by John Filcher
Robert couldn’t take it anymore. “What relics? Don’t keep us in suspense here!”
Ronin smiled, reeling in his captive audience like a hooked steelhead from Lake Michigan. “The jump gate was real, once. All that’s left are a few highly radioactive debris from the battle to control that gate during The Fall. It’s a hot spot now, certain death for any ships passing too close. Some pretty powerful nukes had to have been used to create a death zone like that, and for it to still be a death zone after so much time has passed. We also found two ancient ship hulls hurtling away from the hot spot. One from the old Collective. It was heavily damaged. The other was less so. It was the USS Constitution.”
Robert was floored. “THE Constitution?! Legend says she was the pride of the coalition fleet! What did you find aboard?”
Ronin shook his head. “I can’t tell you what we found on any of those old relics, even if I knew what all of it was.” Notably, Ronin thought, I also can’t tell you we opted to let an AC destroyer become a flying coffin by not warning them about the hot spot.
“Enough about work. I want to find out what my family has been up to!” Ronin announced.
Edward and Sarah were all too happy to fill him in on their musical and sports interests. Julia and Robert had already brought him back up to speed on their schooling while he was out of contact the past few months.
A few evenings later, the family was relaxing around the television in the family room when the program was interrupted with breaking news: “We interrupt this evening’s broadcast to bring you an important announcement from the Confederation Fleet.” said the network’s evening news personality Anna Champlain in her strong, alto voice.
Ronin was instantly focused on her, and not solely because he’d had a crush on her the past few years. The scene changed to the press podium at Fleet Headquarters in Green Bay. An admiral Ronin didn’t recognize delivered the news briefing about Cerberus’ voyage and her discoveries, while a banner at the bottom of the screen scrolled a text summary of the announcement.
Moments after the admiral finished, Champlain’s image again filled the screen over the banner scroll at the bottom. “Once again, ladies and gentlemen, Confederation Fleet has confirmed the existence of pre-Fall jump gates, and the space colonies, Forrestal, Celestra and Solara.
“We’re informed a new type of fleet warship was sent to investigate some coordinates at the far edge of our solar system. Admiralty describes the Cerberus as a heavy cruiser, and her Captain is Dan Ronin of Green Bay, Wisconsin. We will bring any new developments to you as we get them. Thank you, and goodnight. We’ll return you to the regularly scheduled broadcast now,” said Champlain.
“Son, I think you just became the most famous guy on the planet for the moment,” Robert commented wryly, knowing how much his son detested the press.
“I don’t understand why they had to identify the captain,” Ronin groaned.
“Maybe it’s to make you look forward to returning to the ship to escape your newfound celebrity,” his dad responded as he placed his phone on mute because it had already started buzzing with multiple incoming messages.
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it,” Ronin responded in a playfully sarcastic manner as he, too, muted his phone because it was now buzzing with incoming messages and requests for media interviews. “Bah. I’m on a long-awaited vacation. I’m not giving that up to help out fleet media flaks by letting them and their press releases commandeer my personal time.”
Chapter 13
Wayside Station
Weeks later, Ronin and Mueller met outside Admiral Rodding’s office. “You look positively refreshed! Must’ve been a good vacation,” noted Mueller when she caught sight of Ronin’s tanned face. After taking Cerberus back into the dark under her own command, Mueller had a new appreciation for what it meant to operate far away from any expectation of assistance if trouble arose because they would be dead before a call for help was even halfway home. Now she was hoping to start building a better rapport with Ronin and to learn to work together because the danger they encountered while she was in command was sobering.
“I heard it got pretty dicey when that old enemy hull woke up a bit and suddenly tried to take out the research teams and the Bulldogs,” Ronin said by way of reply. It was his top worry.
“Yes-sir, it wasn’t pretty. It was a sobering illustration of how fast something can go wrong when we’re too far away from help if we needed it. You were clearly right about the mindset needed for deep space missions.” Mueller answered. “Being in command drove that point home quickly,” she added. Especially when I realized how much my children’s safety depended on me making the transition to commanding a ship with no expectation of rescue if something went wrong, Mueller thought, but didn’t say aloud.
Ronin decided that merited overlooking the lack of trust he had still been feeling toward Mueller after she disagreed with letting an enemy ship plunge to its death instead of putting Cerberus at risk by warning the enemy ship away. Better stay professional while we work on functioning as a team based on how she responded to commanding a deep space mission, he thought.
“I selfishly admit to having a good time with my family, although we had to avoid crowds and commlink nodes after the fleet’s announcement.” Ronin, said, now responding to Mueller’s initial observation.
Mueller looked startled for a moment. “Why’s that?” she asked.
“I take it you didn’t hear the news? Cerberus is world famous after they announced our discoveries. I couldn’t have my commlink nodes on most of the time because of all the media requests for interviews. My dad could barely go anywhere without someone asking him about his son’s ship, or requesting to talk to me, or to set up an interview. We finally escaped to his cottage up in the woods along the bay shoreline to get away from people,” Ronin said. “It had been tough on my kids and parents to suddenly need to go into hiding because of our missions.”
“My God! I hadn’t heard about any announcement. Guess they didn’t get word out to the ship or to Wayside Station,” Mueller commented as Admiral Rodding opened his imposing wooden office doors.
“Come on in you two. We’ve a lot to cover.”
The three moved to the admiral’s conference table and sat down. “Dan, I trust your vacation wasn’t terribly imposed upon by the timing of the media announcement down on Earth? Those media weenies ignored my request to delay it until you returned.”
Ronin nodded his thanks for Rodding’s understanding of the situation, unsurprised that Rodding knew what had played out. “Thank you, sir. My family pretty much had to escape to my father’s cottage up north to escape the furor. There were reporters camped outside the house and knocking on the doors seeking interviews. It was ridiculous,” Ronin said with a shudder at the visibly distasteful memory.
“Let me offer my sincere apologies for the fleet’s media circus. There was no reason not to wait until you were safely away from that. My sources have confirmed those weenies are paying a price for bungling the timing like that. Something about being assigned to a garbage scow I hear.”
Ronin and Mueller both chuckled at the admiral’s choice of language. Rodding was clearly a man who both understood his people, and would have their backs as best he could. His people reciprocated, and did their best for a good boss.
“Thank you, sir. It’s very much appreciated. What’s next for Cerberus? A public relations tour now that she’s world famous?” asked Ronin.
“Well, so far there hasn’t been any rumbling inside the fleet to send you on a PR tour, which I know you would loathe as much as I would, and enemy activity dictates otherwise. Cerberus is being temporarily detached to the Argo’s latest location. While I would love to send you back out to track down the colonies, priority goes to launching your sister ships. Argo is about to complete two more Cerberus-class heavy cruisers. They’re identical to Cerberus and include all the upgrades
and modifications you’ve outfitted your own ship with.
“You’re to join with a small group of frigates and a destroyer that have been assigned for Argo’s protection. A guarded courier will bring aboard the coordinates as Argo changed locations twice while you were gone. We need those ships, and the AC has ramped up their operational tempo lately.”
Ronin and Mueller both nodded. “Have there been any further developments on the whereabouts of the colonies?” Mueller asked.
Rodding nodded briefly. “Indeed, there has. Not that it helps much, but our scientists and their AI’s have reached an agreement on what they believe is most likely the shark constellation. Consensus probability is 80 percent.”
Mueller sat straighter at that news. “They have? What distance? How did they figure it out?” she exclaimed.
Ronin leaned forward, his curiosity almost overwhelming his self-control as Rodding responded. “The main clue was a pattern of stars forming what appeared to be the letter S. Factor in another clue that the AI discerned from ancient customs is actually related to figuring out where the constellation is.
“The islanders of the South Pacific tell of an old legend about a fisherman casting out his incompetent crew and making them fish from the northern hemisphere while he stays in the south, only allowing them to return to herald the beginning of shark mating season. The only stars fitting this S pattern are some stars in the Big Dipper. When these stars appear in the north over New Guinea, islanders know the mating season of the shark is starting.”
Ronin and Mueller both stared at Rodding as he explained the simplified version of how the constellation was located. “You don’t quite believe me, do you?” Rodding asked.
Ronin chuckled softly in response. “Sir, normally I would think you were putting us on, but unless you’ve become a poker player as skilled as Lieutenant Delacroix, I can tell you’re being serious.”
“A pirate like Delacroix has the card sharking skills to empty the pockets of the best players, but yes, this is totally serious. Unfortunately, we can’t just send you there to nose about and see what there is too see because you won’t have enough fuel to return, or even to do anything once your there. For now, they’re too far away because we don’t have an interstellar gas station you can pull into for a quick fill up.”
Chapter 14
Argo Shipyard
Cerberus’ arrival at the outer marker that was previously placed by the Argo navigation crews was preceded by the ship’s jump flare. “Jump complete, Captain Ronin. Receiving identification challenge from the outer marker now.” announced Perez. “Ident accepted. Coordinates and course received,” he added.
“Captain, two Confederation picket ships are approaching. They’re sending a password challenge,” said Delacroix from his scans station.
“Cerberus. Answer challenge, Taurus.” squawked the lead picket ship pilot into the commlink that opened between the vessels.
Ronin responded, “Send reply, Medallion,” he ordered.
“Challenge accepted. Follow us to the inner marker on course 124.212,” came the reply after a moment’s hesitation.
Ronin looked over at Perez, who nodded. “Acknowledged, follow you to the inner marker on course 124.212,” said Perez. Cerberus accelerated to follow the two small picket ships in to the asteroid field.
“Seems like a rough neighborhood to park a shipyard in,” commented Ronin to Mueller as she stood next to his seat as they watched the front view screen.
“My thoughts exactly! They must have found a safe spot somewhere in here,” Diane replied. They fell silent as Perez did his thing to drive Cerberus through the floating debris. They came to a clearing between a trio of large asteroids that blocked most of the detritus from entering a protected lee in the middle space between them.
“There’s our answer,” she remarked. Argo had parked itself right in the middle of the safe zone, safe from prying eyes.
“Captain, Argo’s not showing up on our scans even though we can literally see it. Too much debris and iron dust blocking the signals,” Delacroix reported.
“Captain, we’re receiving a laser commlink channel. They aren’t using wireless radio. There’s a lot of interference, but I’ve filtered out most of the static it up so it’s usable,” called out Lieutenant Delgado as she put the message over the bridge comm.
“Cerberus, this is Ike Actual. Welcome to the neighborhood,” said a familiar voice.
“Captain Toft! This is Cerberus Actual. We like what you’ve done to the place. Very homey. I understand you’ve got some updated tactical and situation data for us?” Ronin replied.
“That’s affirm, Captain Ronin. A commlink drone is on its way to you now. Security protocols have restricted us to laser commlink when we’re close enough for them to punch through the interference, or using messenger drones. Now that you’re here, orders are that you are the chief in charge of the task force with that fancy looking new ship of yours. Rumor mill says Cerberus has a few secrets and surprises, but no one over here seems to know what they are.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Ronin commented dryly. “The drone is here, we’ll get busy with it. Cerberus Actual, out.”
Ronin looked at Diane as he said, “Lieutenant LeCroy, why don’t you join Commander Mueller and me in the ready room? We have work to do.”
The trio was soon gathered around the table in the ready room as they reviewed the tactical data. “Sensor drones have been sending tactical data by laser into a commlink net to keep messages secure. Otherwise they’ve been running dark to avoid detection. Argo will complete construction of our first two sister ships in roughly two to three months as construction did not start on them at the same time, with a third to follow sometime later. Get those birds in the air, and the fleet will have a lot more options,” Ronin mentioned to get the conversation started.
“Sir, I’d like to send out some Bulldogs to scout the area and see if we can find some holes in our sensor coverage,” LeCroy requested.
“Granted. That’s an excellent idea, then we can see if the current deployment of the picket ships still fits with whatever you might or might not find,” Ronin responded.
“There are plenty of sensors and weapons on the far sides of the rocks that are hiding the shipyard, but I’m guessing they weren’t deployed with Cerberus’ jump capabilities in mind,” Mueller said in a distracted tone as she studied the tactical data.
“Agreed. I’m betting we can spread those further out to create a kill box on transit lanes like the one we used to get in here. Let’s rethink setting up some ambushes, plus let’s make an exit strategy for Argo. I don’t like how it can be trapped in here if the existing routes in and out have enemy ships inbound,” concluded Ronin. “I’ll ask Chief Engineer Lazarus to look into whether Cerberus can create a hidden exit using the gravity produced by our jump drive,” he added.
The team studied the tactical display a while longer, making several more adjustments and a list of things to look into before dispersing to get started.
Mueller returned to the bridge with LeCroy. “Lieutenant Sunderland, this is Commander Mueller. I’ve sent some tactical information to your station for a Bulldog deployment. How soon can your crews deploy?” she asked over the commlink node on her collar to Sunderland.
“Yes, ma’am. I already called my drivers to the pilot ready room. Briefing in 5, then they’ll be away,” Sunderland’s deep Scottish brogue responded.
“Excellent. Work with Lieutenant LeCroy as needed. We need to make sure the sensor net is complete. Mueller out.”
While Mueller handled the Bulldogs with LeCroy and Sunderland, Ronin migrated down to Engineering to talk to Lt. Cmdr. Elvis Lazarus about moving some rocks. As he walked into the Engineering area, he spotted Lazarus immediately.
“Lazarus, I’ve got a crazy idea to run past you,” he began before describing his id
ea to make an exit for the Argo.
Lazarus looked at Ronin like he’d lost his mind. “Well, Captain, that’s a new one. I don’t think anyone has thought to reverse the jump drive’s gravity field to push something away from Cerberus.”
Ronin nodded, “Yeah, I’m thinking it might be possible to temporarily turn Cerberus into an interstellar equivalent of an icebreaker. If we can do that, we can improve the tactical situation out there.”
Lazarus thought for a moment, rubbing his dark brown goatee absentmindedly. “I’ll see if we can do that. That might have other useful applications too.”
“Great! Let me know as soon as you can,” responded Ronin. “I don’t like the situation we’re in unless we can change things to our advantage.”
Bulldogs — Scouting Mission
“Jump 1 complete,” announced Pilot Officer Erin Johnson to Hal Patterson, the rear-seater, as they flashed into space near the outer marker they passed on the way in.
“Scans are clear, no threats detected,” Patterson responded. “Launching drone package now,” Patterson added, someone what unnecessarily because Johnson could feel the slight jolting as they left the Bulldog. “Prepare to jump.”
Bulldog 1 flashed away again while the drone package spread out and scanned the area. Bulldog 2 appeared above the asteroid belt.
“Jump 1 complete,” said Pilot Officer Ensign Helmut Meyer.
“Launching drone package number 1,” replied Pilot Officer Sophie Schmidt, from the rear seat as her words were accompanied by slight jolts from the launches.
“Prepare to execute Jump 2,” Meyer quickly said, as he jumped the Bulldog again. Bulldog 3 repeated the same process below the asteroid belt.
It felt like days passed before Meyer announced, “Jump 15 complete,” said Meyer.
“Final drone package away,” confirmed Schmidt as they launched the last set of drones.
“Preparing for jump 16,” Meyer noted.