by B. V. Larson
“As you command, Admiral.”
I wished I could command Kreel to understand that the duty to live and fight on was usually preferable to the duty to die gloriously, but all biotics seemed to share one attribute: they had to be convinced something made sense to them before they would wholeheartedly embrace it. To the Raptors, dying for a good cause seemed to make perfect sense. I had to work with the cards I was dealt.
Pondering ways I could get my meaning across, I came up with repetition as an easy approach. If I said it enough times in many different ways, maybe it would sink in. I took a moment to frame the argument in my mind before speaking.
“Kreel, dying is sometimes the easiest path. Often, it’s refusing death and living through difficulty that brings victory.”
The bridge speaker remained silent for long enough that I was about to query Valiant when Kreel spoke. “Your words are bitter and alien, Admiral Riggs, but I believe I understand their meaning.”
“Good. Then let’s discuss tactics.”
* * *
After talking it over with Kreel and my senior staff, I’d decided to wait until the Macros set down their first factory. I hoped that factory would end up being a ball and chain cutting into the Macros’ flexibility and allowing us to use our range advantage to the fullest. It would also give us time to strip-mine some asteroids for resources and rebuild Valiant’s Dagger fleet.
Unfortunately, I felt like a colonial-era commander with the Nanos playing the role of my willful, undisciplined local allies. They would be quite effective if I could just keep control of them and get them to fight at the right place and time. Rather than setting up the perfect strategy and executing it, I had to conform my tactics to the wild and independent Nanos.
Now that the Nanos had command personnel aboard, they acted less cohesively. Squadrons kept breaking off and heading for the Macros as if to attack them and had to be constantly ordered or persuaded to come back. They didn’t respond exactly like the Nano ships I’d studied, either. Maybe the time they’d spent inside the golden planet had changed them somehow: made them wilder. They seemed smarter, too.
What ended up working best with them was to have each Raptor commander order his ship to gather comet-based and asteroid-based materials to replenish supplies and manufacture missiles. That kept them busy. If I was willing to wait longer, we could have had them make more Nano ships, but I didn’t want to give the Macros that much time.
All in all, the next several days were filled with low-grade frustration for me and for Kreel. He was used to even more discipline than I was. His people generally obeyed him explicitly and unquestioningly. In contrast, the Nanos gave him fits, constantly challenging him by complying with only the letter of their orders and not the spirit. It was like having dozens of minor Marvins to deal with. At least it was forcing Kreel to stretch to develop new leadership skills.
Over the next few days, we watched from ten million miles away as the Macro fleet of more than two dozen ships selected and infested a large asteroid, setting up a factory and dome exactly as I’d expected. Their warships were worth at least two Nanos each, though I was pretty confident either of our battleships could match five or six without difficulty. I spent the time I had running simulations trying to find a way to beat the enemy without losing too many ships. I must confess I favored the scenarios where all the losses were Nanos. At least that way we’d only lose one biotic volunteer per ship, and a nonhuman one at that. Yeah, I valued all biotic life, but when it came down to it Valiant’s people came first. After that, preserving Valiant and Stalker as the core of our fleet was an absolute necessity.
The last night before we went into battle, I made one more attempt to fix things up with Adrienne. Sergeant Moranian was healed and back to duty, but I’d given Kwon strict orders to keep her away from me and my girlfriend. That had limited further irritation, but it hadn’t solved the underlying problem of mistrust.
Adrienne had moved into an empty officer’s cabin, leaving me to sleep alone in the captain’s suite. She hadn’t taken all of her stuff away, however. In one way, that was a good sign indicating she planned to eventually return. In another way, it pissed me off every time I had to move a bra or smell a whiff of her perfume. I was caught in an explosive emotional no-man’s-land with no way out. Removing the rest of her things would seem like a hostile act, but leaving them there would drive me nuts.
So, I swallowed my pride once again and tried to approach her. I felt like I’d already performed more than enough ceremonial demonstrations of atonement, but hell, one more time couldn’t hurt. She was my lover and closest friend…or had been. I wouldn’t crumble without her, but I was a lot happier when I was with her—and frankly, so was the crew. I’d been a bit grumpy lately.
That was why I found myself knocking on her cabin door once more with a bottle of our last best champagne and a box of the highest-quality candy I could get Sakura to program the factory to spit out. The candy may not taste like much, but booze always worked. It was the thought that counted, right?
Adrienne cracked open the door. “What is it, Cody?”
I lifted my gifts into her view and smiled my warmest smile. “Just hoping we could talk some more.” I’d found women loved to talk, especially about romance and relationships. I wasn’t sure what there was left to say, but I could always repeat myself. I was willing to give her another shot at coming up with something new.
“All right, come in,” she said with a faint smile.
She took the candy and champagne from my hands and walked back into the small cabin. I’d yet to score a warm greeting—there was nothing close to a kiss or hug coming my way—but at least she hadn’t sent me packing. All in all, I was encouraged by this promising start.
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked, her back turned as she placed the two items on the tiny desk. Even with the expanded Valiant, these military quarters weren’t large.
“You. Me. My stupidity when it comes to handling relationships. That will do for starters.”
“Hmm. For once, you sound like you have a grasp on reality.” She turned her head to profile, raising an eyebrow as she untied the ribbon on the candy box. “Go on. I’m listening.”
I took a deep breath. “Adrienne Turnbull, I love you. I really do. I don’t want anyone else but you. Doing what I did was just a bad call under stress. I’ll never do it again, but I’m not perfect. Can’t we put all that behind us?”
That prepared speech was about all the humble pie I was prepared to eat. I hoped it would be enough.
“Bad call, huh? But it worked, so it was the right call, wasn’t it?” she said.
What a trap. Why was she baiting me? It was one brief kiss—and she’d shot the girl for it.
Then I remembered those sex vids purporting to show Moranian and me. A delicate subject, but they must be the root of all this bitterness. “Look, those videos, they’re fake. There must be a way to prove it. Kalu set Kwon and me up to be abandoned and die. She must have faked those vids, too. Sokolov meant to attack me from two sides. There might be more bullshit floating around in the records just waiting to pop out. She’s obviously been working on this for some time. She always wanted to be the alpha female, and she hates that you won my heart and not her. Just look at what she did when Sokolov took over. Jumped right on him.”
“Maybe,” she said, popping a candy into her mouth and grimacing at the mediocre flavor. I noticed she didn’t spit it out, though, which was nice of her. “I’m not so certain. I’ve been to see her in the brig several times lately, and while I don’t like her at all, I don’t think she’s a killer.”
“What about a thorough examination of the videos? I know they’re fake, because I’ve never been with Moranian. Don’t you want proof, once and for all?”
Adrienne sighed, still not looking at me. Instead, she leaned on the jamb of the open door to the head, her face shrouded in darkness. “That’s the problem. I’ve analyzed them every way I can, and I
can’t find any flaws. Cody, I want to believe you. God, do I ever want to.”
“Who is better than you are at the technical stuff?”
“I don’t know. Sakura, maybe. Kalu, perhaps. Marvin, of course.”
“What about Valiant herself?”
Adrienne turned to face me. “The brainbox could be compromised.”
“And it might not be. I bet you didn’t even ask, right?”
“How can I be sure of anything anymore?” she said, her voice rising. “If Valiant says the vids are fake, that analysis could be falsified too. You could have had Marvin plant fake telltales to make them look fake.”
I threw up my hands. “You really think I have that much control over Marvin or that he wouldn’t blab at some point?”
“I don’t know!” she wailed.
I stepped forward to gently embrace her, pressing my nose into her sweet blonde hair. “I can’t prove I didn’t do something. That’s why unfounded accusations are so devastating. You just have to listen to your heart. What’s it telling you?”
Adrienne sniffled and rubbed her face against my chest. “I’ve never been a ‘heart’ girl, Cody. I’m an industrial engineer, so I go with my head. I have more in common with Sakura than a vixen like Kalu, and other than one fellow who broke my heart my first year at University, you’re the only boyfriend I ever had.”
“I find that hard to believe. You’re gorgeous.”
“Yes, that’s what every upper-class twit, git and geek at Oxford thought, but for me, opposites attract. I already live far too deeply in the world of technology to want another engineer as my…my lover.” She reached up to brush my dark hair with her fingertips, incidentally raising her face to mine. I could smell her breath and it intoxicated me. “I knew a man of action would come along eventually. Someone like my father—a brave, decisive leader. But the few of those I met eventually turned out to be more interested in the family’s wealth than in me.”
“Poor little rich girl,” I said, running my hand up her neck to cup her head, fingers twined in her hair. “I think deep down you’re afraid of losing me, but you never will. I can’t say I’ll never make mistakes or hurt you again, but I love you, Adrienne. That’s the truest thing I know.”
She kissed me then, or maybe I kissed her. Soon we didn’t know or care who started what and when. Making out proceeded naturally to lovemaking on her cramped bunk. I think neither of us wanted to risk shattering the fragile mood by taking the time to return to the captain’s suite, but oddly, we seemed the better for it.
Afterward, we spooned and I stroked her hair until she fell asleep. Then I carefully picked her up and carried her to my stateroom and our bed after making sure the passageway was clear of observers. As if the universe had granted me a second chance—okay, maybe a third or fourth, with all my brushes with death—I felt like the hole in my heart had been filled again and my morale restored.
It was a good thing, too, because tomorrow I’d lead a fleet in battle to annihilate the Macros once and for all.
-28-
The holotank swirled. Multicolored nanites coalesced into complex symbology as I reset the scale yet again. The new configuration didn’t offer any additional information, so I decided I’d been fiddling with it too much. I forced myself to leave it alone.
Instead of fooling with the holotank, I looked around the bridge at the crew. Chief Bradley, a calm fireplug of a man, stood behind his drone techs with his meaty arms crossed. His eyes were always roving. Watchstanders at the various stations returned my gaze with nods from seats at their consoles ready to coordinate with the rest of the crew deep within the battlecarrier.
Kwon would be armored up with his marines in the launch bay by now, preparing for boarding or antiboarding operations. I myself wore my familiar battlesuit, faceplate open and gauntlets retracted. Everyone else had donned pressure suits in expectation of combat.
From the ops officer station, Adrienne met my eyes and smiled through her faceplate, blushing slightly. I gave her a small smile. Yes, having my girlfriend as a subordinate complicated things, but it all seemed to be working out right now.
Then I shifted my gaze to the empty helm station, wondering where Hansen had gotten off to. He was five minutes late for his watch, very unusual for him. I was just about to query Valiant when he stepped onto the bridge, fingertips poking at the smart cloth of his high neckline where it looked misaligned. He carried his helmet under his arm, and I noticed some purplish marks on his throat.
“Sorry, sir,” he said quietly as he walked up and loomed over me at the holotank. Lowering his voice further and showing a conspiratorial grin. “Sakura gave me a workout last night. You’d never believe how strong she is when she gets excited.”
This kind of chattiness was also unusual for Hansen, but I chalked it up to the impending combat. I cleared my throat and noticed Adrienne’s eyes still on me. “Lot of that going around on the eve of battle.” Over a couple of beers I might have bantered more, but not here.
With a chuckle, Hansen took his seat and began running checklists. If I didn’t know better I’d have expected him to start whistling. I shook my head. Every now and then all those sappy songs about the power of love seemed true…but love would have to take a back seat to blood and death today.
Turning back to the holotank, I examined the situation. The Macros had selected a big frozen asteroid—or maybe it was an unusually dirty comet. The various classifications for floating chunks of mass in a star system were arbitrary in my opinion. A comet was just an asteroid with enough volatile elements to melt or sublime and create a visible tail in the stellar wind.
In this case, the tiny planetoid was about ten miles in diameter. It had grown a shield-domed Macro factory complex on its side, looking like the shiny head of a rivet driven into a chunk of stone. We hadn’t seen anything obvious that it might have produced, which was good. Our attack was timed to ensure they didn’t get production going at all. Adrienne’s educated guess was that the machines had to start by extracting and refining fuel elements—hydrogen isotopes and radioactives—before they could even think about making war machines. This system’s yellow dwarf gave off very little stellar heat at this distance. Without it, the Macros had to employ a bootstrap process and not run out of their presumably scarce stored fuel supplies while building up. A new colony was always at its weakest when it had just set up shop, and that’s why we were hitting them now.
We, on the other hand, had relatively full tanks after topping off with some mining of our own. Two capital ships of battleship class and fifty-four small Nano ships formed up ahead of one military transport. We also had about half our complement of Daggers. More were being produced all the time, but I didn’t want to wait any longer. We were as ready as we were going to get.
Opposing us was an assortment of twenty-seven Macro ships ranging from large frigates to one battleship more massive than Valiant. They sported a variety of weapons—standard lasers and missiles of course, but also a few antiproton projectors, particle beam cannons, and even railguns. If I had to guess, these machines were the survivors of several phases in the Macro Wars and were the results of the machine intelligence adapting and learning. They’d been experimenting, if that term could be applied to their plodding AI.
I dismissed the enemy factory complex for now. It was a fixed installation with no offensive capability beyond what it might produce. All we had to do was get rid of the fleet, and we could bombard the factory dome at our leisure.
Marvin was coasting outbound toward the edge of the system and not communicating, despite being pinged every five minutes at my order. Greyhound had become very hard to spot now. Only the fact that we had an optical lock on the ship allowed us to track her. I’d have liked to have him nearby as a wild card, but then again, wild cards like Marvin sometimes helped the enemy as much as their friends.
“Valiant, put me through to Kreel.”
“Channel open.”
“Riggs to Kreel. Ope
n fire according to plan.”
“I hear and obey, Admiral Riggs!” Kreel said eagerly. The Raptors were bored when out of combat.
I’d deployed my fleet in a loose lens formation: a concave disc with the focus toward the Macro fleet. The enemy floated in a defensive grid between us and their factory, conserving fuel. I couldn’t see any particular organization to their setup, though it might have been based on their wildly varying ship capabilities. On the other hand, Stalker and Valiant were positioned at the center of our group with the Nano ships in a halo around us and Ox, the transport, well behind.
A white line in the holotank reached out from Stalker, representing its monster main laser. At maximum effective range, it speared the icon of one of the smallest Macro ships. It was one we had calculated could be destroyed, or at least disabled, in one salvo.
I turned my head to the main screen that showed an optical view of the same enemy as we fired. When the blinding flare of energy faded, the Macro ship spun slowly, crumpled and slagged by the hideous heat of the Raptor beam. We’d knocked it completely out of the fight exactly as planned.
In the holotank, the Macros responded. They jetted wildly into evasive patterns like a swarm of hornets stirred up by a thrown rock. Clearly, they’d failed to correctly calculate the range and power of our biggest gun.
Now the Macros had a dilemma. If they fell back, perhaps trying to shelter among the sparse asteroids in the area, we could advance in force to bombard their factory. If they stayed in place, they would soon burn through their fuel evading us or die under our long-ranged fire. Like infantry harassed by artillery, their only option was to attack or flee entirely.
But there seemed to be no place to go. The Orn System ring we’d all arrived through was guarded by fortresses and, as far as the Macros knew, by Raptor fleets. The golden world buzzed with hundreds of hostile ships, not to mention the bizarre properties of the machines of the Ancients themselves. No other ring had been found. The Macros might flee into interstellar space, but low on fuel as they must be, even a stupid AI could determine that we would eventually chase them down.