Modulus Echo

by Toby Neighbors

  “You’ve lost your mind,” Duke Simeon said. “We should have her sedated before she dooms us all.”

  It wasn’t a terrible idea, but General Pershing knew that while the duke was next in line for the throne, only the queen could truly garner the support of the Fleet.

  “I’ll do it myself,” Duke Simeon said. “I’m in charge now anyway.”

  “No,” Pershing said. “You may be the heir, your lordship, but if you try to take control now, you’ll look like a usurper. We need the queen.”

  Queen Ultane stood up. Duke Simeon was taller, but the queen managed to look down on him despite being shorter. Pershing wanted to slap the haughty look right off the queen’s face, but she needed the queen on her side.

  “You see, Simeon, I am in control here. You have always been jealous, but my husband and son still live. I know it in my heart.”

  “You are delusional,” Duke Simeon said.

  “Give me your approval,” General Pershing said. “And let me bring the Fleet back here to fight this threat and free the captives.”

  “I’m not convinced that you’re right,” Queen Ultane said.

  “What must I do to convince you?” General Pershing said.

  “I will think about it,” she said.

  General Pershing realized it was as much as she was going to get at the moment. She had hoped the queen would see reason, but her life of entitlement had warped her mind. General Pershing realized she would have to take a different approach to get the queen on her side.

  “Thank you,” General Pershing managed to say, even though the words were bitter and made her want to rip out the queen’s hair.

  “What is the plan now?” Duke Simeon asked.

  “We’ll collect the surveillance drones, reset them, and then return to the Yelsin system,” General Pershing said. “From there we’ll make plans to get you and the other royals to the Mersa system.”

  “I don’t want to go to the Mersa system,” Duke Simeon said. “As the rightful ruler of the Royal Imperium, I will take control of one of our ships and help lead the fight against these alien intruders.”

  “The little boy, playing admiral,” the queen said in a mocking tone. “How cute.”

  The duke glared at his aunt with undisguised loathing. Pershing didn’t expect the duke to be of much help, and he might even be a liability to her plans, but at least he was willing to face the true enemy. She wasn’t even sure she could find a ship’s captain willing to do that much.

  Chapter 31

  Ben sat hunched over his workbench. He could feel beads of sweat springing upon his forehead, but there was no time to swipe them away. He held microtweezers in one hand, and a soldering iron in the other. He kept a picture of the broken wave generator on his workstation display, and he had plenty of green chip boards to work with, but microchips were tedious to build by hand. A computer could stamp out the tiny chips by the thousands, but it was taking all Ben’s concentration just to recreate one.

  “What is this?”

  Ben wanted to curse, but instead he sat up and swiped at his forehead with his shirt sleeve. The queen was followed by Duke Simeon and Staff Sergeant Visher.

  “I believe this is Engineering,” Visher replied.

  “That’s right,” Ben said.

  “I think my father had a Kestrel class ship,” Duke Simeon said. “He liked collecting and restoring the old luxury yachts.”

  “I hope he did a better job than this,” Queen Ultane said, staring directly at Ben.

  It occurred to him that the queen enjoyed upsetting people. Her barbs were aimed at specific targets, as if she gained some sort of perverse pleasure from the distress of others.

  “The engineering bay isn’t designed for luxury,” Ben said, forcing a smile. “But we’ve put a lot of effort into making the upper deck as nice as we could. Why don’t you—”

  “Please don’t try to tell me where I belong,” the queen said as she approached Ben. “Where are you from?”

  “I was born on Torrent Four,” Ben said.

  “And this was your family’s ship?”

  “No,” Ben said. “She was abandoned in the salvage fields. I restored her myself.”

  “What school did you attend?” Duke Simeon asked.

  “I didn’t,” Ben confessed.

  “What are you saying?” Queen Ultane demanded. “We’re in a ship that has no trained engineer?”

  “I know this ship from top to bottom,” Ben said. “I’ve scoured every inch of her hull, checked every one of the heat tiles, and gone over every inch of wiring. I rebuilt the main drive and the fusion reactor. I’ve made repairs on every major system on this ship. I may not have a fancy degree, but I know the Echo and I’d trust her more than a brand-new ship.”

  “Your arrogance is off-putting,” the queen said.

  “It isn’t arrogance,” Ben replied calmly. “It’s just that sometimes things are learned in a hands-on manner that can’t be taught in a classroom. Besides, I was never given the chance to go to school. On Torrent Four, only the wealthy have a chance to be educated.”

  “And your family wasn’t wealthy?” Queen Ultane surmised.

  “No,” Ben said. “My parents were poor. They disappeared when I was eleven years old. I was forced out of the tiny apartment they rented. Without family, I was on my own. I had to learn how to survive in the salvage fields.”

  “It’s tragic,” the queen said, without an ounce of sympathy in her voice. “But look at you now. Captain of a... a... what kind of ship is this?”

  Staff Sergeant Visher looked down at his feet, suddenly uncomfortable. Ben realized that the queen truly didn’t realize what ship she was on.

  “The Modulus Echo is a smuggling vessel,” Ben said. “We take cargo in closed systems and run blockades.”

  “You’re outlaws?” Queen Ultane asked, actually surprised for the first time. “You brought the royal family aboard a ship full of criminals?”

  “They’re not outlaws,” Visher said quickly. “The crew are all good people, Your Majesty.”

  “We have something your Fleet doesn’t,” Ben added. “Or at least we will if I can get this wave generator working again.”

  “What could this little ship have that our Royal Imperium vessels do not?” Queen Ultane demanded.

  “A flux shield,” Ben said.

  “What’s that?” Duke Simeon asked.

  “It’s a gravity wave shield,” Ben said. “It creates a powerful flow of gravity around the ship, which deflects laser beams and missiles.”

  “Where did you get this shield?” Queen Ultane asked. “Why do you have one when our ships don’t?”

  “Our ships have deflector shields,” Staff Sergeant Visher said. “But they only work against laser energy.”

  “And they require an enormous amount of power,” Ben added. “The flux shield does more with less using artificial gravity.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” the queen said in an icy tone.

  “Your ships don’t have it,” Ben said, “because I invented it.”

  “And you refuse to share this technology with the Royal Imperium because you live outside our laws?”

  “No,” Ben said. “General Pershing and I made a deal that includes turning over the technical specifications of the flux shield. It was her decision to make the Echo her flagship. We agreed to the job so here we are. Alpha team rescued you and now we’re all together on the Echo, but I believe it was the general’s plan to transfer you to an Imperium ship as soon as possible.”

  The queen narrowed her eyes. “Is this the vessel that is responsible for the destruction of our capital ships?”

  Ben looked at the queen, smiling, but wisely keeping his mouth shut. He wanted to tell her everything, to rub his dingy little ship in her face and crow about how they had destroyed the space station in the Bannyan system and consequently destroyed a Royal Imperium battlecruiser in the process. But he was smart enough to know that angering the que
en wasn’t a good idea.

  “Wait, are you saying this is the ship that flew through a black hole?” Duke Simeon asked. “I thought that was just a rumor.”

  “It is a rumor, you fool,” the queen snapped. “It’s impossible to fly through a black hole.”

  Ben nodded his head in agreement. “Impossible.”

  “Finish the tour, Staff Sergeant,” the queen ordered. “This man has work to do.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Visher said. “Through that door is the recreation area.”

  The Staff Sergeant hurried between the large machinery in the engineering bay and opened the door to the recreation space. Ben heard him bark and order for the rest of his commando team to snap to attention.

  The queen was everything he’d imagined her to be: cold, arrogant, judgmental, and cruel. Saving her seemed like a step in the wrong direction, even though Ben knew that General Pershing needed her. The royal family didn’t actually govern the galaxy; they left the work to their cronies who were famous for corruption and abuse of the powers granted to them by the royal family. The queen still had authority, even if she was only royal by marriage. And the general needed her to authorize the mobilization of the Royal Imperium forces.

  Ben turned his attention back to the work at hand. It was slow, tedious labor, but at least it made sense to him. It was something he could control, and there wasn’t much still in his power since General Pershing had come aboard the Echo.

  Chapter 32

  “I think I’ve got one,” Nance said. “Coordinates are on the plot.”

  “I see it,” Kim replied.

  “What are the aliens doing?” Pershing asked.

  “There’s a couple lingering in the space between us and the planet,” Nance said. “I can’t tell if they’re watching us, or standing guard over their new prize.”

  “Time to the surveillance buoy?”

  “About ten minutes at this speed,” Kim replied. “How close do you want us?”

  “The closer the better,” Pershing said, before tapping a button on her console. “Alpha team, report.”

  “We’re suited up and ready to go,” Corporal Dial replied over the com-link. “We’ve checked the specs on the buoy. It should only take two of us to get it on the ship. Corporal Amadi will retrieve the buoy with me. Corporal Miller and PFC Felix are on standby.”

  “Very good, Corporal. Where’s Staff Sergeant Visher?” Pershing asked.

  “Still with the royals, General.”

  “Alright, we’re ten minutes out, with hostiles on the board,” Pershing said. “It doesn’t look like they’re ready for a fight, but you never know.”

  “Roger that,” Corporal Dial said.

  “How is that shield repair coming along, Ben?”

  “I’ve almost got the wave generator repaired,” Ben said. “But I’ll need at least an hour to get it reattached to the art grav gennie and ready for testing.”

  “What’s the status on the auxiliary batteries?”

  “Charging,” Ben said. “They’re almost at half capacity.”

  “Enough to fire the lasers if we have to?” Pershing asked.

  “One barrage, maybe,” Ben said. “But if the fusion reactor goes out, those batteries will be the only thing keeping us alive.”

  “I read you,” Pershing said. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Nance, give me a systems check.”

  “All systems are green, General,” Nance said.

  “I want a jump point set and ready,” Pershing continued. “As close to the buoy as you can make it.”

  “Straight back to the Yelsin system?” Nance asked.

  “Negative,” Pershing replied. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps the ships watching them were just waiting for the Echo to leave the system. If they had the capability of following a ship through hyperspace, following them out would be the easiest way to find another habitable planet or space station to attack.

  “Let’s use your smuggling procedures,” Pershing went on. “We’ll make two intermediary jumps just in case we’re being followed.”

  “Look at that,” Kim said. “Less than a day and we’re already winning her over to the dark side.”

  “I’m no rebel,” Pershing said. “But I can learn from my enemies. Besides, we’re all on the same side now.”

  She could see the buoy in the Echo’s exterior floodlights. It was cylindrical, just over three feet tall, with rows of telephoto lens sprouting from the sides like fat quills on a porcupine. The buoy also had a parabolic dish on top that looked like an old-fashioned hat.

  “Alpha team, what air lock are you using?” General Pershing asked.

  “We’re good to use either, General,” Corporal Dial replied.

  “Good. Let’s use the side air lock. No sense in risking the lives of the royal family.”

  “Roger that. Alpha team will use the side air lock. Moving into position now.”

  “Okay, we’re almost ready,” Pershing said. “Have the aliens moved?”

  “No,” Nance said. “They’re holding their positions.”

  “Good. At least they won’t hit us while we’ve got personnel in the wind. Alpha team, you are a go. I repeat, you are a go, Alpha team.”

  “Roger that, General,” Dial replied. “Moving into the air lock now.”

  Pershing brought up the cargo hanger video feed on her console. Corporals Dial and Amadi looked bulky in their hard-vacuum armor. They just barely fit into the small air lock. She made a mental note of the fact that they would have to return to the ship one at a time since they wouldn’t both fit in the air lock with the surveillance buoy.

  “I want constant eyes on those aliens,” General Pershing said. “If they so much as twitch, I want to know it.”

  “I have sensor readings on them,” Nance said. “There’s some interference from the wormhole, but it isn’t bad. I’ve also got visual scans.”

  “Alpha team is EVA,” Corporal Dial said over the com-link.

  “Copy that, Alpha team,” Pershing said. “Use your tethers. I don’t want any more casualties on this op.”

  “Affirmative, tethers are in place,” Dial responded.

  Pershing watched the two commandos via the Echo’s exterior cameras. They pushed off the ship and floated out toward the buoy. Corporal Dial reached it first and took hold of the handgrips that sprouted on either side like ears.

  “I have the buoy,” Dial said.

  Amadi joined him and used a strap to secure the buoy to his armor. He gave his companion a thumbs-up, and Dial fired his armor’s propulsion thruster to send them drifting back toward the ship.

  “Heading back now,” Dial said. “No problems.”

  “Excellent,” Pershing said.

  “I have the jump point set,” Nance said. “Sending it to the helm.”

  “Okay,” Kim said. “I have it on my screen. Give the word, General, and we’re out of here.”

  “Stand by,” Pershing said as she watched Corporal Dial take hold of the railing just outside the air lock. He hit the switch to open the air lock.

  “Package is being delivered now, General,” Dial said.

  “Very good,” Pershing said.

  Corporal Amadi went into the air lock with the buoy. Dial closed the outer door and waited his turn. Pershing brought up the interior video feed from the cargo bay. When the inner air-lock door opened, the other members of the command team helped Amadi carry it into the cargo hold, which was still crowded with pallets of food and equipment.

  “Corporal Dial, you’re clear to enter the ship’s air lock,” Pershing said.

  “Roger that,” Dial responded.

  “Anything from the aliens?” Pershing asked.

  “No,” Nance said. “They haven’t moved.”

  “All right,” she said. “Time to leave the system. Kim, make the jump.”

  “Aye, aye, General,” Kim said in a playful voice. “Accelerating to jump point now.”

  The ship moved forward. Pershi
ng saw Corporal Dial enter the cargo hold from the air lock. She felt a slight sense of relief. Going back to the Celeste system had been a huge risk, especially without the flux shield, but they had done it without loss of life or equipment. And she had managed to get some valuable intel on the aliens.

  “What should we do with this buoy?” Dial asked.

  “Take it to Engineering,” Pershing said. “I’ll meet you there.”

  “Jumping to hyperspace in three, two, one,” Kim counted down.

  The transition felt the same as it always did. A single second of time stretched as everything slowed, even General Pershing’s own movements. Then everything was normal again.

  “I’m going down to the engineering bay,” Pershing said.

  “Well, I’m going to the ladies’ room,” Kim said.

  “I’ll stay here,” Nance added.

  Pershing ignored their banter. She had no time for the frivolity of their shipboard games, nor was she looking to make friends. When she got to the engineering bay, the surveillance buoy was next to Ben’s workbench. He was seated on a stool, still working on the small wave generator. The commandos were helping each other out of their hard-vacuum armor.

  “We’re in transit,” Pershing said. “Good work, Alpha team.”

  “Thank you, General,” Corporal Dial said.

  “Any sign of the royals?”

  “I think they’ve gone back upstairs,” Ben replied.

  “Once you finish with that shield repair,” General Pershing said, “I need you to see whether you can build a receiver that will access our surveillance drones that are still in the system.”

  “I can handle the hardware,” Ben said. “We’ve got an extendable parabolic dish, and our transmitter works just fine. I’ll just need to get the exact frequency from your device.”

  “In the meantime, can you transfer the feed someplace where I can review it?” Pershing asked.

  “Sure, I guess you don’t want it sent to the upper deck.”

  “Not much chance of getting any work done there,” she replied.

  “Okay, how about the crew lounge, just beside the bridge?”

  “That’s perfect,” Pershing said. “Use what you need, but if we can reposition this buoy when you’re done, that would be helpful. We can’t afford to waste gear anymore.”