“Who knows?” Ben said. “Times like these bring out the worst in some people. But it also brings out the best in others. At least every planet will have a chance to do what the citizens think is best.”
“There will still be dozens, maybe even hundreds of battle cruisers out there,” Magnum said. “If they come together, they’ll rebuild the Imperium or worse.”
“The Confederacy is still out there too,” Ben said. “If nothing else, we’ve evened the odds.”
The Fleet HQ was a huge network of linked modules. There were offices, of course, but also large communication centers, cafeterias, barracks, docking arms, warehouse-sized cargo pods, fuel canisters, and more. All of it was being pulled out of its stationary position beyond the orbital elliptic of the royal family’s home world Gershwin.
The sheer magnitude of destruction was hard to fathom. Ships were still exploding on the edge of the event horizon. Some looked to be getting away, but only a few as the gravity event continued to grow.
“Could it become a star instead of a wormhole?” Nance asked. “With that much mass, it might spontaneously combust, right?”
“No,” Jones said. “Even with the Fleet and space station, it is only a tiny fraction of a star’s mass.”
“So the system is safe?” Kim asked. “It’s not going to gobble up Gershwin or disrupt the system’s gravity field?”
“It shouldn’t,” Jones said, but there was uncertainty in his voice.
They watched the carnage continue. It didn’t take long before the space station erupted in massive explosions. Some of the debris had enough thrust from the destruction of the station to escape the gravity event, but most was pulled down and crushed. The debris seemed to disappear. It was impossible to see much from the distance the Echo was at, but they didn’t have to see clearly to know that people were dying.
“Let’s go back,” Ben said. “Best available speed.”
“You sure about that?” Kim asked.
“We might be able to help,” Nance said.
“The Royal Imperium doesn’t want our help,” Magnum said. “If we go back, they’ll attack us again.”
“We have to go back,” Ben said. “It’s the only way we’ll be free. They have to know we launched the rocket.”
“I think they know that,” Kim said, as she engaged the ship’s main drive.
“They have to know if they come after us, or take their wrath out on the innocent, we have the means to finish them completely,” Ben said.
“We have to go through,” Professor Jones said.
“Through what?” Kim said. “The black hole? Tell me you’re not talking about flying through that ring of total destruction.”
“It will stabilize,” Jones said. “Once the fuel is consumed, it will stabilize.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Kim asked.
“Nance, how long until we reach the gravity event at this speed?” Ben asked.
“Four hours and thirty-seven minutes,” Nance replied.
“We’ve got time to make sure it does,” Ben said. “If it hasn’t begun to stabilize by the time we reach the halfway mark, we’ll turn back.”
“And what about that ship out there?” Kim asked. “The Deception.”
“It’s just a messenger ship,” Ben said. “I think we’ll be okay with them.”
Chapter 50
“What are they doing?” Captain Derringer asked.
Pershing was thinking the same thing. It was difficult to watch the destruction of the Royal Imperium Fleet, but also impossible to not watch. The Brigadier General was running through strategy in her mind. Was she the most senior officer left? The admiral general had been one of the first to die, and while Fleet Admiral Merick and Major General Evander had probably stayed on the sprawling command station, it had been lost too.
There was so much to be done to reorganize the Fleet and prepare for what was to come next. It felt as though her mind couldn’t take any more thoughts or ideas. Then she noticed the little rebel ship moving back toward the battle, if it could be called that. One little ship had managed to wipe out most of the Royal Imperium military. It was hard to believe, even though Pershing had seen it with her own eyes.
“They’re going back,” Pershing said.
“Why? Aren’t they afraid of getting caught in that vortex and destroyed like the Fleet?” Derringer asked.
“Obviously not,” Pershing said. “Which tells us something.”
“It does?”
Pershing moved to where the captain stood, gazing dumbly at the displays where the long-range surveillance cameras were recording the carnage. Pershing grabbed the short woman’s shoulders and shook her for a few seconds. The crew tore their gaze away from the Fleet to see what was happening as Derringer wailed loudly.
“Get a hold of yourself, Captain,” Pershing snapped. “Or must I remove you from your post?”
“N-n-no, General,” Derringer said.
“Good. We have work to do. This isn’t over.”
The tactical officer spoke, “What can we do against a ship with that much power?”
“We must learn,” Pershing said. “The first rule of any engagement is to know one’s enemy. If they’re going back to the scene of destruction, we must know why.”
“I think it stopped,” the surveillance officer declared. “Look at the red ring. It’s not expanding anymore.”
Pershing looked at the ring. She saw a few straggling vessels starting to make some distance between the glowing red ring and their ships.
“I want facts, not guesses,” Pershing said. “What do you have on that thing, radar?”
“Nothing, it’s a void in space,” the radar operator said.
“Give me infrared again,” Pershing snapped.
The picture changed. The glowing red ring grew brighter, but the swirling debris was gone.
“What is it?” Captain Derringer asked.
“That is what we must find out,” Pershing said. “Set a course back to that anomaly. And make sure we get there before the rebels.”
“Helm, make your course 1-0-7, best possible speed,” Derringer ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” the helmsman replied. “Setting course 1-0-7, best possible speed to the anomaly.”
“Communications,” Pershing said. “I want the entire recording from the actions today in the Celeste system copied on three deep-space buoys. Set them for the Yelsin system, care of Major Le Croix.”
“Roger that, General,” the communications officer said.
“Launch the first as soon as you have the coordinates set,” Pershing continued. “But hang onto the others. We might find out something important the closer we get to that thing.”
“How close do we want to get?” Derringer said. “It’s big.”
“Agreed,” Pershing said. “We need to get hard data. How big is it exactly? Is there gas or radiation emanating from it?”
“Something has to be powering that red glow,” Derringer said.
“But is it natural or fabricated?” Pershing said. “Is it safe to approach, or is this space so close to the royal family’s home world ruined? These are the things we have to know.”
“Permission to launch probes,” the surveillance officer asked.
“Granted,” Derringer said. “Launch them all.”
“Look at that,” said the helmsman as they moved closer to the anomaly. “You can’t see the sun anymore.”
Pershing silently cursed herself for not noticing it sooner. They were in the object’s shadow, which seemed odd since there didn’t appear to be anything there at all, just a wide black void. No stars could be seen through it, and the system’s sun had disappeared as they approached.
“How long until the rebel ship gets here?” Pershing asked.
“They’re still over three hours out at their current speed,” the radar controller said.
“Reverse course,” Pershing ordered. “I want to go around the other side of the ring.”
&
nbsp; “I could just send a drone,” the surveillance officer said. “I’ve got one in position now.”
“Fine, do it,” Pershing said. “Put the feed up on the screen.”
It took the little probe a few minutes to circle around the edge of the glowing red ring. The other side was dark, but shot through with veins of glowing light that swirled back away from the ring and shrank down to a point. The object looked like a giant funnel.
“What is it?” Captain Derringer asked.
Pershing sat back in her chair. There was something nagging at the back of her mind. Something important, but she couldn’t think of what it was. After a moment, it hit her.
“The rebel ship,” she said loudly. “It went through a black hole. Send a probe inside the ring.”
“What?” Derringer asked.
“The Modulus Echo is the same ship that escaped Brigton in the Briggs system,” Pershing said. “Everyone supposed it was just a blockade runner or rebel ship. The planet was under heavy blockade and surveillance vessels were sent out along the Echo’s projected course when it jumped into hyperspace. One of those vessels reported it a few light-years away from the Briggs system, but when the cruiser jumped to the coordinates sent by the surveillance ship, it was caught in the gravity well of a black hole. Rumor has it that the Modulus Echo was also in the event horizon and successfully passed through the black hole.”
“That’s impossible,” Derringer said.
“Theoretically, the idea has been around for centuries,” Pershing said. “The gravity of black holes is so strong, some people believe they bend time and space.”
“What does that have to do with this thing?” Derringer asked.
“Look at it,” Pershing said. “Think of what we saw when it was destroying the Fleet.”
“The swirling debris,” the surveillance officer said.
“I’m not getting strong gravity readings from it now,” the radar operator said.
“But it pulled in our ships and ripped them to pieces before crushing them down into nothing,” Pershing said. “Just like a black hole.”
“You think the rebels have a black-hole weapon?” Derringer asked.
“Perhaps,” the General replied. “How close are we on that drone?”
“Approaching the threshold,” the surveillance officer replied.
“Is it scanning? Do we have a feed?”
“Always, General,” the surveillance officer said. “Bringing the camera feed on screen now.”
The screen showed nothing but blackness. The drone was so close that even the red ring was off its wide-angle video feed.
“Send it through,” Pershing said.
“Through?” Derringer asked.
“Through the threshold,” Pershing continued. “Send it into the anomaly.”
“Aye, General,” the surveillance officer said.
For a moment, nothing seemed to change on the display, then suddenly there was a flash of swirling red light. Then the feed abruptly went offline.
“We lost the feed,” the surveillance officer said.
“Was the probe destroyed?” Derringer asked.
“Impossible to say, Captain,” the surveillance officer replied. “I don’t have any readings at all. It’s like it passed the threshold of that thing and disappeared.”
“It’s a portal,” Derringer said, her breath coming in hot little bursts. “That’s how the rebel ship has such advanced technology. They’ve been through it. How close are they?”
“Two hours, forty-one minutes,” the radar controller announced.
“We have to go through,” Pershing said.
“Wait a second,” Captain Derringer protested. “We have no idea what is on the other side of that thing, or if it is even what you think it is. It might just destroy the ship.”
“We’re a military vessel, Captain,” Pershing said. “Playing it safe isn’t what we’re trained to do. The Modulus Echo just destroyed the majority of our Fleet. If we don’t find out what tech they’re using, there will be no more Royal Imperium. Do you understand that? The rebels will hunt us down and destroy us all.”
“We should wait for the drone to come back,” Derringer said.
“And how will that happen?” Pershing snapped. “We control it, but we’ve lost its signal. There’s no way to order it back through the portal.”
“So we wait,” Derringer said. “If the rebel ship goes through, then we can follow it.”
“Unless they close the portal,” Pershing replied.
“Can they do that?”
“Until we know for certain, we must assume they can,” Pershing said. “Whatever is on the other side of that void is the future. Not just for us, but for the Royal Imperium. New worlds, new technology, it could be anything, and it’s our job to find out.”
Captain Derringer nodded but didn’t speak.
“Launch the second communication buoy,” Pershing ordered. “All ahead, helmsman. Take us in.”
Chapter 51
“There they go,” Kim said.
“I cannot believe it,” Jones said.
“Just because they’re the first ones through the wormhole doesn’t mean anything,” Ben said. “You still invented it.”
“Yeah, and destroyed the whole freaking Imperium Fleet in the process,” Kim said. “You’ll be a folk hero, Professor.”
“We must follow them through,” the older man insisted. “I must know if it works.”
“That wormhole could come out anywhere,” Ben said. “Even in another galaxy, for all we know.”
“So we pop through, get a few readings, and come back,” Kim said. “No sweat.”
“Unless the wormhole is just a one-way tunnel,” Ben said. “There are no guarantees that we can come back.”
“Well there isn’t really much to stick around here for either,” Kim said. “I mean, we bought ourselves some breathing room, sure. But we don’t have anything to trade for food or anything.”
“We have knowledge,” Jones said.
“Unfortunately, that’s not going to get us far,” Ben said. “If people find out we have the capacity to make another flux rocket, they’ll hunt us down and force us to make it for them.”
“I am not happy,” Jones said. “This isn’t the way my research was supposed to work.”
“We’ve got an hour until we reach the wormhole,” Kim said. “We should go through or jump from the system. Lingering here isn’t a good idea.”
“Let’s run a quick systems check,” Ben said.
They ran diagnostics and got the ship’s systems back online. The hour passed quickly, and when they finally approached the wormhole, the tension on the bridge was thick.
“Last chance to turn back,” Kim said.
“I say we go for it,” Ben said.
“Speak now or forever hold your peace,” Kim said.
No one spoke, and the ship slipped through the wormhole.
Red lights swirled around them. The artificial gravity made it impossible to feel their momentum, but Ben got a strong sense that they were sliding down a chute. The trip through the wormhole lasted nearly ten seconds, and then suddenly they were on the other side. The darkness of space returned and they saw the familiar sight of stars all around. And in the distance, the Deception was being attacked by a ship with dozens of protracted limbs that were taking hold of the ship. On the ends of the arms were what appeared to be drilling heads, tearing into the ship.
“Wow,” Kim said.
“Scanning the area,” Nance announced.
“What are those things?” Magnum said. “They’re coming right for us.”
“They’re escape pods,” Ben said.
What appeared to be tiny ships, quickly grew as they approached the Echo.
“Should we go back?” Kim asked.
“Not yet,” Jones said. “We have to scan the stars and get a reading on where we are.”
“That will take time,” Nance said.
“Start it,” Ben
said. “Kim, take us down, out of the path of those escape pods.”
“I’ve never seen a ship like that one,” Magnum said.
“It’s making quick work of the Deception,” Kim added as the Echo descended.
“I’ve got another ship on radar,” Nance said. “It’s approaching from the far side of the battle.”
“Should we do something?” Magnum asked.
“I don’t think we can,” Ben said. “We’re down to one laser cannon and the auxiliary batteries are still charging. Besides, it appears the crew escaped.”
“Can you believe we dropped through the wormhole just to get caught by aliens?” Kim said.
“If they are aliens,” Ben said. “They might be humans.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Kim replied. “What are they doing to the Imperium ship?”
“Looks like they’re going to haul it away,” Magnum said.
“There has got to be a better way,” Kim said.
“Look,” Jones said excitedly. “The portal is open on both sides.”
Ben looked down at his console. A view from one of the external cameras on the Echo’s hull showed the dark red energy ring above them. It looked exactly like the one in the Celeste system.
As Ben watched, the escape pods started passing through the wormhole. It gave him a sense of relief to know they could go back, but the ship attacking the Deception was not a good sign. As Ben turned back to the Imperium stealth ship, another pod was sent out with what looked like a puff of compressed air. Ben was just zooming in on the last escape pod when the Deception exploded in a dazzling blast of fire and light.
The alien ship had pulled the Deception in close to the bottom of her hull. When the Imperium vessel exploded, it ripped the alien ship to pieces. It went flying several sections, all moving in different directions and leaking atmosphere.
“Damn,” Magnum said.
“You said it,” Kim added.
“The blast knocked out the escape pod’s thrusters,” Nance announced. “And altered its trajectory.”
“It’s going to miss the wormhole,” Jones said. “We have to help them.”
“Hold on there, chief,” Kim said. “You want to help our enemies?”
Gravity Flux: Kestrel Class Saga Book 3 Page 23