“He looked tired but rested when he called, if that makes sense! But Ferghal and Danny are there, and by the sound of it, they’re enjoying themselves.”
Niamh laughed. “I expect so. Up to their old games, I shouldn’t wonder.” She paused. “How are you, my dear? Did your tour of North America go well?”
“It went very well. The programme proved very popular everywhere.” Mary grinned. “There were two small protests, though, both staged by the LPSL. Apparently they were told that Harry was accompanying me on the tour.” She grimaced. “Silly idiots. I spoke to one of them, and she didn’t seem to know anything at all about the Niburu and how deadly they are. In fact, she told me I’d allowed my feelings for Harry to delude me and blind me to his violent nature.”
“I’m surprised your tour managers let the protesters get close to you, my dear. In fact I’m appalled.”
“She was properly turned out for the concert and had even paid for her seat. I offered to refund the price immediately after telling her she’d do well to check her facts before taking up a cause like this one.” She shook her head. “I can’t help wondering what drives these people. Most of them seem very intelligent, but they refuse to see anything that counters their ideology.”
“Sadly, my dear, a lot of people are like that.” Niamh laughed. “The legal profession loves them, of course. We lawyers make a fortune out of intelligent idiots.”
The month on Pangaea was all too short, but it refreshed the crew. Harry had the opportunity to renew his acquaintance with Marcus Grover, and enjoyed a meal with Stepan Glinka and his family. Glinka’s missing arm had been replaced by a bionic one, courtesy of the new bionic engineering facility located on New Caledonia.
“It works better than my real arm did!” Stepan quipped. “Though I’ll thank your friend, the big red-haired fellow, not to attempt to detach my other one.”
“I’m sure he will refrain if you do not threaten him again.” They’d had a good laugh over their memories and swapped news on the colony’s growth, the war and Harry’s future marriage plans. The parting had been amicable, with Harry carrying away a beautifully created model of his beloved 847—a gift from the now teenaged Illia, the Glinkas’ son.
The rested crews rejoined the Prinz and her ducklings, as the corvettes had been dubbed, rested and ready to do their part in the war against the Niburu.
“It’s going to be a long, long haul,” Korinna commented, reading a situation update. “There are more of these Niburu than anyone thought. Even if we destroy their major groups, we’ll have to hunt down all the survivors according to this. It could take years.”
“That is not a prospect I relish.” Harry grimaced. “The longer it takes, the more likely they are to find a counter to the agent we are using, and to our means of delivery.”
“Yes.” Kallie looked up from his tablet. “And our friends in the LPSL are now trying, with some political support, to stop the extermination of the Niburu—their words. They want us to save the species and show compassion.” He slammed the tablet onto a table. “What is it with these bastards? Are they really this bloody stupid? Or is this just so they can manipulate people?”
Harry smirked. “Perhaps we ought to offer them the opportunity to recolonize some of the worlds the Niburu have visited.” He rose from his seat and touched his forelock in a mock salute to the others. “I’m going to visit my baby and find out if she’s been treated well in my absence. I shall see you all at dinner, I hope.”
Settling into his command chair on 847, Harry relaxed into his familiar surroundings. “Good morning, 847, are you fully restored?”
“Welcome back, Harry. All my systems have been renewed, I have new drives, a new weapons system and your quarters have been improved. Did you enjoy your rest?”
“Yes, very much, thank you, 847. Are you ready for the fight again?”
“Oh yes. We all are. Even our newcomers 995 and 1002 are eager to go to work.”
“Good. Does 1002 like her new Commander?”
“She was surprised he could communicate as you do, but she’s glad to have someone so knowledgeable about her systems.” There was a hesitation. “Is Ferghal happy with her? She is very anxious to please him.”
Harry couldn’t suppress his laughter, and his watch keepers glanced in his direction, surprised at the sudden outburst so uncharacteristic of Harry. “Have you been filling her head with stories about him? He’s didn’t expect his own command, and now he’s the proudest man I know. We shall miss him, though.”
“Yes, I will miss him too. He knew just how to fix my systems and improve my performance. I hope he will visit me when I need something improved.”
“I am sure he will, and gladly. Now, we are scheduled for some exercises. There are some new people aboard, and they must get used to us. Shall we begin?”
He assembled his thoughts and said, “Mr. Gunn, take us clear of the Prinz, please.” He keyed his comlink. “Mr. Webber, drives to standby, please. We will begin manoeuvring shortly.”
“James, we have word of a new threat from our friends. The coordinates will be relayed to you within the next few minutes. It’s the largest assembly we’ve seen for months, and it looks as if they are well prepared.”
“I’ve been expecting something of the sort. I’ve got one starship in dock, but we’re otherwise up to strength. The worrying thing is they have changed tactics on defence. It’s now much more difficult for our corvettes to break through and hit them.”
“It was inevitable, I expect. Have you come up with an alternative to deal with it?”
“Yes, sir. We have the corvettes exercising the new attack formation, and I’ve some further strategies worked out to deliver a bigger punch on their defence formation.” James Heron paused. The last months had taken their toll on him as well, and he was tired. “What concerns me is the possibility that we don’t get them all. Those that escape open battle or evade our hunting parties could reappear in the future with evolved defences and possibly immunity.”
“We’re very aware of that, Admiral.” The hologram of the chairman of the Council appeared. “I’ve tasked the Grand Admiral with setting up a special group to deal with it.” He smiled. “I’m sure you will be hearing more about it soon.”
The Grand Admiral nodded. “We’ll update you on this new threat as we get more information, James. It’s all in the intel pack we’ve sent you.”
“I’ll look at it the moment it arrives, sir.”
“Good, one last item then. Admiral Li’s superiors are, shall we say, a bit upset. That ship they captured was destroyed in one of our operations. Apparently they are still labouring under the impression that their people could have tamed it and brought it back for study.”
“Really? I suppose they’ve also got flying cows then.” James smiled. “I’ve no doubt we’ll be accused of sabotage and any other breach of faith they can think of as soon as the emergency is passed and they can break off the alliance.”
“We think that’s behind this latest outburst of bad faith propaganda on their news channels, but we expected something of the sort. Just watch their activities around some of our recovered colonies, please. We expect them to try something to gain territory as soon as they can.”
Harry stared at the display. “We are back where we started. So the damage to the planet Vogon is not natural after all. Roberta said as much, and so did Sebastian.” He turned to the ScanRate. “Anything showing on our scanners?”
“Yes, sir. There are twenty-plus of their large ships and a lot of smaller ones.” He frowned, studying his screen. “And there’s something happening on the planet, sir. It’s deep down, well below ground.”
“Relay everything we’re seeing to the flagship.” Harry checked the position of 1002 some distance out to starboard. “Give me a link to Mr. O’Connor, please.”
“On link, sir.”
“Ferghal, we have something going on deep underground on the planet, too deep for our scanners. Can you use t
he deep scan you have and try to capture what it is?”
“Aye, aye, sir.” Ferghal gave a command to his ScanRates, and the result displayed, and said, “We have it. It reminds me of a nest of sorts. They’ve laid eggs in the caves.”
“Ah, that’s what everyone has been wondering about.” Harry checked his display. “We’ve been noticed. Time to go. Relay your scan data direct to the flagship.” He turned to Danny. “Mr. Gunn, take us back to the Fleet. Make sure 1002 is in company.”
Admiral Heron studied the data on his screen. “It looks as if they have assembled all their survivors. If this scan is reliable, we may have discovered their breeding ground as well.”
Captain Petrocova glanced up from her study of the display. “It seems so, sir. But is it the only one? It would explain why one of their mother ships appeared as soon as Beagle began her examination of the planet.”
“If there are others, we’ll have to find them and destroy them.” The Admiral stood. “All our groups are in position.” He nodded to the Flag Lieutenant. “We will commence the strike in one hour. We have the advantage this time. I want to make full use of it. I think we have their backs against the wall now. This time I want no survivors.” He nodded to the Flag Captain. “I’ll make an appropriate signal to the Fleet just before we attack. Perhaps you’d like to tell your people what we are up against and what I intend.”
Valerie Petrocova smiled. “Of course, sir, you can count on us. My people will give you everything they have.”
“I know, Val, and I appreciate it. Hopefully, we can make an end to this today. They’ve wiped out entire populations. Now we must exact the payment.”
Chapter 39
Back to the Beginning
“Has my signal gone out?” The Admiral was exhausted, but so were his crews. The months they had spent driving the Niburu back had been full of hard-fought battles, each taking its toll of ships and men. Finally they had the enemy at bay. Perhaps now they could end it.
“Yes, sir. All ships acknowledge.” The comms officer hesitated. “Good message, if I may, sir. Everyone’s eager to make the brutes pay, sir.”
“As long as they don’t let their anger lead them into mistakes.” The Admiral settled himself in his command chair. “Ready?” He listened to the chorus of responses and smiled. “Then let’s get on with it. Make to all task groups: commence.”
The display revealed the battered planet the scientists had dubbed Vogon dead ahead. Immediately, the symbols of the ships appeared, those of the Fleet and the enemy, and the Niburu ships responded to the intrusion by drawing closer and forming a defensive shield around the planet.
“Looks like they really want to protect whatever they’ve got here, sir.”
“It does. So we will have to do our utmost to destroy it.” The Admiral studied the formation. “It’s going to be a tough one.” He nodded to his Flag Lieutenant. “Contact task group 220, Admiral Pienaar, and tell her to watch the north polar screen. They’ll be in a position to go over the top of her unless she can block it.”
“On it, sir.” She talked briefly to her link. “The Admiral acknowledges, sir. She’s got her destroyer screens ready to intercept any attempt.”
“As I expected.” The Admiral grinned. “No harm in checking, though. It’ll annoy her, and she’ll take it out on the enemy.” He leaned forward and stared at the display. “There’s a movement in the southern hemisphere—there, in the western quadrant.” He leaned back. “That’s our cue. Order our group to hit that area.” He touched his comlink. “We’re going in, Val. Don’t give them the chance to blink.”
Harry watched as the assembled starships began their stately advance toward the enemy. The swarms of corvettes waited, their presence cloaked using the technology provided by the Siddhiche. Their orders were to wait for the opportunity to strike deep inside the defensive shield at the great mother ships in low orbit around the planet.
He was fascinated by the flashes of purple lancing from the starships’ primary weapons countered by the strange actinic green bursts of energy from the enemy, and his artist’s eye recorded the terrible beauty of this destructive dance. Both sides appeared to be inflicting damage.
“Commander on link for you, sir.”
Harry tore his eyes away from the screen and answered his comlink. “Good day, sir. It looks like the flagship is attempting to force the enemy to respond.”
“They are. We’ve just identified the mother of all mother ships in there, Harry. When we go in, I want your flotilla to concentrate on it. Ignore everything else. Only go for that one. Here are the coordinates.”
Harry used his cyberlink to focus his attention on the area indicated by 847’s scanners. He gave a sharp intake of breath. “It’s huge! It appears the size of a medium-sized moon, but it is not a sphere, and it has those strange appendages along its length. We’ll do our best, sir.”
“I know you will, Harry. According to our signal monitors, that ship could be directing all the others. I’m assigning three more strike wings to cover you, and I’m backing that up with a squadron of minelayers.”
“Very good, sir.” Harry scribbled some notes on his pad. “I shall brief my flotilla, sir.”
“Good, I’ll leave you to it. Just make sure of that monster, and leave the rest to us.”
Harry acknowledged, cut the link and sat for a moment. “Give me a link to all the flotilla, please.”
“My friends, we have a new target. There is a giant mother ship at these coordinates.” He touched his screen and sent the information to his Commanders. “We’re to ignore everything else—unless it gets in the way, of course—and hit that one ship. She’s apparently directing all the others. She is very close to the planet surface, which is probably causing havoc to the gravitation fields and burning huge amounts of energy. I propose we go in as a close formation and swing around, beneath, and over it to strike from as many different angles as possible.”
The other Commanders acknowledged this, and Ferghal said, “That ship will be well defended, sir, but vulnerable if we can strike out its drive system. Without those, it will lose control, and then it could strike the planet.”
“You’re right. Thanks for pointing that out. This is a target of opportunity then. Launch your darts first, and if we can identify the drives, use whatever means you have to do as much damage to them as possible.”
The others confirmed their understanding just as a message flashed from the Commander.
“Then here we go. Follow me and stay in close formation.” Harry signalled Danny, and the ship began to move. “Be careful my friends—they will be desperate once they realise what we intend.”
Cutting the link, he turned to Regidur. “I will take us as close as I dare, Pack Leader. Remember the last one we passed so close to? I think we blinded many of its sensors. Perhaps we may do so again.”
The big Canid acknowledged, though his entire attention was on his weapons system and his team.
Harry touched his link. “Mr. Webber, we are closing our primary target. I may have to ask you to give me a little extra, or to transit with little warning. Have we the capacity?”
“I’ll do my best, sir. We’ve a third of our power in hand if you need it.”
“Good, I hope we won’t.”
Harry liked the new engineer. Though he wasn’t as skilled as Ferghal, he was good, and the ship responded well to him.
Harry glanced across at Danny, focussed on his navigation plot, and wanted to say something reassuring, but couldn’t without breaking the concentration around him.
Ahead, the weaving patterns of weapons fire laced the sky, illuminating the embattled ships. Behind it, the queen ship obliterated the view of the planet completely, and Harry realised there was clear space all around it. He used his cyberlink to explore 847’s sensor data. This confirmed the absence of any ships in an area at least a hundred kilometres wide around the vast ship.
“What is the gravitational effect of that ship?” he asked 84
7.
“Unusually high, Harry. It has a measurable atmosphere.”
“Is that why their own ships keep clear of it?”
“I do not know. My sensors suggest the atmosphere would hinder their passage, but not sufficiently to cause a problem. It is more likely they would be affected by the gravitational forces it exerts. My sensors suggest my hull will be under considerable stress when we close within firing range.”
A warning stirred in Harry’s mind. “Thank you. I needed to know that.” He withdrew from the link. “Link me to all Commanders in our flotilla.”
“On link, sir.”
“That ship has an unusually powerful gravitational field around it. The effect on our hulls will be large, and it may mean we have to fire our missiles farther out than is desirable. Take care on approach and extra care as we attempt to depart.”
Strike craft streaked past to engage several small Niburu ships attempting to intercept the leading flotillas.
“There go the glory boys,” quipped Danny.
“Let us hope they can keep the enemy off our tails.” Harry turned to the officer monitoring the defence systems. “Are our screens and stealth shields at maximum?”
“Yes, sir. Stealth screen is active. Our particle shielding is at full output.”
“Then let’s hope it is enough.” Harry leaned back, his eyes following the darting shapes around them on the display while he prayed the ancient prayer uttered by mariners in time of danger. O Eternal Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens and rulest the raging of the seas...
Ahead of them, the display was filled by the massive bulk of the target. He finished the prayer and gripped the armrests of his chair. “Everyone ready?”
When he received the acknowledgements, he said, “Then let us be about it. Enyer, advise the others to follow our lead. Mr. Gunn, Swain, I may take control directly if necessary.” He nodded to Danny. “Commence our attack run, if you please.” He settled himself firmly in the seat and allowed the streams of information to flow through his cyberlink.
Awakening Threat Page 34