-arranged coordinates and Griffin was able to take his hand away from the interface bar. His fingers ached from being held in the same position for so long and he flexed them at the same time as he stared at the sensor feed. Glesia was in the center of the screen – a tiny circle that would have been invisible had the sensors not added a color overlay to highlight its position.

  “We’ve managed to get a comms network in place that also exchanges positional data from the sensors,” said Kenyon, a few seconds after Griffin brought the battleship to a halt. “It’s being hosted on the Westarion’s battle computer and it relies on an update process Lieutenant Murray and I have set up. There’s a fraction of a second delay between updates, but it’s looking like something we can run with.”

  “Good work, Lieutenant,” said Griffin. “Hopefully we won’t see it in action any time soon.”

  “The star charts are going to take longer, sir,” said Dominguez. “I have a feeling much of the Nullifier’s data was gathered by static monitoring tools from a long distance.”

  “In other words, they’ve seen this area of the universe without actually exploring it?”

  “I think so. The ULAF has dozens of deep space monitoring stations doing the same thing. If the method makes sense to us, I’m sure it does the same for other species.”

  “The trouble is, we’re relying memory, sir,” said Shelton. “I know Admiral Yeringar doesn’t want a copy of our star chart data on the Nullifier’s arrays, but maybe we could have a few static screen dumps to refer to? That would help us but won’t give anything away to anyone who’s unfamiliar with how we plot the data.”

  Griffin nodded. “I’ll speak to Admiral Yeringar and get his agreement.”

  That agreement was readily given and the comms team on the Westarion sent over a few hundred images for Dominguez and Shelton to study.

  “Distance and direction. At the same time, we’ve got to think about the velocity,” said Kroll, pondering his own part of the problem. “That’s what I’m looking at now – except I can’t find answers if my queries on the data arrays come back empty.”

  “Can you work around it?”

  “Like most things – given time.”

  “For once, we have some to spare.”

  “Yeah. Until the next emergency.”

  “Keep at it, Lieutenant.”

  Griffin didn’t want to return to his seat just yet and he exited the bridge into the wide, narrow room just outside. Two figures lay slumped in one corner and for a moment, he thought they were dead or injured. He stepped closer and recognized the features of Private Warner and Corporal Brice. They were asleep or trying.

  Conway wasn’t far and Griffin found him speaking with Sergeant Lockhart.

  “Not much to tell, sir,” said Conway when asked. “The same as it was a few minutes ago.”

  “The Nullifier isn’t going to be safe to explore until we flood it with troops, is it?”

  “No, sir. I wouldn’t recommend we leave this area without good reason.”

  Griffin returned to his seat. He was beginning to hate the feeling of incomplete control. An unknown number of Raggers was somewhere onboard and the spaceship itself appeared to be fighting against him. If the situation persisted, Griffin knew he’d end up resenting his time on the Nullifier – his emotions would rule, when his thoughts needed to be clear.

  A full hour passed, during which Lieutenant Kroll managed to crack the velocity problem and declared the data ready for use. Not long after, Dominguez and Shelton figured out how to patch some additional data into the navigational system without revealing anything strategically important to the Nullifier’s control computer.

  “All this cloak and dagger is making me paranoid,” said Shelton. “I feel like checking over my shoulder every time I access a new menu. And I’ve been whispering more than normal.”

  “We’ll get this warship home and hand it over to somebody else to worry about,” said Griffin. “After that we wait for a new ship. We might even be granted a few days’ worth of downtime.”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it, sir.”

  “Are we ready to test out lightspeed travel?” asked Griffin.

  “As ready as we’ll ever be.”

  “Best you all buckle up.”

  The chairs only had a single waist strap to keep the occupant in place.

  “Whoever built the Nullifier must have been confident, huh?” said Shelton. “That’s what I’m telling myself.”

  There weren’t enough seats for Conway and his squad. Besides, a guard had to be maintained on the bridge approaches. Conway had little choice other than to accept the risk of death or injury should the Nullifier’s transition to lightspeed be a rough one, and he passed on the warning to the soldiers.

  “I have transmitted our intended destination to the Westarion, sir. Our escort will aim for the same place.”

  “I don’t suppose they have a way of validating our journey data?” asked Griffin belatedly.

  “I already checked with them, sir. The answer’s a negative. Something to do with the arrangement of the...”

  “Let’s not concern ourselves over it, Lieutenant.”

  With the moment of departure approaching, Griffin was itching to get on with it. He resisted the temptation to throw caution to the wind and instead ordered the crew to check and double-check their instrumentation. Then, he referred to the neural framework. The beginner’s manual as he was starting to think of it, gave precise instructions on how to feed vector data into the vantrium drive and further instructions on how to activate the lightspeed warmup process.

  No matter how hard he searched, other answers remained elusive. The omissions were deliberate, he was certain. Why this might be, Griffin couldn’t imagine. Perhaps the previous crew had been pissing about for reasons of their own and modified the framework.

  “I’m ready, sir,” said Kroll. “I can activate the vantrium drive whenever you give the order.”

  “Lieutenant Dominguez? Lieutenant Kenyon?” asked Griffin.

  “Waiting on the command, sir,” said Dominguez.

  “The Westarion is expecting us to depart any time from now,” added Kenyo
n.

  “I’d like one final update from Glesia, please.”

  “One moment.” Kenyon didn’t take long. “No sign of Raggers, sir.”

  “Inform Captain Conway of our imminent departure.”

  “Done.”

  “Lieutenant Kroll, send us on our way.”

  “Yes, sir. Vantrium drive active.”

  Griffin took a deep, steady breath and waited to find out how the alien battleship handled lightspeed transitions.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The vantrium drive hummed at an increasing volume and Griffin prepared himself for an assault on his eardrums. After about fifteen seconds, the humming got no louder and remained at a level which was more soothing than uncomfortable. A moment later, Griffin felt a slight bump and the bulkhead screens went offline.

  “It’s done, sir,” said Kroll in tones of disbelief. “We’re at lightspeed.”

  “That was unexpectedly smooth,” said Shelton.

  “Please confirm. Check everything,” Griffin ordered.

  “Everything seems fine,” said Kroll. “Wait a moment, what’s this?”

  “Tell me.”

  “It might be nothing, sir. On a ULAF spaceship I’d be able to view the propulsion readings and those would give me an early warning of potential issues.”

  “You can’t see the readings?”

  “No, sir. I don’t know if that’s intentional or not.”

  “Another unexpected feature of the Nullifier,” said Griffin. “How are our passengers?”

  “Captain Conway reports no injuries. He sounded grudgingly impressed, sir.”

  “I’m impressed too,” said Griffin. “That transition was monumentally better than anything I’ve experienced before.”

  “Look at this!” said Shelton excitedly. “Our sensors are obtaining a feed, sir.”

  Griffin caught sight of the bulkhead screens flickering into life once more. He detected dark shapes and movement, like the spaceship was heading through a straight tunnel with irregular walls.

  “What exactly are we seeing?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, sir,” said Dominguez. “It’ll take time to analyze.”

  “Captain Conway, can you take a look at this?” said Griffin on the comms.

  “What is it, sir?” asked Conway, appearing in the doorway.

  “You experienced lightspeed on the Ravok spaceship Zemilius. Do these sensor feeds remind you of what you saw during your time onboard?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Conway with a nod. “It’s been a while, but that looks exactly like what I saw.”

  “Thank you. This makes two different species which can gather visual data when travelling at lightspeed.”

  “How does it help us, sir?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Conway left the bridge, leaving Griffin and his sensor team staring at the feeds.

  “No turbulence either,” said Shelton suddenly. “I wonder why that is.”

  “It suggests the ULAF has an underlying problem with its lightspeed drive tech if you ask me. The Fangrin as well.” said Kroll. “Otherwise the turbulence would affect the Nullifier too.”

  “We can’t dwell on the technical details now, Lieutenant. Not unless they have a direct, practical bearing on our mission to get the Nullifier into friendly space.”

  “It’s interesting, sir. I like to speculate.”

  “It’s interesting to all of us, Lieutenant. Maybe once this situation is resolved we can talk.”

  “We’ve got nearly seven days ahead of us,” said Jackson. “Seven days living on suit nourishment.”

  The sensor feeds fascinated Griffin and he reluctantly drew his eyes back to his console. He saw no alarms and nothing to indicate imminent faults. The status screen which was meant to provide a real time view on the propulsion system output was blank. Griffin reloaded the backend software and got the same result – a blank screen which had been working perfectly before the transition to lightspeed. He did his best to downplay the possible significance. After all, Lieutenant Kroll was the expert and he didn’t seem too concerned.

  Studying his console didn’t provide any additional answers and Griffin gave up after a couple of hours. He felt tired and didn’t relish the idea of sleeping in his chair or on the floor for seven days. Once again, he left the bridge and took himself through the controlled areas of the Nullifier.

  With such a limited force at his disposal, Conway had only secured the room outside the bridge, as well as a single room at the bottom of the steps leading there. Every door and airlift which accessed this area was locked down by Kroll from the bridge. Nevertheless, Griffin didn’t notice a reduction in vigilance, however he did notice something else.

  “Where did you put the bodies?” he asked.

  “Through that door over there, sir,” said Conway. “We moved them before we hit lightspeed. I didn’t want them stinking the place out when the temperature reached normal.”

  “Good idea. It’s going to be another long trip.”

  “What happens when we get back, sir?”

  “I wouldn’t expect a break.”

  Conway almost smiled. “At this rate by the time I retire I’ll have accumulated two years’ worth of unspent leave. Maybe they’ll let me cash it in.”

  “You’ll be able to pay for that beer you owe us, sir,” said Kemp.

  “I’m going to carry that debt until its paid, Private.”

  “New gun?” asked Griffin, pointing at the alien gauss rifle slung across Kemp’s back.

  “Yes, sir. The Captain lets us haul two guns now.”

  “Are they proven?” asked Griffin, knowing full well that they were not.

  “No, sir,” said Conway. “Gilners first, alien rifles second. I’ve seen how much velocity their projectiles carry out of the barrel. A single shot could likely go clean through half a dozen or more Sekar.”

  “If they lined up nicely.”

  “We’ve been doing a lot of close-in fighting, sir. I’d have killed for these gauss rifles back in Refuge 9.”

  “Don’t worry, Captain Conway. This is your area of expertise, not mine. If your soldiers will benefit from these new guns, keep them.”

  “Until they get confiscated for research purposes when we return to base.”

  “It’ll happen.”

  “If we figure out how to manufacture enough of these, it’ll be a real advantage over what we have, sir. And I never thought I’d be ready to turn in my Gilner.”

  “Everything’s coming tomorrow,” said Griffin, “The death pulse, the Nullifier’s propulsion, the new sensor tech. And now these rifles.”

  “You’re going to say that tomorrow never comes, sir,” said Kemp. “The way I look at it, yesterday was yesterday so it makes sense that today is tomorrow.”

  Conway closed his eyes. “Is that right, Private?”

  “Yes, sir. Logic always wins out.”

  Kemp’s failed attempt to be clever drew in other soldiers, eager for a diversion.

  “I’ll let you get on, Captain Conway.”

  Griffin left them to it and returned to the bridge. Nothing had changed and his crew were engrossed in their duties. He waited to find out if they’d learned anything useful. Nobody spoke and Griffin sat.

  The hours passed with agonizing slowness. Gradually, the crew weaned themselves off the neural framework and Griffin did likewise. The consoles were visibly different to anything in the ULAF, yet the underlying principles were the same – just accessed or operated differently. By the end of the sixth hour at lightspeed, Griffin was confident he could put up a good fight if the Nullifier encountered hostiles.

  “I need a rest soon,” said Dominguez. “Are we taking boosters?”

  Griffin gave it some thought. “Does anyone have any specific, immediate concerns about the Nullifier?” he asked. “If not, I’ll make up a list so we can get some sleep.”

  Everyone was running on empty and Griffin drew up a list. Without beds, the off-duty personnel wer
e obliged to lay on the floor or stay upright at their stations. It wasn’t comfortable but at least a suit visor would darken to opacity, leaving the suit’s occupant with a degree of isolation.

  Kroll, Murray, Jackson and Shelton got their four hours and they elected to remain on the bridge. The others looked exhausted, as if this comparative quiet was a reminder to their bodies that it was time to rest.

  “Four hours to go,” said Kenyon. “I’d better not take a stim shot.”

  “Not unless you want to be wide awake when you’re relieved,” Dominguez agreed.

  By the time it was his turn, Griffin’s eyes were heavy. He found a seat in front of one of the backrow consoles in the far corner. Dominguez sat next to him and smiled. She looked exhausted as well.

  “Four hours ain’t gonna cut it,” she said.

  “I’ll be thankful if I get four.”

  “You can sleep anywhere, sir. I’ve seen you do it.”

  “Yeah.”

  Next thing Griffin knew, his HUD alarm was dinging to remind him that four hours were up. He suppressed a groan and shook his head to clear the grogginess. In the adjacent seat, Dominguez stirred, evidently reluctant to heed the alarm’s call.

  Once the clinging tendrils of sleep withdrew, Griffin felt better than he had before. His mouth was dry and he sucked on the straw inside his helmet. The water was – as usual – warm and unquenching and did little to clear the film from his tongue or the insides of his cheeks.

  He rose and patted Dominguez comfortingly on the shoulder. In response he was treated to an expletive aimed at the universe in general. Thirty seconds later, Griffin was back at station.

  “Anything to report?”

  “Nothing, sir,” said Kroll, stifling a yawn.

  Griffin detected something unspoken and he turned. “Nothing?”

  “I’ve been poking around a little bit,” Kroll admitted.

  “And found nothing.”

  “That’s just it, sir. I was thinking about what you said – how some of the neural framework seems to be missing and how it all seems too selective.”

  “Like the missing bits are deliberately missing.”