by Ryk Brown
“Captain on the bridge!” the officer of the deck announced as Captain Christopoulos emerged from his ready room.
“Engineering reports they’ve begun the reactor startup sequence, sir,” Lieutenant Allison reported from the engineering station. “Both reactors should be at full power within twenty minutes.”
“Very well,” the captain answered as he made his way toward the center of the bridge. “Lieutenant Chara,” he called to his left as he took his place in the command chair, “any more details?”
“Fleet reports the Reliant is about to intercept six Jung cruisers headed for Earth,” the comm officer reported as he rotated away from his console to face the captain. “They’re just under six AUs out. Fleet is sending us the tactical data now.”
“Where’s the XO?” the captain asked.
“Right here, sir,” Commander Nasser answered as he entered the bridge and went straight to the comm station to look over the communiqués. “Guess we’re leaving early.”
“Maybe,” the captain said. “What’s our current crew complement?”
“Three hundred forty-seven,” Commander Nasser said. “Another hundred and sixty are supposed to report today—mostly scrub-ensigns straight out of the academy who have been cooling their heels while we finished our refit.”
“Any reason we need to wait for them?”
“No, sir. They probably won’t know which way to run when the shooting starts anyway,” the XO said. “Are we getting under way, sir?”
“Not yet,” the captain said. “But I have a feeling that order is coming soon.”
“Suggest we go to general quarters now, sir,” the commander said. “We haven’t held a drill in months, and we’ve got two-thirds of our crew on board. I’d rather find out ahead of time if we’ve got any positions that need a warm body in them.”
“Good idea,” the captain agreed. “Sound general quarters.”
“General quarters, aye,” the commander acknowledged. “Tactical, sound general quarters. All hands to battle stations.”
“Battle stations, aye,” Lieutenant Calloway answered from the tactical station as he activated the alarm.
The bridge lighting dimmed by half, and a red glow came up around the deck and the overheads. An alarm klaxon sounded from the corridors beyond the bridge, echoing throughout the massive warship as the prerecorded call to battle stations was broadcast.
Captain Christopoulos could imagine his crew falling from their bunks and chairs at the sound of the alarm klaxon. After two months in port, those who had stayed aboard had been working half shifts at best. He knew that a sudden call to battle stations would cause some amount of confusion among an otherwise well-trained crew. His executive officer’s recommendation to call general quarters early had been a good one. It was one of the many reasons that Captain Christopoulos was confident that Commander Nasser would be an excellent captain for the Intrepid.
“Tactical map coming up now, Captain,” the tactical officer reported.
“Put it on the main view screen,” Captain Christopoulos ordered.
A map of the Sol system appeared on the center panel of the row of view screens that wrapped around the front quarter of the bridge. A cluster of red triangles could be seen heading into the Sol system from just beyond the orbit of Jupiter. A blue triangle representing the Reliant was rapidly approaching the Jung battle group. Off to the sides of the system were two more blue triangles representing the Volkov and the Zhang-Ti.
“Look at that,” the captain mumbled. “They came in right when our ships were farthest away from their entry point. There’s no way anyone can back up the Reliant in time, not even at full burn.”
“You think they’ve got spies?” Commander Nasser asked.
“Wouldn’t you?”
“You think they know we’re ready to leave port?”
“Doubtful,” the captain said. “We should’ve been out on patrol already, doing a long burn in the opposite direction to reach our first patrol corridor.”
“I thought they would’ve come in from the Centauri side,” Commander Nasser said.
“Probably why they didn’t.” The captain turned toward his tactical officer. “Project their previous track based on course and speed, as well as time of contact.” A red line appeared, leading from the group of red triangles back the way they had come. “You see that?” the captain asked. “We only recon that sector every third pass.”
“Recon Three is overdue to report in,” the comm officer reported. “I saw it on the last Fleet status report.”
“She’s not overdue,” the captain said. “She’s gone.”
“They would’ve taken it out on the way in, so she couldn’t give enough warning for the rest of the fleet to move in to intercept,” Commander Nasser added. “Clever.”
“Not that clever,” the captain corrected. “We’re still between them and the Earth, or at least we will be as soon as Fleet clears us to get under way. Let’s make sure we’re ready when the call comes, Commander.”
* * *
“Mrs. Scott,” the agent began calmly, “I need you to come with me, ma’am.”
The urgent tone of his voice caught Marlene Scott by surprise. “But I’m not quite done…”
“I’m sorry, but I need you to come now, ma’am,” he insisted, gently taking her arm to lead her away from the box she was packing. “I’ll have someone finish this up for you. I promise. But we need to leave.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
The agent touched his ear. “Moving out now. South lawn in two.”
Two more agents suddenly appeared from the hallway, taking positions on either side of the confused Mrs. Scott.
“I demand to know what’s going on,” Marlene insisted.
“We have a situation, ma’am,” the agent said as they wound down the hallway and across the great house.
“What kind of situation?” Marlene asked as they approached the big glass doors that opened up to the top of the south stairs.
“It’s the Jung, ma’am,” the agent said as they approached the doors.
Marlene stopped in her tracks, her face turning pale. “What?”
An NAU military shuttle dropped in from above, engines screaming just beyond the great glass doors. The noise startled the president’s wife as the shuttle descended to the lawn, disappearing below the top of the great stairs. Four more agents suddenly appeared outside the doors, taking up positions on either side.
The agent touched his ear again. “Coming out,” he said in a soft tone. “Let’s go,” he told the other agents more loudly.
The glass doors swung open, and the agent led Mrs. Scott outside and down the stairs that led to the sprawling south lawn of the Scott estate. In the middle of the lawn, the military shuttle had just touched down, its engines still screaming as their exhaust scorched the perfectly manicured lawn. Several soldiers in NAU uniforms and dressed in full combat gear had already exited the shuttle and taken up defensive positions around it, their weapons held high and pointed outward away from the shuttle and the house itself.
Marlene followed the agent leading her down the stairs, her heart pounding. She could see his lips moving but could not hear his words over the roar of the shuttle’s engines. A million thoughts flashed through her mind as the men led her to the waiting shuttle: her husband, her children, her grandchildren, Nathan. Something terrible was about to happen.
Mrs. Scott was helped into the shuttle and led to her seat where a lieutenant quickly fastened her seatbelt. She looked at him, confused, as he placed a headset over her ears and began to speak.
“We may have to do a bit of maneuvering, ma’am,” the lieutenant explained. “Just stay in your seat and hold onto the armrests and you’ll be fine. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
> Marlene nodded her understanding, trying to hide her anxiety as the soldiers outside climbed back aboard the shuttle. The ship began to ascend just as the last soldier climbed aboard. It rose slowly at first, turning to the right as it gained altitude. Soon, it began accelerating forward at an alarming rate, dropping down to maintain a constant altitude above the contours of the landscape below as they headed down into the valley below.
Marlene swallowed hard, having never experienced such a wild ride. She had ridden in many shuttles in the past, even a presidential shuttle just after her husband had been sworn in a week earlier as the new president of the North American Union. Those rides had been smooth and easy, nothing like the jarring, shifting, wild ride she was currently on.
“How are you doing, ma’am?” the lieutenant asked over the comms.
“I’ve had smoother rides,” Marlene told him, trying unsuccessfully to smile.
“Yes, ma’am, I imagine so,” the lieutenant said, a broad grin on his face.
He was young and confident, dressed in the duty uniform of his country. Marlene remembered pictures of Nathan during his flight training, dressed in a similar uniform and wearing a nearly identical helmet. He had looked so good in his uniforms, like he belonged. She wondered if this young lieutenant’s mother worried about him.
“What about my children?” she asked the lieutenant as the shuttle banked to the left.
“Command is sending teams to pick them up now, ma’am. They’ll be fine.”
“They said the Jung were here.”
“They’re in the system, but still hours away, ma’am. There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll have everyone secure long before they get here.”
He was kind to offer assurances to her, but Marlene knew that everything was far from fine. Her husband had never talked much about what would happen if the Jung did invade the Earth, but she could tell that it worried him deeply. She had tried not to think about it much, choosing instead to go about her daily life as if nothing were wrong. She had convinced herself long ago that it was better for her children at the time to see that she was not worried. They had needed to grow up with hope and confidence in their own futures. Now she wondered if she had been wrong. She wondered if they might have been better served with frank discussions about the realities of the Jung threat.
Of course, now all her children were grown and had children of their own. Nathan had been the last to leave the nest. She wondered if they had prepared their own kids for such an event. Had they followed her example, choosing to pretend nothing was wrong? Or had they been honest with their young ones?
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She told herself to calm down as the shuttle continued to bounce and turn. She told herself that, soon, she would be back with her husband, safe and secure in an underground bunker somewhere in the Winnipeg area and surrounded by her entire family, all of them—except for Nathan.
CHAPTER FOUR
Captain Yahi sat calmly in his command chair at the center of the Reliant’s bridge, watching the tactical map displayed on the port-side view screen. The lighting was dimmed, and the edges of the deck and overheads glowed red to indicate that his ship was at battle stations and ready to fight.
“One minute to turn,” Ensign Erbe reported from the navigation station in front of and slightly to the left of the captain.
“Comms, any response to our hails?” Captain Yahi asked from his command chair.
“No, sir, nothing,” Ensign Donabee answered from the comm station.
“Have you been sending them over all channels?” The captain wondered aloud. It wasn’t that he did not trust the young communications officer, but like many on his crew, it was the young ensign’s first tour. He had joined the crew a few months back, coming over on a supply ship along with a dozen other late-tour replacements.
“Yes, sir,” Ensign Donabee answered. “All frequencies and in all known languages. They can hear us, sir. I think they’re just ignoring us.”
“Stand by to send the following challenge,” the captain began. “To Jung ships, from Commander, UES Reliant. You have entered the sovereign space of the United Earth Republic and have refused to answer our hails or state your intentions. If you do not reverse your course and leave the system immediately, we will be forced to open fire. You have one minute to comply.”
“Coming up on the final turn, sir,” Ensign Erbe reported, his voice slightly anxious.
“Helm, turn into the targets,” Captain Yahi ordered.
“Aye, sir,” Ensign Stewart answered, “turning into the targets.”
“Send the challenge,” the captain ordered his comm officer.
“Aye, sir, sending challenge.”
“Combat, Captain,” the captain called over his comm-set.
“Go ahead, sir,” Commander Denker answered over the comms.
“Load and deploy all missile batteries. Deploy and charge all rail guns. Lock one quad on each ship. Weapons hold. Wait for my order before firing.”
“Aye, sir,” the commander answered.
“Turn complete,” Ensign Stewart reported. “We are now headed directly at the targets.”
“Weapons range in thirty seconds,” Lieutenant Calloway reported from the tactical station.
“Any response to our challenge?” Captain Yahi asked, holding onto the hope that the Jung would respond favorably and he would not have to open fire.
“None, sir,” the comm officer answered.
“Weapons range in fifteen seconds,” the lieutenant reported.
“Begin deceleration burn,” Captain Yahi ordered. “Let’s not close on them any faster than we have to.”
“Aye, sir,” Ensign Stewart answered, “beginning deceleration burn.”
“Captain,” Lieutenant Legasse called from the sensor station. “The targets are changing formation. They’re spreading out.”
“Any sign they’re preparing to fire?”
“I’m not sure, sir,” the lieutenant admitted. “I see no changes in their power or heat signatures, and optical doesn’t show any changes that would indicate weapons deployment. But to be honest, sir, we’ve never seen these ships in action, so I’m not sure what to look for.”
“Keep an eye on them,” the captain told his sensor operator. “Let me know if you see anything suspicious.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Lieutenant Calloway,” the captain said, “your read?”
“They’re moving into a line abreast, sir.”
“So that each ship has a clear line of fire,” the captain said.
“That would be my guess, sir,” the lieutenant agreed.
“Damn.” The captain stared at the tactical map showing the six Jung cruisers indicated by red triangles as they moved into their new formation. The blue triangle in the center of the display represented their ship.
“Coming into weapons range, sir,” Lieutenant Calloway announced.
Captain Yahi looked at the system map on the starboard view screen. Besides his own ship, the Volkov and the Zhang-Ti were the only other ships that could intercept the Jung forces before they reached Earth. Unfortunately, the Volkov was nearly an hour away, and the Zhang-Ti was even farther out. He looked at his watch. “Combat, Captain,” he called over his comm-set.
“Combat,” his XO, Commander Denker, answered.
“Target the center ship. One salvo across its course. Make sure it’s an obvious miss. I want it to be perfectly clear that it’s a warning shot.”
“Yes, sir,” Commander Denker answered.
“Quad three is firing,” Lieutenant Calloway reported. He watched his tactical systems for a moment before reporting. “Clean miss, sir, right across the closest target’s course.”
“Comms, send the following message.
‘Break course and stand down or be destroyed. This is your final warning.’”
“Aye, sir,” Ensign Donabee answered.
Captain Yahi took a deep breath and sighed. He had followed the rules of engagement. He had hailed them. He had warned them. He had even fired a warning shot and followed it up with a direct threat. If the oncoming Jung ships did not do as he asked, he would have no choice but to open fire on them, no doubt starting a war that the Earth was ill-prepared to fight. Unfortunately, his orders were clear. He could not allow the enemy ships to continue unchallenged toward his homeworld. The risk was too great.
“Message has been sent, all frequencies and all languages,” Ensign Donabee reported. “No response.”
“Contacts are firing!” Lieutenant Calloway announced. “Rail guns! Impact in twenty seconds!”
Captain Yahi’s brow furrowed slightly. “Open fire, all quads!” A second after he gave the order, the Reliant’s eight massive quad rail guns reverberated through the ship’s frame in a low rumble as her rails charged and sent meter-sized explosive projectiles hurtling toward their targets in rapid succession. “Lock all missiles on targets and fire at will,” the captain added.
“Ten seconds to impact!” Lieutenant Calloway reported.
“Flight! Green deck!” Captain Yahi ordered. “Launch all fighters!”
“Green deck. Launching fighters,” Lieutenant Fudala answered from the flight operations station.
The Reliant vibrated as the Jung rail gun projectiles struck her outer hull.
“Comms, launch another comm-runner. Inform Fleet we’re under fire.”
“Aye, sir,” Ensign Donabee answered. “Launching comm-runner. Four runners left, Captain.”
“Taking fire across our bow!” Lieutenant Calloway reported.
“Damage?”
“Minor outer hull damage,” the lieutenant reported. “All systems still functioning properly. Missiles firing.”