“You have my word, Tei,” Brenda said a little late and felt guilty for saying it.
“I thank you,” Kerttu said, “but I will not reveal anything that might compromise Keep security or their locations.”
James was a little put out by that, but Brenda actually felt happier with the problem out of the way. If Kerttu did not reveal any secrets, she did not have to worry about reporting what she did reveal.
They had to stop briefly when they reached a huge vault door. Kerttu was required to input some kind of code to open it. The door reminded Brenda of an airlock from the outside, but when it opened she realised no air lock was ever built so strong. It was designed like a cork. It was round and stepped down in diameter with the largest size outer most.
“That is the biggest blast door I have ever seen!” Sheryl said in awe. “How heavy is it?”
“I do not know,” Kerttu said in surprise. “I am a warrior not an engineer, but I am sure I could find out for you.”
“No, that’s all right.” Sheryl said as the door completed swinging open.
Kerttu led them inside and the door slowly swung closed with a hiss of compression seals. “This is a vacuum chamber. If ever the door is attacked, it is hoped the lack of atmosphere in here will prevent the shock being transmitted to the inner door.”
“It has never been put to the test?”
“A prototype was tested in the outer belt where it was bombarded by the fleet. The results seem to indicate the inner door can resist a ten-megatonne detonation but only as long as this chamber remains uncompromised. Should the outer door succumb, there are two more of these chambers to breach before the Keep itself is breached.”
Sheryl was an engineer chosen to join the contact team to evaluate the Shan’s technical knowledge. If anyone was qualified to judge the effectiveness of the Keep’s defences, it was she.
“An impressive system, Tei, but have you hardened the Keep against other forms of attack?”
“Such as?”
“Were this on an Alliance world I would expect to see shields, heavy weapon emplacements, and perhaps even nano assemblers.”
Kerttu was interested. Her ears were pricked forward and her nose was twitching as if she scented something on the wind worth her time. “Weapons we have, but I do not know what shields and nano assemblers are. You must explain these things to me.”
“I would be honoured to do so, but to understand my discipline you would need to study for many orbits. Let me see if I can simplify what I mean,” Sheryl said with a frown. “Nano technology is simply the use of microscopic robot machines to perform pre-programmed tasks. We use them for all kinds of things from performing intricate surgery to building components for an Alliance dreadnought. In your case, you could use them to repair damage to the door the instant it was detected by the nanites. If set up properly, they can be used to reverse the damage even as it is occurring, which would increase the life of the defence this door represents.”
Kerttu’s nose was twitching and it was obvious how pleased she would be to have nanotech to enhance her defences. “And the shield?”
“That is both easier and harder to explain. Shields are three fold. First is the physical armour to withstand impact forces, but you have that. Alliance armour is designed to resist energy weapons as well. The surface of the armour should be as reflective as possible to deflect the beams, and finally we have shield generators, which produce extremely intense magnetic forces using the jump vanes of a ship to deflect charged particles. Shields are best used on spacecraft, but they can be adapted to work in a planetary environment… after a fashion. They are rarely used in atmosphere, and to be blunt Tei, I would not recommend doing so.”
“Why not?”
“Because, should the unthinkable occur, the generators could be destroyed liberating all the energy they have stored. Aboard ship there are ejection mechanisms and blow out panels to reduce damage, but within your mountain here it would be a disaster.”
“Dangerous indeed, Sheryl.” Kerttu said. “More dangerous than it is worth surely?”
“Not aboard a warship going into harms way, Tei. A ship without shields would be easy meat for the Merkiaari.”
“Our fleet does not have these shields, but the Murderers will not find them easy.”
“I did not mean to imply—” Sheryl began as she realised that her comments could be taken as a condemnation of Shan defences.
Tei’Kerttu’s ears twitched. “Be at ease. I have heard the Alliance will help us in many ways if we join.”
“That’s true,” James said as the inner door opened and they progressed further into the Keep. “You have done wonders here, but with the help of the Alliance I believe you will create many more.”
Brenda smiled at James’ eloquence. He had come a long way from the shy professor of history she had known back in Oxford. Somehow, James had become the unofficial leader of their group and he was good at the job.
Kerttu escorted them through each of the blast doors and vacuum chambers and into an elevator that went down deep below the mountain. Brenda stepped out of the elevator and into the Keep proper. It was truly huge just as she had guessed. Sub-level one was the equivalent of twenty stories below the main entrance, a very long way, but there were ten more levels containing living areas, workshops, hydroponics, schools, weapon storage, life support, kitchens… everything needed for the Shan to live separated from the surface for years.
“Each level is hardened against penetration by the Murderers and can survive independently of the others for as many as four cycles.”
“Only four days?” Sheryl said in disapproval.
Kerttu’s ears flattened to her skull at Sheryl’s tone. “That is the maximum time we estimate it would take the Murderers to find and kill everyone on a single level. If we cannot retake the infested level in four days, my people would be dead and more life support capacity would be pointless.”
Brenda moved to the safety railing that edged the walkway and looked over into the abyss. The floor was so far down it was almost out of sight. She thought she could see water shimmering down there, but could not be sure. She counted the levels down and came up with all ten, but the visible sections were as nothing compared with the areas hidden in the depths of the mountain.
In the roof of the cavern were huge lights, but most were unlit, the orange glow coming from those that were powered was just enough to see the details. In the centre was a huge round pillar gleaming metallically; it reached from the roof all the way down into the depths.
“What is that?” Brenda said pointing.
Kerttu joined her at the rail. “The core; power generation, water recycling, and primary life support. My control room is there and of course the security centre including barracks and weapons storage.”
James moved to the railing beside her and leaned over the edge. “I assume you have enough weapons for all your people Tei.”
“There are weapons caches on each level, but all my people carry their own. Everyone knows they are to bring their beamers with them when the time comes.”
“So it is true,” Bernard said. “You do train all your people to fight.”
“It’s true. Only cubs below the age of five orbits and those too old do not fight.”
“The central area is too open,” Sheryl said. “A bad weakness in the Keep’s design. It provides a possible access for Merki wishing to move from one level to another.”
Kerttu dropped her jaw in a grin. “Any Merki showing itself would die instantly. The core is the most heavily guarded section. Do not be fooled by what you see here. The Keep is on power down. When fully activated these walkways can be sealed off—see the shutters?”
Brenda looked up at the overhead. Along the edge of the walkways were heavy looking blast shields that could drop down just beyond the railing she was leaning against. The effect would be like adding a steel wall along the walkway to create a corridor with no other exit from the level but the elevator.
/>
“If the shutters are breached the Merki will find themselves under fire from every quarter by automatic weaponry controlled by security.”
Brenda squinted at the walls trying to make out details. They were too far away to be sure, but she could see dozens of hatches that she assumed housed beamers and other weapons designed to protect the Shan. Brenda nudged James when she noticed the others drifting away to follow Kerttu, and he left the rail to join them.
Brenda took one last look at the cavern before trotting to catch up.
18 ~ Doomsday
Fortress Command, Kachina Twelve, Child of Harmony
It was a small thing at first; a barely detectable blip on a display in the heart of a heavy fang that had alarms wailing. Moments later, the alarm was silenced when the ship was blown to pieces by capital ship missiles.
The destruction of Vasuk was noticed, and the Shan fleet turned to investigate. It took the destruction of another heavy fang for the horrible truth to dawn.
The Murderers had returned.
Tei’Kerttu hurried into command central, and stopped to stare up at the huge screen displaying a system wide scan. Glaring red icons winked at her as they advanced in system, while a pitifully small number of cool blue ones, heavy fangs of the Fleet, moved to intercept them. She shivered in dread. There were so few. Even counting the light fangs and the Human ship, the Murderers outnumbered them.
The elders had yet to contact her, but already it was obvious what must be done. The Murderer’s ships outnumbered the Fleet. She must proceed with the assumption that landings would take place. Her hackles rose and her tail lashed in agitation. She hoped to be proven wrong, but it was safer to err on the side of caution. She dragged her eyes away from the screen, and looked over the railing at the floor below the command platform she stood upon. There was no overt panic among her staff, but she could feel it all the same. Everyone was tense. She heard it in their whispered announcements and reports, saw it in the cant of their ears, and scented it upon the air.
“Bring us to alert status one,” she announced.
For just a moment, all eyes were focused upon her, and silence greeted the announcement. The order was hardly unexpected under the circumstances, but to actually hear those words was something everyone had hoped never to hear. An almost audible sigh swept command central, punctuated by her staff turning back to their consols.
“I hear,” Kon’Tirun said from behind her, and keyed a security sequence into a terminal. Tei’Kerttu moved to join her.
Throughout the keep, alarms sounded and personnel ran through corridors to arm themselves. Thousands of warriors threw on their harnesses and checked their beamers, while technicians closed circuits long dormant. Lights throughout the facility came up full, punctuated by the still strobing emergency beacons that had been designed to lead people deeper into the keep’s protected environment.
Pumps began pumping, air filters long unused within the deepest levels of the keep, began filtering out non-existent radiation and poisons. Non-existent, but perhaps not for long—the Murderers of Harmony were coming. Blast doors rumbled open throughout the keep ready to accept the millions of frightened people destined for Kachina Twelve, while above ground, hidden within the surrounding forests and hills, missile silos powered up awaiting the launch command.
Tei’Kerttu watched in silence as her command centre came to life around her. Lighting remained subdued, but the view-screens provided more than ample with which to see. One section remained dark—fortress control. Its operators watched their comrades working from a sea of darkened screens. Their section was by far the largest. It commanded awesome firepower, yet they remained inert.
She flexed her claws and made a decision. “Power up orbital defence net.”
“I hear,” came the quiet response from Kon’Danu at fortress control, and the lonely island of darkness was gone, replaced with busy paws and flashing symbols upon computer screens.
Another huge view-screen burst into light overhead. This one was a diagrammatic representation of Child of Harmony. In orbit of the planet, huge fortresses were even now powering up—their computers and weapons running complex self-tests. Fire control computers reached out to their brothers in the neighbouring fortresses until, with their defences now linked, Child of Harmony was ringed with targeting sensors reaching into the depths of space looking for something to kill.
Tei’Kerttu watched as one after another, the fortresses populated the view-screen, but suddenly her attention was taken by another screen showing a situation map of the Kachina Mountain range and its hidden keeps. Kachina Eight was fully online according to the information displayed. One through six were at alert status two, well on their way to full activation that was alert status one. Blinking icons, representing still more keeps, informed her of facilities still at power down.
“This is not happening fast enough,” she growled. “Any word from the elders?”
“No, Tei,” Kon’Tirun said. “Should I try to contact them again?”
Tei’Kerttu tapped a claw in irritation upon her panel. “Why are so many keeps still at alert three?”
“It takes time, Tei. We were already at alert two because of the Humans.”
“Too long… it’s taking too long! Contact Kajetan. Insist that I speak with her if you must, but hurry.”
“Yes Tei,” Kon’Tirun said and her paws flashed over her panel.
Aboard Naktlon in orbit of Harmony
Tei’Varyk crawled through the opening followed by Tei’Colgan. “…and from here back to ammunition storage bays. Should it happen that this area is breached, the transfer system is fully automated.”
“Very impressive, Tei. I’m thinking our R&D people could learn a few things here.”
That pleased him greatly. Tei’Varyk was proud of his new ship and was glad to hear others found merit in Naktlon’s innovations. Naktlon was the newest and most powerful heavy fang ever to leave the shipyards. He was just about ready for testing.
Kajika had howled in pleasure when he saw the size of his ammunition storage. He had three times Chakra’s torpedo capacity, and twice his energy range. Naktlon was the most combat capable heavy fang yet built. Even so, Tei’Varyk secretly missed Chakra. Many of the crew had stayed with Tei’Unwin, and he missed them. He was thankful the command crew had come with him in its entirety.
“When do you plan on taking her out?” Colgan said.
“He is ready now,” Tei’Varyk corrected. “Kajetan has ordered a patrol of the outer asteroids.”
“Good choice. You can test his guns out there.”
He flicked his ears in agreement. That was the main reason for choosing the asteroids. They were a perfect testing ground for this kind of thing.
Tei’Varyk led the way through the ship towards the command deck. “Let us see what James is doing.”
“You know, when my people arrive to talk with the elders, I’ll most likely be ordered outsystem.”
“Where will you go next?”
Colgan shrugged. “We had just jumped into an unexplored system when we received your transmissions. We’ll go back to finish our survey. It’s roughly thirty light years from here. Canada’s mission is exploring new systems, cataloguing what we find and sending the data back to the Alliance.”
“It must be an amazing experience. I would give anything to be there with you.”
“Perhaps one day you will be.”
Tei’Varyk grinned. “I look forward to that day. What is the name of the system?”
“The one I was exploring?” Colgan said and Tei’Varyk flicked his ears in agreement. “It doesn’t have a name. We use catalogue numbers. There are billions of suns, and perhaps seventy percent have planets; too many to name my friend. Even our capital system has a number, though it has a name as well of course.”
“Ah?”
“Earth is the capital world of the Alliance as well as homeworld to the Human race.”
“And the system?”
&
nbsp; “We call it Sol, named for its sun.”
“Sol?” Tei’Varyk sounded the name experimentally. “A good name.”
Colgan smiled. “We like it. I’ve not heard the name of your sun.”
“It is simply The Sun. What need for another name when it’s the only one?”
“When your fleet journeys beyond Shan space, your people will find new homes and will name them as we have done.”
“And the Great Harmony will be reborn,” Tei’Varyk said almost seeing that day. “Not in my lifetime, Tei’Colgan, but perhaps my cubs will see it.”
“Perhaps it will be sooner.”
“Let us hope.” They entered the command deck. Jozka was at his station talking quietly with the maintenance crews. “Jozka?”
“Tei?”
“Where is James and his people?”
“They have just landed, Tei.”
“Landed? Landed where?” Tei’Varyk said looking back at Colgan who shook his head. “Why was I not informed?”
“I did not know you wished to be,” Jozka said. “Have I failed you?”
“No. I should have asked you to inform me. Where have they gone?”
“Zuleika… should I contact them?”
Zuleika was a city on Child of Harmony. The main port was located nearby on the coast. The city was a very fine place to visit and he was glad James would see it.
“No. Continue your duties.”
“I hear,” Jozka said and turned back to what he had been doing.
“It seems we have missed them.”
Colgan shrugged, and then grinned. “Not to worry. Ships are my passion, not cities.”
“I hear,” Tei’Varyk said with a jaw-dropping grin of his own. “Perhaps you would like to go outside?”
“Love to. It just so happens that I have my helmet with me.”
Tei’Varyk twitched his ears in amusement. He liked these Humans, more and more. “Let us go now…”
Jozka yelped in surprise. “Tei!”
Tei’Varyk spun away from the hatch, and was back at Jozka’s side in three strides. His heart sped when he saw the shock on Jozka’s face. “What is it?”
Rogue Stars Page 146