Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins

by Randolph Lalonde

  “Our casualties are well below projections. The enemy are better at evading than they are at doing damage. We're gaining ground on them fast, General Collins.”

  “Good, keep pressing them back slowly. We need to deplete their numbers.”

  The tactical display to my right lit up for a moment and I brought the holographic projection to the forefront. "Tactical, report on this marked location.”

  “New contact sir. Our database has no records corresponding with her profile. Still gathering information.”

  “Why is there no interpreted reading on her transponder?” I asked as I ran my hand over my short grey beard.

  “She's not registered anywhere,” came the reply from communications. “No last known port, no name.”

  "Intelligence, check for any manufacturer's markings and compare her power signature to all known construction types.”

  The reply came after a few moments. “There are no manufacturer's markings and the few power signatures we can read could be from any of thirty builders. She looks generic.”

  “Generic? There's no such thing in this end of space. All right, give her some room. If it's a defence fleet scout intelligence missed--” I was interrupted as a large thermal marking appeared within three kilometres of the new combatant. “Who fired that?” I asked, looking to the fleet command pits.

  “One of our corvettes sir. Designation Marauder 1153a,” the Major replied. “It wasn't my order.”

  “Demote the Captain after we're finished here. We can't fire on unknown combatants. If I were that new ship's Captain and I were trapped here just as I think she is, I would see that as a clear indication that we're not interested in hiring them on.”

  “Hiring them on General?”

  “Yes, if she's unmarked I'd imagine that we could hire them on to our side for the right price and get a close look at that ship. Now I'm not even going to bother. Don't initiate communications,” I looked back at the tactical display and focused in on the new combatant more closely. “You see? She's launching fighters and headed for the enemy line. If I'm right they'll help fill the hole we've been digging at for the last half hour. Send two Marauders after her, we can't have that.” I watched as seconds later two Marauder Corvettes and their fighter compliment turned to engage the new destroyer. They began firing cutting beams at full intensity and I stared on in disbelief as all the beams were refracted right back at the ships. The energy shields of the Corvette were useless against its own energy weapons and several decks began to rupture. I smiled and shook my head. “All things old are new again.”

  "General?”

  "I haven't seen refractive shielding that good since my father was still in the Fleet. It has to be at least twenty layers deep for it to turn a beam weapon completely around. I'd hire her energy field technician in a heartbeat with a signing bonus. It takes real reflexes to redirect energy that fast, even with the assistance of a predictive program.”

  “She has no energy shields, but we can't get an accurate power reading on her. The hull is too thick.”

  “Exactly, look closer. She's covered in regenerative ablative armour that's enhanced to reflect light,” I looked a little closer on my own display and smiled. “They also have materializers across the hull. All they need is energy and they can go on forever under the right conditions. If you want a reading, focus on one of the rail cannon turrets and follow the power bleeds inward. They probably capture and recycle waste energy instead of using an exhaust system. Makes for some hot wiring.”

  I watched the sensor technician as he worked at the controls. “I have it sir, but this reading has to be an explosion or a flash from the cannons they're using.”

  I brought the scan results up on part of my tactical display. “Don't doubt yourself Sergeant, your readings are right. You only have to interpret them differently. It looks like they've got a materializer in there to turn energy into medium density metal ammunition. If there's one of those for each cannon emplacement then the energy at their disposal must be immense. I wouldn't be surprised if they're generating enough power for several destroyer class ships. She's a deep space combat vessel, a rare breed out here and very expensive. They're not here by mistake.”

  “Would you like me to dispatch more resources against her?”

  “No, let her move into position and we'll continue our push. She's already costing us a small fortune. One of the corvettes we sent after her has been cut to pieces, the other one is getting pulverized by rail cannon fire and she's cost us at least thirty fighters. We'll push in on the ships around her, at least we'll be taking on known vessels that way.”

  “Yes, General.”

  ”Rail cannon turrets, refractive shielding, an antique hull no one has seen and more engine thrust and power generation per ton than I've ever seen on a destroyer her size. We have to find out where this ship is from. This configuration is too dissimilar to anything I've seen to be ignored,” I said to myself quietly. "Communications, put a capture bounty on this ship if she survives, set it at one billion credits, her hull alone is worth four times that. There's got to be enough ergranian steel there to build five hundred heavy fighters. Not that I'd cut her apart before finding out what makes her tick and who built her. If it's a rival corporation we've never seen before we'll have to acquire it one way or another.”

  “Yes General.”

  “Tactical, how long until we reach the outer range of their planetary defence cannons?”

  “Just under three minutes sir. They're trying to draw us into range.”

  “That's one trap we can't fall into. If I go over budget on this engagement I'll forfeit my quarterly bonus. As soon as we're thirty seconds away from entering their range have the rear ships begin hyper accelerating to rally point theta,” I watched the tactical display and shook my head again. “If that's a merchant ship, I'm a transport Captain. That's an antique destroyer rebuilt as a small multi-role carrier and if they have any more of them up their sleeve this solar system acquisition could get very expensive.”

  “There's something here you might be interested in sir,” my intelligence officer mentioned. “We've intercepted the unknown ship's communications with Gai-Ian Defence Command. They weren't encrypted using their standard military codes but it still took time to clear it up.”

  “Your team is losing their touch. Give me access.”

  “We have a holographic display of her Captain stating the ship designation. I'll put it on your display General.”

  Standing on the smaller display projected from my command chair was the holographic image of a man in his early thirties, full of the enthusiasm and pride I'd expect from a captain in his early prime.

  “The First Light is ready to assist with a flight of twenty one heavy interceptors at your disposal. Where do you want us?” the captain declared.

  “Double the bounty on that ship and broadcast to any well known ship thieves, mercenaries, repossession agents and bounty hunters in this section of the galaxy once we're clear of the system. I'll pay the bounty to anyone who brings that ship to me in working condition with most of her crew intact.” I didn't understand exactly why at the time, but as I looked at the image of the young captain, his bridge, his first officer at his side, my curiosity about the ship became an absolute need.

  The bridge and uniforms were unlike anything I'd seen, it was like looking at part of a museum exhibit combined with modern efficiency. Over the following days I found myself watching that holographic clip over and over, there was something there I hadn't seen in a very long time. The way the captain's first officer and crew looked at him, hung on his every word. There was something you couldn't buy; loyalty.

  Chapter 1

  An Easy Aftermath

  Our first encounter with the Vindyne fleet was encouraging but it still came at a cost. We had no dead, a few wounded, and had to retrieve two fighter pilots who bailed out in the nick of time. Our shuttles were able to haul the wreck of one of the fighters in, the other was a complet
e loss. We had a couple of seriously injured crew, however, and it was becoming apparent to me that acquiring energy shielding for the ship and the fighters was essential.

  The enemy had fared much worse. We had the honour of killing two corvette class ships and over sixty fighters and bombers. Our kill count was massive considering we only spent a few minutes in the conflict. When it was all over I tried not to show my surprise and near disbelief at how well everyone performed. It seemed that as the stakes got higher everyone's skills, concentration, and reaction times became better. All those drills weren't for nothing, all the basic skills had been practised to the point of reflex. Looking over the reports and vantage point data, it showed.

  Without energy shielding, the outer sections of the ship were dangerous for those inside. One of the engineering staff, Ensign Coupland, was in an outer area of the ship, running past one of the observation decks when an enemy particle beam broke right through the outer hull. Most of the energy had been refracted away from the ship, but the particles cut through the hull like a saw and severed his arm. He was lucky, a few centimetres to the right and it would have gone straight through his chest. Luckily the hull was able to re-seal itself before decompression could occur and our medical team was able to get him to the upper triage bay in time to save his life.

  The same thing nearly happened right on the bridge. I could still see the super-heated spot on the transparent section of the hull where white hot particles had splashed against the transparesteel. The particle beam weapons they were using were so powerful and superior to the minor energy shielding we had around the bridge that they could cut right through, even with most of the light energy refracted away.

  I knew our luck wouldn't hold out forever. It was important that I plan for the future. I entered the changes I thought were a priority into my Captain's Log and sent copies to all the Officers. Our mission was not to fight every corporation or aggressive government body we came across -- far from it -- but being just one ship on our own we would be forced into combat again.

  Regardless of our problems, there was a lot of back slapping and smiling all around. We had entered our first engagement and won alongside those who so far seemed to be in a similar situation as the people we left back home. I was a little surprised when the Vindyne fleet turned and jumped into hyperspace. There was a part of the picture I was missing. They were winning. They had superior numbers and ships in reserve that could take up positions as needed or simply outflank the defenders. Their technology was also superior from what I could see.

  As we were finishing our damage assessment we were directed to Gai-Ian VI, the planet they had named Concordia, with the thanks of the System Defence Fleet. We started the journey there and I checked the details included in the message. We were welcome to send a landing party to their primary port, which was only partially open for trade. We'd be met by Governor Samuel Finnley where he would discuss the compensation entitlement for our assistance.

  I looked to Oz and pointed at my command and control module on the lower half of my forearm. “Compensation entitlement?” I asked quietly.

  “I guess they really appreciate our help. I know we tore up a lot of hulls out there but I don't see how we turned the tide.”

  “You're right, there were hundreds of ships on the defence. I wonder if this compensation is anything like the mercenary grants Freeground issues from time to time when a freelance crew does a patrol or helps out with a conflict. Our arrival may have been timely, but I don't think it was critical. I'm not expecting much, but now that I think of it, anything would help. We lost two fighters.”

  “Maybe it's just an expensive way for them to take a closer look at us.”

  “Now that I can believe,” A thought occurred to me then and I turned to our flight sergeant, Gary Cullum who was sitting at the helm and coordinating with engineering on an engine damage check. “You know, I never asked, but could we land if we had to? I know the original design of the ship could land in an emergency.”

  “We could, but we'd need a lot of room. Say three kilometres of hardened ground. Then we'd need at least five kilometres of clear surface to re-launch and escape planetary gravity just to be safe. The alternative is to burn everything within at least two kilometres while we take off, and that could detonate something if we haven't checked out the ground first. Oh, and our landing gear and anti gravity fields haven't been pressure tested for atmosphere yet, so I wouldn't suggest this as a good time to try it.”

  “Good to know. Well, send a message telling them to expect a boarding shuttle once the First Light enters orbit.” I sat down and whispered so only Alice, my personal assistant AI, could hear. “Open communications to medical.”

  “Yes Captain.”

  A moment later the channel was open and the Doctor Anderson was on the line. “How are you doing down there Doc?”

  “We're lucky. All twenty three injured are going to be fine. Most of them can report for duty tomorrow, it'll take a day or so before Ensign Coupland's new arm is full grown and ready, but that's the worst of it. This ship is good at protecting her crew, but I miss the Apollo's energy shields.”

  “Maybe we can talk to these people after I've landed on the planet surface and find out if we can trade for a shield projector system that will fit on our ship. They seemed to have a few in their fleet.”

  “You're going planet-side Captain?”

  “Looks like. As soon as we reach orbit around the sixth planet.”

  “Normally I'd go with you, but I'd rather stay with the injured, even though my staff has it well in hand.”

  “Having a doc around planet-side would make me a bit more comfortable. Think you could spare anyone?”

  “I'll tell Doctor Lang to get her kit together. She's been planet-side a few times and passed the infantry qualifier.”

  “Thanks Doc.”

  “No problem, good luck.”

  Oz finished listening to the damage control report and turned his holographic command control interface off. “Looks like all the internal damage should be repaired in about two or three days. The outer hull will take a little longer to regenerate where it got pitted on our port side. Maybe five days, but all sections sealed up right after they were hit. The ship is working just like it's designed to, according to Ayan. Better than her last trip from what I gather. That was one hell of a fight and we weathered it better than I expected.”

  “It was. I don't like the way our trip is shaping up so far though,” I whispered. “Less than ten days out here and we already find ourselves in the middle of a war.”

  “We didn't have a choice. You did the right thing in making it look like we had other options when you volunteered to join the defence.”

  “Thank you Oz, I hope I was convincing enough. Now I have to make my first planet fall as Captain. Do I look as nervous as I feel?”

  “Nope. You'll need a security team though.”

  “Are you volunteering?”

  “I suppose I could bring a few of our best with us.”

  “Good idea.”

  “We might want someone who knows a few things about the law,” Oz said, pointing his thumb at Sergeant Everin, who was busy reviewing transmissions at his station.

  I smiled. “You're right. Pick your security people. We won't be entering orbit around Concordia for at least three hours. See you on the flight deck. I'll get my kit together.”

  I was nervous and excited about my first trip as the representative of the crew. Over one hundred people would be up in orbit, wondering what I was doing down there, if there would be shore leave, if I'd sign us up as part of the defensive fleet. I tried to focus on selecting a few goals. Get details about the planet and the solar system's situation, find out if we can trade any of our technology for theirs, and see if we can get a shield system. I also wanted to take the opportunity to find out as much as I could about the Vindyne fleet. I was hoping that the enemy I had just made wasn't more trouble than our new ally was worth.

&nb
sp; There really wasn't much for me to pack up. I checked my sidearm, stowed a survival package in my long coat and took a few extra power cells. All the data I would ever need was in my command arm unit, and I had a few interactive display sticks on me already in case I had to hand off a copy of anything. I ran through a mental checklist and came to the conclusion that, if anything, I was over prepared.

  My next thought was to take a trip by engineering. The door chimed as I started towards it. “Open,” I said to the ship computer. Voice responsive doors were a nice touch added during the refit, and as the doors to my new Captain's quarters decoupled, moved out of the door frame and parted to reveal Ayan, my nerves settled a little.

  “Can I come in?”

  “You know you don't have to ask,” I replied with a smile.

  She shrugged and came in. It took her a moment to take in my new quarters. They had replaced all the furniture, carpeted the floor with a thick forest green shag and recoloured the metal a dark matte blue. “They didn't skimp, did they?”

  “I know. I don't know what to do with most of the space, and you should see the bedroom.”

  Ayan blushed and fixed me with an exaggerated look of shock. “Why Captain! What would the crew think?”

  I could feel my face flushing and I struggled for words for a moment before taking a few quick steps and catching her up in my arms. She giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck, giving me a quick kiss. “How about dinner in main observation when I get back? Or even better, when things are all settled down there, maybe we can go planet-side.”

  “I'd love to. Just don't expect much from the people down there, if they're anything like Freegrounders. They'll be pretty wary of mercenaries who arrive in well armed ships.”

  “I'll keep that in mind. Have you ever been to a world like this?”

  “A planet-side free port? Only once, on Azarian. They had a marketplace you could get lost in for days. It was so bright and warm during the day, so many people everywhere trading, looking for passage, going about their daily chores. Children followed us half the day, trying to sell us these bracelets and necklaces they made by hand. We didn't have any local currency, so I ended up trading a chocolate energy snack for one.”