The Star Mother

by J D Huffman

  She took a moment to watch the men she’d designated carefully blast a hole, shot by shot, through the far wall, cutting an outline big enough for their haul’s egress. A problem she tried to think through as their time grew shorter and the exit grew closer to completion was what would happen once they reached the outside. If they made a straight line from the building on the right vector, the other Totality would never notice they’d left, and when the building collapsed or exploded, he would assume they were all killed either by the falling structure or an ensuing explosion.

  Before the exit was complete, the ceiling above them began to buckle quite visibly, holes opening up and large pieces plummeting down, landing on crates of weapons and ordnance. Her heart pounded and she was certain something would blow up any instant. She grabbed one of the cargo movers herself, pushing it toward the not-quite-finished makeshift exit. “Out of the way!” she shouted, rushing as quickly as she could. The fully-loaded cart smashed through the wall, busting the barrier into several pieces that flopped onto the ground around her, and a compromised crate spilled out a few rifles, as well. She didn’t care much about that, as long as most of their haul made it out intact. “Behind me!” she ordered the rest of them, and she mentally pictured where their enemy would have been relative to them, moving directly within his line of sight, knowing the depot still obstructed it. They encountered a few more Totality, survivors from their fight with the perimeter guard, or possibly escapees from Demeter’s assault on the powerplant, or maybe they’d even been tossed this far when William strafed the base. She didn’t know and she didn’t care—she plowed right through them, ignoring their attempts to shoot her. Something cut across her arm but she barely felt it. What she did feel was her helmet cracking. She did not see it at first, until the cracks spread and spread, whiskers of doom drawing themselves over the surface, followed by shards that erupted one at a time, like lifeboats escaping the sinking ship of the helmet. The air departed her lungs, slowly at first but then with much greater urgency until it was all gone and there was nothing for her to breathe in. The horizon grew further away, blackness creeping in from all sides. She wished that she could have at least gasped, but the muscles denied her—there was nothing to gasp and physics were physics. She collapsed into the gray pebbles that covered this dismal ball of rock as the cargo mover rolled on without her.

  Chapter 21

  Patience

  “It was a foolish gamble!” Fred scolded William, who wasn’t in any kind of mood to be bothered about it. Having been given command of the cargo ship for the duration of Sasha’s mission, William considered himself to be the absolute decisionmaker until her return. Why put me in charge if others can countermand me? He was content to ignore Fred’s admonishment.

  “We took out some Totality and the ship survived,” William noted. “That’s what matters.” He was proud of his little strafing run, no matter how much Fred may have objected. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the difference between success and failure with this mission. Sasha’s team looked terribly outgunned and outmaneuvered. Wasn’t her fault—or mine, really. We had bad information. It happens. All you can do is try to cope with it and do the best you can in the moment.

  “They inflicted some damage,” Serim announced. “Nothing serious, from what I can tell. It’ll need to be repaired, though.”

  Fred turned to Serim. “Do we have the proper equipment and supplies to repair it?”

  Serim shrugged. “I think so. In all the rush to get off of Actis I don’t think anyone did an inventory of what we loaded and what we left behind. Someone would have to go through the cargo bay and find out.”

  “None of that matters right now,” William snapped, pacing along the command deck. “We need to get back to the extraction point. I don’t like being out here in the open—we’re too exposed.”

  “Speaking of which,” Serim added, “We’ve got an incoming ship.”

  Of course we do, William sighed internally. “What kind? Hostile?”

  “It’s another Totality ship. A cargo hauler like this one. There weren’t any scheduled for this route but that doesn’t mean anything. They probably change plans all the time.”

  William nodded. “Fine, put us on a course that looks like we’re heading out of the system.”

  “They’re signaling us,” Fred said, reading his own console from across the command deck. “If we don’t answer, they will assume something is amiss.”

  “No kidding,” William said dismissively. “Fine, bring us to an intercept heading and open communications. Keep the video tight on my face. I don’t have one of those scars so they shouldn’t find me suspicious.”

  Fred nodded and let the signal through. A man appeared on a small screen on William’s console. “This is Commander Ornon of Totality cargo hauler ZN8-86. Are you in distress?”

  William shook his head. “No, nothing like that. We’re fine. I appreciate you taking an interest in our well-being, but we’d be just as happy to move along. We’ve got more deliveries to make.”

  “We’re showing weapons damage to your ship,” Ornon said, his eyebrow cocked. The man looked older, his face wrinkled and scarred, but William knew that didn’t necessarily mean anything when it came to the Totality. He could’ve gotten that body last week for all we know. I wish there was a better way of knowing how experienced an enemy we’re dealing with. Maybe he’ll be easily fooled—or maybe not.

  “Yeah, we encountered an Order scout ship and got into a firefight with it. They lost,” William chuckled. “I think they learned their lesson. Or would have, if they’d lived to.”

  Ornon’s face grew grave and concerned. “You’re saying you’ve had signs of an Order incursion into this region? Since their initial breach of the Fortress, they’ve been contained on the coreward side. This is the first news I’ve heard of the Order operating downspin. Cylence will need to hear of this.”

  William shrugged. “Tell ol’ Cylence whatever you think he needs to know. I think there’s no incursion, personally. It was just a lone ship. Probably sent from coreward, like you said. When its mother ship doesn’t hear back, they’ll assume it got caught or destroyed somewhere along the way and send out another. Maybe you’ll get that one!”

  “Or it’s part of an invasion force we don’t know about. No one’s made a full accounting of the Order’s presence within our space.”

  This guy knows an awful lot about what’s going on with the Order, William realized. Maybe I can pump some information out of him. “Commander, I’ll admit I don’t know too much about what’s been happening with the Order. You seem to be relatively well-informed. Care to give me the details?”

  “You should read your data briefs more often, Commander..?”

  Right, I guess he needs a name. “Carnak,” William made up. “Commander Carnak.”

  “Never heard of you,” Ornon grumbled.

  “I’m new,” William smirked. “I’ve only been at this a few weeks.”

  “And they already gave you a cargo hauler? Cylence must have seen a lot of promise in you.” Ornon peered skeptically at his screen. “I certainly don’t see it.”

  “Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence,” William retorted. “I’ll be sure to check my data briefs, like you suggested. If there’s nothing else, I’d like to—”

  “One more thing, Commander ‘Carnak.’” William didn’t like the tone in which Ornon said his alias. This is bad. “Given that you’ve reported an Order incursion into this system and there were shots exchanged, I believe it is standard protocol to make a full report to the nearest senior officer. I am more senior than you by a considerable amount, and we’re not expected for our next delivery for another day or so. I can spare the time to take your report now.”

  He’s trying to trap me. “What do you want to know?”

  “Well, a recounting of the events in question would be a good start. Whe
re did you encounter the ship? Did it fire first? Did it identify itself? Did you perform any detailed scans to determine its point of origin or flight path? Did its occupants make any demands? Did you demand a surrender? I’ll need all relevant ship’s logs for the time period in question, as well: passive scan logs, active penetration scans, EM analysis, damage control records, navigation computer data, weapons discharge logs, and so forth. You’ve likely never gone through the process and I assure you it can be quite a detailed experience. But as I already have the relevant experience, I am happy to assist. I can send my first officer to help extract the data from your systems, if you have no objections.”

  “I think we could manage sending you those records on our own, if you give us a little time.”

  “Suit yourself,” Ornon shrugged. “I’ll give you an hour, and if you’ve not produced the records by then, I’ll send my first officer to assist. I have time to spare but it is not endless. And, by the way, you should do something about all the static your ship’s scanners are generating. It’s damn near impossible to get a signal out because of that.”

  Ornon’s face disappeared from the screen and William’s went white. He turned to Fred. “What are your orders, Commander?” the troll inquired. William tried to read the gray creature’s tone and couldn’t tell if Fred was being subordinate or mocking him. Probably a little of both.

  “Was that his way of saying he knows we’re jamming the weapons depot’s communications?”

  Fred smirked. “Unlikely. I deliberately crafted the jamming signal to look like noise resulting from systems damage.”

  “That was smart,” William commented.

  The troll gracefully emulated a bow. “It is why I am here.”

  “Can you fabricate those logs Ornon asked for?”

  “In an hour? Some of them. Certainly not all.”

  “Can we say our computer was damaged and we lost some of the related information?”

  “He may not believe that. I suspect he does not believe you much at all.”

  “Yes, I know that. That’s why I want to know how much we can fool him.” The Totality are a paranoid lot, aren’t they? “It sounds like your answer is ‘not enough to save us.’”

  Fred bowed his head. “Indeed.”

  “Their weapons aren’t charged,” Serim pointed out. “We could have ours charged and firing at them before they even have a chance to respond. We could take them out quickly.”

  Fred shot down Serim’s idea just as soon as it took flight. “A precise hit on their command deck would be necessary to disable them. Our targeting computer is of middling quality. It can strike relatively stationary targets on a fixed surface—such as a group of individuals holding position on a planet—but if Ornon’s ship evades even a little, we will miss and lose the advantage. In our damaged state, our ship can take far less abuse than theirs.”

  “So, shooting them is out of the question,” William repeated, raising a hand to his chin and lowering his head to meet it. “Fred, start working on those fake logs. Maybe if we give him something, he’ll back off.”

  “I hope that is not the entirety of your plan,” Fred said, his tone dismissive enough for William not to miss it this time.

  “No, that’s not all I have planned,” William shot back. “I’ll think of something. To bring someone over here, they’ll have to dock with us, won’t they?”

  “Yes,” Fred confirmed. “Our cargo areas would be brought end-to-end. Mechanical seals are then engaged and hatches on the ramps can be opened to allow passage between the ships.”

  “Well, what’s better than one ship, but two ships?”

  “That’s pretty daring,” Serim commented. “We have no idea what kinds of weapons they might have on board, or what their crew complement might be.”

  “It’s likely to be more than we have,” William admitted. “What did Sasha leave us, just a couple rifles?”

  “Everything else is being used in the ground offensive,” Serim confirmed.

  “But if we took the first officer and his men by surprise, we could rush the other ship and claim it for ourselves. I bet Sasha would be happy with that.”

  “It would help make up for the fact that you damaged this ship,” Fred replied.

  What was I supposed to do, let Sasha’s people get overrun and killed even though they were facing losing odds? “Now’s not the time to have this argument,” William said simply, intent on shutting it down. “Let’s take the ship. Fred, go ahead and make those fake logs, like I said. We’ll send whatever partial ones we have when the hour is up. That’ll be our show of good faith. While we’re transmitting, Ornon will probably want to link up and send his first officer to help get the rest. I’ll take one of the rifles and I’ll have a volunteer help me take Ornon’s guys unawares.”

  “I’ll do it,” Serim said, standing up from his station. “You don’t have to ask me twice about blasting some Totality.”

  “Good attitude,” William grinned. “A thirst for hurting the enemy is good—to a point. If we can take them quietly, that will let us get into the ship and seize control without too much fuss. Fred, what’s the crew complement of these ships?”

  “Six to ten Totality. Some may have staff slaves, but those are relatively rare.”

  “Okay, so that’s a good thing to know. Serim, if you see people with slave scars, don’t shoot. We can take them with us.”

  “I think we might have a good plan here,” Serim said confidently.

  “Thanks,” William said graciously. “Good to know somebody here believes in me.”

  Fred frowned.

  The time passed slowly, and William didn’t know if it was because his idea of an hour was much shorter than the Totality definition or if anticipation was simply getting the better of him. He stepped over to Serim’s station and checked in with the man he’d thus far found to be reliable and competent at operating the ship’s systems. “Can you tell anything about what’s going on down there? Any status on Sasha and the others?”

  “I am reading energy discharges that look very much like weapons fire. They could also be explosions from the depot—it is hard to tell from this distance.”

  “Is it possible Ornon can detect it, too?” William hadn’t thought about it until that moment, but it was a likelihood he couldn’t ignore. The fact that Ornon hasn’t moved on the depot should be a good sign, though. If he thought something was amiss on the moon, he’d check it out.

  “Possible, but not likely. From this distance, the moon represents a tiny portion of the sky. You may not know much about this ship’s scanners, but I’ve got a good idea of how they work by now. They have a lot of blind spots. Altogether, they only cover about forty percent of the sky. They’re for spotting large objects nearby, not happening across relatively tiny energy discharges. You’d need a bigger ship with more powerful scanners for that. We can only detect it because we’re looking for it—I know where to aim the scanners.”

  William pondered for a moment. “Ornon can’t tell what we’re scanning, can he? If he’s paying attention.”

  Serim shook his head. “He’d have to orient his ship identically to ours then analyze the output of each scanner to find what we’re looking at. I can’t say it’s completely impossible, but like I said before, not likely.”

  “You would do well not to underestimate the Totality,” Fred added. “Thus far, the ones we have encountered have been brutes—the low-level bonebreakers, as it were. That is what we are most likely to find out here on the outskirts of the Fortress. As we penetrate deeper, closer to the Dominix, we will encounter more competent—more powerful—Totality. Ornon appears to me as one of the rarer, more observant types for this region of space. You must consider the possibility that he knows about the situation on the surface and is merely biding his time as he waits for reinforcements to arrive.”

  William hadn’t
thought of that. “He hasn’t signaled anyone, has he?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary,” Fred noted. “Routine traffic management signals, as virtually all ships broadcast within the Fortress. I’ve not seen anything that would draw attention to this location.”

  “And if he’s trying to look up our registry data, we’d notice?”

  “Indeed. I have been monitoring for precisely that sort of message. I will note that nothing they send will be of enough power to break through our jamming signal, which we may wish to rectify to avoid arousing further suspicion.”