“Sir, all of the ship traffic appears to be ignoring the Druins,” reported Nower.
Dylan glanced at the tactical display. “I would say this might be a permanent force of ships stationed here.”
Derrick nodded. “It’s possible. If there was to be a major revolt, it would most likely start on one of the core worlds. By keeping a force of battleships in orbit around Golan Four, it keeps all the core worlds in line.”
Derrick turned toward Navigation. “Lieutenant Viktor, move us closer to one of those freighters and then scan the planet. If the Druins detect the scans, perhaps they’ll assume they’re coming from the freighter and not us.”
“You could be putting that freighter in danger,” warned Dylan.
“Maybe, but we need to know the condition of the planet, and this is the only way I know to get it.”
Derrick watched the tactical display as the Destiny moved closer to the freighter, which was about twice the size of the light cruiser. When he was satisfied they were close enough, he ordered Nower to begin her scans.
“See if you can get a close-up of the palace,” ordered Derrick. He wanted to see if it was even there. As far as he knew, the Druins had not bombed Golan Four.
The view on the main screen changed as Golan Four grew larger, and then the capital city could be seen. In the heart of the city the palace still stood, but it was obvious it had been abandoned. The once magnificent gardens were overgrown; several of the arches and towers had collapsed, and the roads leading to the palace were full of cracks with vegetation growing in them.
“I would guess the palace is off-limits,” said Dylan.
“It was a symbol of the power of the Empire,” replied Derrick, feeling shaken at what he saw on the viewscreen. “Now it’s a symbol of the weakness of the Empire. A constant reminder of what happens to anyone who goes against the Confederation.”
“What does the rest of the planet look like?” asked Dylan.
Derrick had the screen adjusted to move across the planet. Much of it looked as it always had, though it appeared the Human population was greater than what it once was. Many of the pristine parks and preserves now had small cities in them. Much of the land had been broken up for crops and livestock.
“Sir, two of the Druin battleships are moving in our direction,” reported Nower, sounding nervous. “They may have detected us.”
Derrick nodded. “Stop the scans. Lieutenant Viktor, move us away from the freighter.”
The Destiny accelerated rapidly away from the freighter. The two Druin battleships reached the freighter, and, from one, a shuttle appeared, which immediately docked with the cargo vessel.
“Druin soldiers,” muttered Dylan with disgust. “They’ll go on board, search the ship, and demand to know why scans of the planet were made.”
Derrick looked at Dylan. “Will they do anything to the crew?”
“They’re Druins,” replied Dylan. “Most likely they will kill a few to set an example.”
Feeling ill that he might have caused some innocent deaths, Derrick turned toward Lieutenant Viktor. “Set a course for Ambary Two. I want to see what condition it’s in.” Ambary Two was another Human core world. Derrick wanted to know if Druin ships were there as well.
-
Andrew had been quiet through all this. He had been very disappointed in the current condition of the palace. In the computer library on Pallas were videos of what the palace had once looked like. It had been the grandest structure in the Human Empire. To see it now, lying in ruins, had been difficult. He could only imagine how Captain Masters must feel.
Andrew had also recorded numerous messages and data feeds from Golan Four. He hoped in the future, when they had time to analyze them, they would be found useful. Even now, as they were traveling in hyperspace, he was still detecting hyperlight messages. His recorders were set on automatic, so many of the messages were saved.
“Captain, we may have a problem,” said Lieutenant Nower worriedly. “The short-range sensors detect two Druin battleships following us.”
Andrew felt a chill go through him. He didn’t believe any of them expected the Druins could track them again.
-
Derrick felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up at this revelation. “Are you sure they’re following us?” They were nearly to the Ambary System.
“Pretty sure, or they’re going to the same destination as we are.”
Derrick blinked his eyes as he weighed his options. He really wanted to know the condition of Ambary Two. It was the most heavily populated core world. “Lieutenant Viktor, drop us from hyperspace ten thousand kilometers over Ambary Two.”
“That’s close,” warned Lieutenant Commander Banora.
“It’s close, but there should be a lot of traffic around the planet. With a little luck we can blend in, and, with our stealth fields, the Druins just might lose us. Do we have any idea how they managed to track us this time?”
Lieutenant Commander Banora shook her head. “No, not unless they’re tracking the short-range sensors.”
Derrick frowned. They had to have some sensors operating while they were in hyperspace to avoid running into objects. Passing through an object of mass while in hyperspace would cause a ship to be immediately ejected from hyperspace. This would normally cause severe damage to the hyperspace drive system. For this reason sensors were used, and the ship’s navigation system automatically made minor adjustments in flight to avoid any object that might constitute a danger.
-
The ship dropped from hyperspace above Ambary Two. On the viewscreen, a planet very similar to Golan Four appeared. Ambary Two possessed two major oceans that covered 58 percent of the planet. The land masses were all heavily colonized, and the planet depended on other worlds to bring in much of the food the planet’s large population required.
“Scan the planet,” ordered Derrick. It would still be a few seconds before the Druin battleships arrived, and he wanted to gather as much information as possible on the planet while time allowed.
“Scanning,” answered Nower.
“Picking up considerable communications, both on the regular frequencies and on the hyperlight channels,” added Andrew.
“Damn!” uttered Nower uncharacteristically. “Three Druin battleships in low orbit.”
On the tactical display, numerous green icons appeared, representing Human cargo ships and a few passenger liners. In the middle of them were three large red threat icons. Almost immediately two of the red threat icons left orbit and moved toward the Destiny.
“That tears it!” exclaimed Lieutenant Commander Banora, her gaze focused on the tactical display. “They can definitely detect us.”
Derrick knew Banora was right. Some defect in their stealth fields allowed the Druins to detect the ship. He wasn’t sure now if it was the sensors or something else. “Lieutenant Viktor, get us out of here. Set a course for the Hadrian Star Cluster.”
“They’ll be in weapons range in twenty seconds,” reported Nower worriedly.
At the Helm and Navigation, Lieutenant Viktor’s hands flew over the console, touching icons on his screens and entering data. “Entering hyperspace.”
A slight wrenching sensation indicated the ship had made the transition. On the tactical display, Ambary Two rapidly fell away.
“Contact!” called out Lieutenant Nower. “Druin battleship on the long-range sensors.”
“Is it gaining on us?”
Nower shook her head. “It’s seems to be matching our speed.”
Derrick leaned back in his chair. They were safe for now. Weapons could not be used in hyperspace. He looked over at Dylan. “Any suggestions?”
“We have to lose them somehow before we can set a course back to Earth.”
Derrick looked over at Lieutenant Marko Breen. “How many deployable mines do we have on board?”
“Twelve,” replied Breen. “Ten fusion and two antimatter.”
Dylan looked at Derrick. “Wha
t are you thinking?”
“The mines have a small space drive on them. If we can get them close enough to the battleship so they’ll detonate against its shields, the interference from the blasts might allow us to escape without being tracked.”
“It’s a long shot.”
“We’d have to time our entrance into hyperspace with the explosions from the mines,” added Banora.
Derrick turned toward Lieutenant Viktor. “Can you do it?”
“Yes. What course do I set?”
“Make it random but avoid all inhabited systems. We need to stay away from any more Druins ships.”
“Lieutenant Breen, prepare six fusion mines for proximity detonations. We’ll drop out of hyperspace, place the mines, and then wait for the Druin battleship. Once the mines detonate, we’ll jump back into hyperspace.”
Breen nodded. “Captain, we could also launch a full spread of fusion missiles to detonate at the same time the mines do. It would increase the amount of interference and would help to hide our escape.”
That sounded like a good idea. “Do it.”
-
Derrick waited as more time passed. There was no doubt in his mind the Druin battleship had already used its hyperlight transmitter to inform Druin ships ahead of them where they were going. The only thing was, Derrick no longer had any intention of going to the Hadrian Star Cluster.
“Drop us out of hyperspace.”
The Destiny dropped from hyperspace and immediately deployed six fusion mines. The ship then moved off a short distance to be out of the blast radius but close enough to still fire its missiles.
Everyone’s gaze was glued to the viewscreens as they waited for the Druin battleship to make its appearance. In space, six deadly mines drifted waiting for their target. Suddenly a small flash of light came, and the Druin battleship was there. The battleship was nearly two thousand meters long and covered with deadly weapons. Turrets and missile hatches covered the vessel. Communications and sensor antennas dotted the hull. Even as they watched, the hatches covering the ship’s missile tubes slid open.
“Mines are targeting the Druin ship,” reported Lieutenant Nower. “The mines are covered in a material that should make them invisible to the Druin ship’s sensors.”
“Standing by to fire missiles,” added Lieutenant Breen, his hands hovering over his console.
“Range is 712 kilometers,” Nower informed the captain.
On the viewscreen, the Druin battleship slowly turned to face the Destiny, but it still had not fired.
“They seem a little unsure,” commented Dylan.
“Mines are nearly to the battleship,” reported Nower. Her sensors were set to a special frequency that could detect the mines.
Derrick watched the battleship. It seemed as if it couldn’t get a good weapons lock. Suddenly four of its missile tubes launched missiles, heading in the general direction of the Destiny.
Warning alarms sounded on the sensor console.
“Inbound missiles!” reported Nower, trying to keep her voice calm.
“Brace for impact!” called out Lieutenant Commander Banora, as she looked for something to hold on to.
All at once brilliant explosions covered the energy shield of the Druin battleship.
“Mines are detonating,” reported Banora.
“Launching missiles,” added Breen, as he fired a full salvo.
The Destiny shook violently as one of the Druin missiles slammed into its energy shield.
“Antimatter,” called out Nower.
“Shields are holding at 71 percent,” added Breen.
On the viewscreen, the Destiny’s missiles began arriving at the Druin battleship, illuminating it in brilliant explosions of energy.
“Activating hyperdrive,” reported Lieutenant Viktor.
Derrick felt a slight twinge in his gut as the ship made the transition. “Turn off the sensors,” he ordered.
“All of them?” asked Lieutenant Nower, her eyes wide with fear. Ships were not supposed to travel in hyperspace blind.
“For only a few minutes,” replied Derrick.
“Sensors are off,” confirmed Nower, looking around nervously.
Derrick leaned back in his command chair. “Lieutenant Viktor, wait five minutes and then change course. You will do that every five minutes until I tell you otherwise.”
Everyone in the Command Center waited anxiously as the Destiny made a number of course changes. After an hour Captain Masters informed Lieutenant Nower that she could turn the short-range sensors back on.
“Anything?” asked Derrick. If the Druins were still following them, he wasn’t sure what they would do.
Nower spent some time examining her sensor readings and then replied, “Sensors are clear. No sign of the Druin battleship.”
“What now?” asked Lieutenant Commander Banora.
“Set a course for the Vortex Worlds, we’ll drop in on several of those star systems and then set a course for Earth.” The Vortex Worlds were in another star cluster with large populations of Humans.
Dylan stepped closer to Derrick. “Lydol Four used to trade a lot with several of the Vortex Worlds. I went to Jalot Four when I was much younger. It’s very similar to Lydol Four, only it has a larger population.”
“Let’s just hope there are no Druin warships in the systems we’ll visit. Now we know, if we turn off our sensors, we can escape.” At least Derrick hoped that was right. He knew there was a good chance he would be putting that belief to the test once more before they left the Empire.
-
Andrew was in his quarters, getting some rest. It was another eight hours to the Vortex Worlds. So far this trip had been extremely nerve-racking. He wondered what it would be like to be in an actual fleet battle, involving hundreds of ships. If he went into cryo as he planned, there was a good chance he would find out.
A knock came on his door, and, getting up, he walked over and opened it, finding Ensign Allert standing there.
“Mind if I come in for a minute?”
“Not at all,” replied Andrew. He liked Ensign Allert. She was friendly and had always been extremely helpful.
Brenda sat down on the only couch in Andrew’s quarters, and he sat down next to her.
“It’s been a rough couple of days,” she commented, leaning back and relaxing.
Andrew nodded. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting this.” Andrew wondered what Brenda wanted. She was cute and very alluring in her uniform, but she had never come on to him. He hoped that wasn’t why she had stopped by. He was still very involved with Kala.
Brenda laughed. “I don’t think any of us were. When we get back, we’ll have to find out how the Druins are tracing our sensors. It’s probably some silly little thing we’ve been overlooking.”
“Perhaps,” replied Andrew.
“The reason I stopped by was to see if what’s happened has changed your mind about going into cryo. Space combat is very different in reality, than sitting at home, thinking about it.”
“Yes, it is. However, I still plan on going into cryo. I want to see how all this ends.”
Brenda seemed satisfied with his answer. “What about Kala? I know the two of you have been spending a lot of time together. Will she be going into cryo as well?”
“I doubt it. While we’ve gotten closer, I don’t believe she’s changed her mind.”
Brenda smiled knowingly. “You might be surprised. I spoke to her the other day, and she had quite a few questions about cryo. She might be considering it.”
Andrew felt a flash of hope go through him. “I hope she does, but I’ve accepted that I may be doing this alone.”
“Just remember. As long as you’re a part of this crew, you will never be alone.”
The two talked for another hour before Brenda left to return to her own quarters. As Andrew prepared for bed, he wondered what it would be like if Kala did go into cryo. It would definitely give him something to look forward to in the future.
-
Seven hours later the Destiny dropped from hyperspace on the edge of the Jalot Four system. The ship stayed there for a good hour, taking detailed scans of everything.
“No Druins,” reported Nower with relief in her voice.
“Thirty-seven contacts in the system,” reported Lieutenant Commander Banora. “Most appear to be cargo ships.”
Admiral Cleemorl watched the tactical display and the green icons around Jalot Four. “It seems around the core worlds, as well as here, trade is still going on fairly well.”
“The level of civilization seems to be comparable to when we left,” added Banora.
“One thousand years of static!” replied Derrick angrily. “Just think of all we could have discovered in that time if the Confederation had left us alone.”
“But they didn’t,” said Dylan. “With Earth, we have a chance to change all of that.”
“Lieutenant Viktor, put us in orbit at ten thousand kilometers. I want detailed scans of the surface, as well as all communication channels monitored.” Much of the information they were gathering would be gone through once they returned to Pallas.
It didn’t take long for the Destiny to go into orbit around Jalot Four. On the main viewscreen the planet’s capital city appeared.
Derrick gazed at the viewscreen, seeing a modern Imperial city. The city looked much the same as it had during the heights of the Empire.
“Some planets are like this,” commented Dylan. “They seem relatively untouched, while others show the scars of Druin punishment.”
Looking at the city, it was tempting to take a shuttle down and just walk the city streets and talk to the people. However, Derrick knew the city was probably not as peaceful as it looked. Already communications had picked up some disturbing broadcasts, calling for young people to volunteer to work for the Confederation. Other broadcasts talked about how peaceful the Confederation was and how fortunate it was for people to go there.
“Propaganda,” muttered Cleemorl. “That’s how the planet has avoided Druin retaliation. They send large numbers of their young people to the Confederation to work as slaves.”
The Forgotten Empire: Banishment: Book One Page 32