by David Adams
“Yes sir.”
Turning on her heel, Liao marched out of the conference room and down the corridors of the Beijing. The woman barely noticed the passage of time as she travelled. The surprised looks on the faces of her crew went unnoticed as she stormed her way down the ship’s passages, taking the most direct path to her quarters. A junior crew member tried to hail her with a report, but she tersely told him to take it to Commander Iraj instead.
Once inside her quarters, the mask – a picture of anger and righteous indignation – began to crack. Angrily pulling off her belt, Liao threw it into a corner. Her boots were tugged off and hurled haphazardly on top of her belt, and then – still wearing the body of her uniform – she threw herself into her bed and stuffed a pillow over her face.
She desperately did not want to cry. Not over this man, not over any man, but Melissa Liao was not made of stone. James’ actions were a sting to her pride; they hurt her all the more with their noble intentions.
Soon, despite her best efforts, despite summoning all her strength and courage, the iron wall that held back her emotions bowed and broke away. The pillow stuffed against her face serving to muffle her quiet sobs.
Chapter XI
“Into Hell’s Maw”
*****
Operations Room
TFR Beijing
L1 Earth Lagrangian Point
A day later
Liao was stronger than this. She was stronger than tears, stronger than the hurt Grégoire had done to her, stronger than the realization that she had unwittingly used sex to further her career.
It was something that had always eaten at her, the idea that she might, one day, seek the easy path, simply take the low hanging fruit that was offered to her... And there were many offerings. Naturally, most of the members of the armed forces were men, and in modern Chinese society – again, thanks to the One-Child Policy – a pretty woman of reproductive age and function even in her early thirties was something valuable. And she could, even now, without too much difficulty find an easy life.
But Liao did not want an easy life purchased with vapid giggles and pretty looks. This path was one she had chosen for herself.
“All hands report ready for the jump, Captain.”
Lieutenant Dao, the ship’s chief navigator, twisted in his chair, turning around to regard the Captain. Liao gave him a firm nod, absently drumming her fingers on the command console in front of her.
“Good. Power up the jump drive and program in the coordinates. Perform stage four checks and let me know when they’re complete...”
A swift glance around Operations revealed that Summer Rowe, their chief technician for this critical, monumental task, was nowhere to be seen. Liao’s blood pressure spiked in fury. That woman!
“...Has the Tehran received the jump coordinates?”
Dao nodded. “Double and triple checked, ma’am. They’re powering their jump drive and are also reporting ready to go to stage four.”
Liao heard the noise of the hatchway to Operations being manipulated. The metal door swung open, revealing a slightly frazzled redhead who slipped sheepishly into the room. Instantly Liao strode over to her, the Captain’s boots clicked as she stepped towards Rowe, her hands folded in front of her.
“Summer Rowe, front and centre. Answer this question: are you, or are you not, the chief technician for this operation?”
Blinking in surprise at the aggressive questioning, Summer gave a confused nod. “Yes...”
Melissa was unable to keep the infuriated edge out of her tone. “Good, because I was beginning to wonder. Perhaps you’d like to explain why you chose to arrive late to this critical operation?”
“I’m... sorry?” Summer offered, rubbing the back of her head, “I guess I just overslept...”
Liao scowled, fixing a dark look on the red-headed woman. “You... overslept? Rowe, this represents a serious breach of discipline... and I’m afraid it’s only the latest in a long string of incidences which I have been gracious enough to overlook due to your civilian status.” Liao drummed her fingers against her opposite arm in aggravation. “I’d like you to explain to me why I should continue to do so, given how frivolously you seem to treat your position aboard this ship.”
Summer frowned in anger and confusion. All eyes in the Operations room were affixed on the two of them, something that Liao knew made the socially awkward woman even more uncomfortable.
She didn’t care.
“...I don’t know, I guess... I mean, I’m the best person you’ve got to work this technology, so I guess that’s why you have to-”
“-Rowe, there are literally thousands of highly qualified scientists and engineers back on Earth who would give their right arm to work and live on this ship. You know this; I know this. And I know that they would be respectful, would file their paperwork on time, and would in all things display a sense of discipline... both academic and personal.”
Liao did not mean to not-so-subtly bring up Summer’s relationship with Alex, but the words stumbled out of her mouth before she could even begin to process them. “So what I’m saying, Rowe, is that they – when offered such a prestigious prize as a position aboard my ship – would at least have the common courtesy to show up on time.”
“B-But-”
“Enough... I’ll deal with you later. Now, take your station.”
Abruptly, Liao spun on her heel and marched back to her console, glaring down at it and checking her readings. She could tell in her peripheral vision that many of the Operations crew exchanged subtle glances at her uncharacteristic outburst. Rowe, in particular, muttered something unflattering about her to Lieutenant Dao as she passed.
The minutes ticked down. The last few checks were performed, the heavy decompression doors descended, and the last few procedures were executed as Liao tried desperately to keep her mind on the job and away from her recent troubles with Captain James Grégoire.
Despite it all, despite everything that had happened last night, for reasons that escaped her utterly, she had chosen to wear the pearls James gave her, carefully tucked underneath her uniform and out of sight. The feel of the polished pearls tucked beneath her neckline gave some comfort to her, despite the pain he’d caused with his actions.
She chose to ignore whatever symbolism this feeling represented. Liao had seriously considered not wearing them... but it didn’t seem right. They were a gift, given honestly, and James had gone to extraordinary effort to procure them for her. Today, on this auspicious occasion, Liao chose to be a better person than one who would reject a gift honestly given. She would have to be better; Her duty to humanity would demand no less. It wouldn’t be right to bring her petty squabbles into this.
Not today. Today was a day for making history.
The chatter and busywork was uncharacteristically quiet in the Operations room and Liao, by now accustomed to the high ambient noise level in the area, found the situation slightly unnerving; even the nigh-constant clacking of fingers on keyboards was strangely muted. Deep down, she suspected that after the episode with Rowe, nobody on the crew wanted to be her next victim.
This thought caused her to frown even deeper. James – or more correctly, her relationship with James – was causing her and her crew friction. This was exactly what she meant when she’d said there’d be issues if they took it too far, if they allowed their personal feelings to begin to influence their judgement.
Silence reigned until Dao’s voice broke the spell. “Stage four checks completed, Captain. Coordinates are locked in and the drive is fully powered. We’re ready to turn the keys.”
To prevent accidental activation, the jump system required the insertion and simultaneous turning of two individual keys. On each of the three Pillars of the Earth, the Commanding Officer held one and the First Officer held the other.
With a single twist of her wrist, the ship and the entire crew would disappear and reappear millions of light-years away. They had no idea what to expect. The event would be the first ti
me in humanity’s history that they would engage a jump drive. Yes, but it was also the first time humans were going to exist outside of the solar system... their cradle - and, of course, the first time that they were making war in another system.
Pushing those thoughts into the back of her mind, the same corner she’d pushed thoughts of James, Liao gave her first officer a nod then reached into her pocket and retrieved the simple looking key. Spending a moment looking at the humble thing in her hand, she stepped over to the jump system and waited until Kamal had his key ready too.
Liao paused, willing through sheer determination the thoughts of James to be banished from her mind. She hoped – hoped beyond hope – that her mind would remain unclouded and focused. To occupy her thoughts, she tried her damnedest to appreciate the significance of what they were about to do, of the great and truly wondrous mission they were about to undertake. She and her crew were about to execute the very first jump in human history – albeit one straight into the middle of a fleet of unknown size, configuration, fire-power, and existence. They would do this insane, risky thing and it would be done by her hand.
Swallowing her uncertainties, her doubts and her fears, Liao gave a nod. “Very well, Mister Dao... set general quarters throughout the ship and seal the decompression doors. Bring all reactors to full power. Arm and ready nukes, charge railgun capacitors, and evacuate non-critical sections. Inform Mister Cheng to prepare the marines for action.”
She glanced over her shoulder to the fresh-faced Communications officer, whose name she had since learned was Jung Hsin. “Mister Hsin, contact the Tehran... We are jumping in twenty seconds. Mister Ling, disable artificial gravity.”
The Tehran would jump in thirty seconds behind them. Liao felt her stomach lurch as, suddenly weightless, the slightest motion caused her to rise just slightly off the ground, slowly floating towards the ceiling. Holding on to the jump console, she and her first officer exchanged a final glance, then both pushed their keys in, giving each a half turn to the right. As both keys clicked into place, there was a gentle hum and then... nothing.
Liao had expected a flash of light, or a twist in perspective, or some kind of fundamental change in her local environment that would acknowledge the dramatic, intense event that had just occurred. But instead, there was just the quiet hum of the ship’s computers and the occasional chirp from a console to break the eerie silence.
Liao withdrew her key, replacing it within the special pocket on her hip.
“Report!”
The previous quiet, which until that moment had seemed utterly palpable, was suddenly broken by dozens of shouting voices.
“Jump complete, Captain!”
“Radar online... Multiple contacts!”
“Railguns ready, Captain!”
“Missiles standing by!”
“Hull plating charged!”
Artificial gravity came back on, slowly, and Liao floated back down to the deck. In seconds it was back to Earth normal.
The voices continued to shout out. Liao, rather than answer each of them directly, had to prioritize. None of the reports sounded negative – no problems so far – so she put her mind to attacking.
“Tactical! Mister Jiang, give me a sitrep!”
Jiang’s reply came almost instantly. “One facility, ten thousand kilometres off the port side, Captain. Estimated mass: five hundred-thousand tonnes. Six vessels – no, wait, seven vessels – appear to be docked, all of various masses, shapes and sizes... Most are around eighty thousand tonnes, two are in the two hundred thousand range!”
Liao gripped her console tightly, nodding. “One nuke each, then, and three for the facility itself. Target centre of mass. Impact detonations. Reload immediately and fire for effect.”
Jiang’s fingers flew over her keyboard frantically. “Copy that! … Missiles away, Captain!”
Liao nodded. They had pre-loaded the railguns with nukes too, and now was the time to use them. “Railguns, target the closest, largest ship. Fire for effect until the target is silent. Keep hitting them until they’re nothing but slag.”
“Aye aye, Captain... Firing!”
Lieutenant Ling urgently beckoned Commander Iraj over to her console. Although Liao did not hear what they said, in moments the voice of her first officer cut over the chatter. “Captain Liao! The TFR Tehran reports that they have successfully jumped into the system and are engaging the enemy!”
“Good!” Liao once more put thoughts of James and his actions out of her mind. Now was not the time. “Patch them into our target-control computers so we can cross-reference our information... Compensate for the latency however you can.” She turned back to Jiang at tactical. “ETA on missile volleys?”
“One minute, Captain. Looking to be good effect on target...”
Captain Liao nodded, stepping over to stand behind Lieutenant Dao. “Mister Dao, are we still holding in the Lagrangian point?”
The man nodded. “Yes, Captain. We can jump out as soon as the jump drive is fully charged... so, just over six minutes.”
Six minutes. A lot could happen in six minutes. Seven ships was more than they were expecting, but at the same time, it was more than they were expecting... and they were all caught completely off guard. If they could destroy all seven of them, that would be a huge blow to the Toralii Alliance.
Jiang’s voice called to her again. “Second missile volley loaded and away, Captain! Railguns engaged at maximum sustainable rate of fire!”
“Very good, Mister Jiang! Continue fire for effect!”
Liao studied the radar screen on Dao’s station, watching as the small red dots flew towards the larger, seemingly inactive station.
“Impact in five, four, three, two, one... Signals have merged. Reading... reading multiple detonations!”
A wild cheer sprung up from the Operations crew. Liao grinned eagerly, nodding. “ETA on second barrage?”
Jiang tapped a few more keys. “Three minutes, Captain.”
Liao studied the high-definition radar screen intently. “Focus our long range radar on the facility and the ships. Any sign of debris?”
Dao nodded his head. “Some,” he admitted, seeming less enthused than Liao hoped he would have been. That generally meant that there was something wrong. “There’s been significant contact spread from the initial impacts on the smaller vessels – based on the debris spread we saw from the scout ship they’ve probably been heavily damaged – but the larger ships... not so much. The facility, too, seems less affected than I would have hoped.”
Liao nodded. “They’re almost certain to be hardened against all kinds of weapons.” She straightened her back, turning to Jiang. “Mister Jiang! Finish off the smaller ships and then focus on the larger ones.”
A third missile wave flew away from their vessel, the hum of the railguns a constant beat as they fired barrage after barrage. Loading them with nukes again would take too long and be far too dangerous to do in combat, so the gun crews switched to ferrous rounds, firing their projectiles at unfathomable speed towards the station and larger ships.
“Captain Liao!” Hsin’s voice caught her attention from the Communications station. “The Tehran reports that their facility appears to be either a fuel or ammunition depot. Whatever it is, it went up like a light! They jumped in next to it and fired; it blew right up after their first barrage and took out most of the ships docked with it. They’re moving in to mop up what’s left.”
Despite herself, Liao couldn’t help but feel slightly bitter that James had one-upped her and the efforts of her crew. “No such luck for us, though, our facility is still standing. Congratulate them and continue to receive regular status updates.”
Jiang spoke up from the tactical station. “Captain Liao, the second missile barrage has impacted on the targets. Once again, multiple detonations, good effect on target.”
Dao jabbed a finger at his screen. “Captain, the station is launching strike craft! I’m reading... a hundred, at least, possibly two h
undred distinct contacts.”
Liao nodded, they were expecting that. “Mister Jiang, disable master arm on point-defence cannons and inform gun crews to fire at will, weapons free. Signal Major Aharoni and tell him to launch our strike craft. Cross-reference firing solutions with point-defence. I don’t want us shooting down our own birds.”
“Aye aye, Captain. Point-defence set to weapons free, strike craft away.”
Liao stared at the various radar displays, watching as the large swarm of strike craft flew out from the Toralii station. Their own craft – heavily outnumbered – flew in to match them. The two clouds merged and Liao listened to the chatter through an available earpiece.
“Jazz, break right. Break right!”
“He’s right behind you. Got him!”
“Good tone, good tone... Fox two!”
Liao switched the channels on her headset; she could give no instructions directly to them that would be of any help, since the radar signal of the fighter swarms had merged and there was no way to tell who was who. Alex would have to handle it on his own. “Mister Dao,” she called again, “status on targets?”
The man’s response was heartening. “The smaller vessels appear to have been disabled or destroyed,” he replied, “but the facility is still active. I’m detecting energy discharges... They’re firing at us, and the larger ships are beginning to move away from their mooring stations. But based on the debris field they’ve all been heavily damaged!”
The ship shook as the Toralii brought their weapons to bear. The station’s batteries opened up and the rate of fire was intense. Liao could see by the thermal camera image on Dao’s station that most of the shots went wide. The gunners on the station appeared to be less concerned with accuracy than she would have expected. This made avoiding the blasts practically impossible... which, she supposed, would be the whole point.
“Hull temperature rising!” Jiang called, “Breach on deck four, no casualties!”
Liao nodded understandingly. No casualties, as expected. The outer sections of all decks were evacuated and at general quarters barely pressurized, but it was a bad sign that they were able to punch holes in their ship so easily. The station had much stronger weapons than the scout ship they’d encountered earlier.