by Hugh B. Long
Hal gave Cadfael and Gina an hour to do a preliminary investigation of the scene and events, before he left the bridge; after which, he walked the short distance aft to the crew quarters.
Flanking the door to Adrianna’s quarters were two marines: Kasper Vollan and Grigori Utkin.
Hal opened the hatch and found Doc McGregor, Cadfael, and Gina talking. Nothing looked amiss. The room was spotless—except for the dead woman lying on her bed. There wasn’t even a pool of blood. She could have been sleeping, but she wasn’t.
“Cause of death?” Hal asked.
The trio stopped talking and looked over at him. “Massive trauma to the brain,” Doc replied. “Looks like a small spike was driven in behind her right ear, up into the brain. Very small hole, lots of damage, and instant death. Also very neat, and very little blood loss.”
Hal shook his head, then punched the bulkhead. “What the fuck?”
The three in the room looked shocked. None of them had ever seen Hal lose his temper, not even after the news about New Midgard.
“Why her? Why now? Loki’s balls—after all we’ve just been through now someone is murdered on our ship?”
The Doc gave Hal a gentle look, the kind of look he might have used for dying men, a look to sooth and console. “It seems so, Captain. There is no way this was an accident of any kind. There’s some bruising on her face as well. Best guess is someone grabbed her face from behind, and shoved the murder weapon up behind her ear. She wouldn’t have been able to cry out that way.”
Hal took a deep breath, exhaled and sat down at the chair near what had been Adrianna’s desk. “I won’t tell you your jobs. Gina, you were an MP, you know what to do here. I don’t need to tell you how dangerous this is. My concern is, was this a murder over something personal? Or something bigger? Is there a saboteur on board my ship?”
“Captain, I’ll make sure everyone has a buddy going forward.” Gina said, “Every person on this ship will be paired with another, and will go nowhere without them. It might be a little inconvenient on scheduling, but I don’t see any other way.”
“Do it. You have my blessing.”
“We have exactly nineteen souls aboard the ship now, so that’s nine pairs and you.” Gina said.
“Captain to the bridge!” came Idwal’s voice over the comm system.
“Now what?” Hal tapped his wristcom. “Bridge, what is it?”
Eva Joubert’s voice replied, “Captain, we have a contact closing on us. Some type of vessel.”
“Why didn’t we see it on sensors when we arrived?”
“I am not sure, Captain,” she replied, “my best guess is that it popped out behind an asteroid and is now behind us. Its gravitic signature would not have flagged sensors, they would simply have considered it an inert object.”
“Cadfael, with me. Gina, good luck, I’ll be on the bridge," Hal said.
“Yes, sir.”
Hal dashed down the corridor from the crew quarters to the bridge in a half-run. He arrived in a few seconds. For convenience, the crew quarters were directly behind the bridge, that way, in an emergency, crew to get to their stations in seconds.
“Idwal, have you hailed them?” Hal asked.
“Yes sir, but they’re thirty light-minutes behind us, so we shouldn’t expect a reply for an hour.”
“Eva, can you tell us anything more about them?” Hal asked.
“Not much. Given their distance, the only way I was able to detect them was with our new gravitic sensors. I know they are there, approximately how massive they are—two-thousand tonnes—and how fast they are moving, but nothing else until we are in range with our standard sensors.”
“Ok. Glaw, full military deceleration. I don’t want to go farther afield until we know who they are. Let’s turn around and chat with our new friends.”
* * *
The unidentified vessel seemed to be accelerating at about three-hundred gravities. With their combined acceleration and deceleration, the two ships were closing the gap rapidly.
“I’ll tell you what I’d like to know … how in Niflheim did those bastards detect us?” Hal asked, more rhetorically, “Sensor net perhaps? But why that specific location. Surely they couldn’t have a system wide detection system?”
“It is quite possible, Captain,” Eva replied, “they could have some kind of sensor grid in place. A simple lattice of lasers would be sufficient. Regardless of how effective our stealth is, we are still a solid object that will interfere with light. Even though we may not reflect light directly back, if we interrupt the beam, that is all they would need. Very low-tech. In fact, that same principle has been used for over a century in building security systems.”
“Sir,” Nila added, “all they would need to do is to place a grid around strategic points in the system. Any craft is going to come essentially in a straight line from another star system, in all likelihood. So they could just place a medium sized grid in an intersecting path between likely travel points. Not fool proof, but pretty darn effective.”
“So it would seem. If that’s all it is, I’m going to be pissed off. Our new stealth design foiled by a century old home security system? Damnit.” Hal shook his head in disgust.
The minutes seemed to drag interminably until they were in range of the target with conventional sensors.
“Captain, I can now detect an anti-matter reactor powering some type of ion engine,” Eva said, “and they are probing us using a variety of active sensors: radar, lidar, and something else I have been unable to identify. No weapons detected so far, at least not powered up."
Hal nodded. “Ok, Idwal, any response on comms yet? We should be in range.”
“No, sir, nothing yet. I have a basic message transmitting every few seconds in a variety of languages.”
“Captain!” Eva jumped out of her seat. “I do not think they can see us!”
“What do you mean?” Hal asked.
“Well, we might have tripped their sensor grid by physically interposing ourselves between a beam and its reflector, but that would just alert them we were here. Then we would have just disappeared from their sensors!” She was jubilant.
Hal slapped a hand on his forehead. “And we’ve been painting our current position and heading by sending out hails. Idwal, stop all transmissions to them now! Glaw, hard to port ninety degrees at fifty-percent acceleration and let’s see what they do.”
The other ship was only a few light minutes away now, and in short order they saw the unknown ship still on course for their previous heading.
“Ok, that’s good news, ” Hal said, "so they don’t see us, but they can tell when we arrive in system with that detection grid up.”
Cadfael said, “I think we should attempt to locate and destroy that sensor grid, at least the portion that is in line with our route into this system.”
“I was thinking the same think, Cadfael,” Hal agreed, “Eva, do you think you could sniff out this grid?”
“Bien sûr—but of course. If we backtrack to where we jumped in, the grid is likely being emitted and received reasonably close to that point. If it is some type of point source like a laser, they would want the transmitter and receiver as close as possible to reduce detection delays.”
Hal nodded. “Anyone else have input or ideas?”
The bridge was quiet.
Cadfael said, “I believe it would be safe to assume there will not be a large presence in this system, hence their use of a detection grid instead of using ships as picket. I believe the plan is relatively low risk.”
Hal nodded. “Ok, let’s do it. Glaw, take us back to our arrival point, and Eva, start sniffing around with sensors.”
* * *
The Sleipnir slipped quietly back to her arrival point, while the ship previously shadowing her searched in vain for its quarry.
Eva turned back to look at the Captain. “Captain, I have detected a small asteroid on sensors that seems to be where the emitters are located. And yes … I am afra
id to say, they are just lasers. I am not detecting any shielding. One shot with our plasma-cannon may suffice,” Eva said.
“Oh, so you’re tactical advisor now?” Hal smiled at her.
Eva looked back and winked at him. “There are two asteroids in fact, at right angles to each other, approximately five light minutes apart. We will need to destroy both.”
“Cadfael, lets get ready to hit the first one," Hal said.
Sleipnir approached the small oblong asteroid, which was approximately two-kilometers in diameter at its widest. With the press of a button Sleipnir’s plasma-cannon turret popped up from its concealed location on the top of the ship, and fired a succession of brief pulses; they were invisible to the naked eye, but were displayed on the view-screen, and their effect on the target was quite apparent—a ball of molten was ejected from the transmitter’s location, and that was all there was to it.
Its job done, the plasma-turret ducked back into its recessed home; an observer would never know there was a weapon there at all.
“One down,” Hal said, “on to the next one, Helmsman, if you please.”
Glaw turned back to smile at his Captain. “Aye aye, sir,” he said.
They approached the second sensor transceiver in the grid and fired upon it, destroying it as quickly as the first. But along with the expected debris, a much larger object floated off the asteroid.
“Contact! There’s a ship coming off that asteroid,” Eva said.
“What? Sensors, report. Combatives, shields up.”
They watched as a ship rose off the asteroid. It was big, and bristling with extensions one might logically assume were weapons. It was at least three times the physical dimensions of the Sleipnir.
“Sir, it masses approximately two kilo-tonnes. It has an anti-matter reactor, and I detect plasma cannons powering up, and small bays opening,” Eva reported in a surprisingly calm voice.
“Helm, head for New Midgard, Military acceleration! Nila, plot a jump.”
“Already on it, boss, ready to jump in sixty-seconds,” Nila replied.
Glaw spun the ship around seventy degrees to port and accelerated at nine-hundred and ninety-eight gravities - blistering acceleration, but not quite fast enough.
As the Sleipnir started to pull away from the alien vessel, she was rocked by weapons fire.
“Captain, they’re firing plasma cannons. We’ve taken hits to the aft shield, but they’re holding.” Cadfael reported.
“Captain,” Engineer Teaghynn reported, “I am detecting missile launches, two bogies inbound.”
Having a ship accelerate rapidly, and keeping the crew alive, was a challenge, but solvable. One just had to work with the variables: such as mass, inertial compensators, and a reactor big enough to handle it. But it also had to handle life support, shields, and many more systems. A missile had no such auxiliary systems to power, or crew. It had one mission: track and accelerate as quickly as possible to the target, then detonate. Therefore, missiles could out-accelerate any known vessel by a very wide margin … including the Sleipnir.
“Ok, we can't outrun them..." Hal thumbed his chin for a second, “Cadfael, how accurate is our targeting AI? Can our plasma-cannon act as point defense now that we have these new gravitic sensors?”
“Yes … I think so.”
“Do it.”
“Missile impacts in ten-seconds,” Eva reported.
“Firing,” Cadfael said. With a bright flash, the first missile was destroyed.
“Yes!” Hal exclaimed, “One more, c’mon!”
And the second missile was destroyed.
“There we go, well done!” Hal said.
“Captain, six more missiles launched!” Teaghynn said.
The Sleipnir was pulling away from the enemy vessel, but the missiles could still catch her.
“Forty-seconds to impact,” Eva said.
“Weapons free,” Hal ordered.
Cadfael began targeting and destroying the incoming missiles: one down … two down. The ship was rocked by heavy plasma cannon fire. Hal surveyed the crew as the emergency unfolded—it was like he was outside of his own body, an observer floating in the air, watching the battle.
‘Sit on the bank of the river and observe, don’t be washed away by the current’ Sencha the Druid had taught him back on Earth.
He was proud of his team. This was their first test, whatever the outcome, they had already passed.
“Three missiles down … four down.” Cadfael reported.
“Five-seconds to impact, two missiles still inbound,” Eva said.
“Nila, we ready to jump?” Hal asked.
The fifth missile impact rocked the ship violently the ship—inertial compensators couldn’t handle the sudden extra load placed on them, and keep up with the already desperate acceleration. Then, as the Sleipnir decelerated involuntarily, the sixth missile hit, and again the ship was rattled.
“Captain, shields down, damage to aft systems and compartments. Two more missiles incoming,” Teaghynn reported.
Glaw managed to level the ship and point it back on course.
“Jumping … now.” and Nila took the ship into hyperspace.
Chapter 12
Nila’s jump was going to take them seven days through hyperspace to make it back to New Midgard and their rendezvous with the other ships, but at least they’d have the time in hyperspace to carry out repairs.
A few hours after their encounter with the hostile alien vessel, Hal assembled the entire crew in the Sleipnir’s War Room. Around the room the crew sat quiet as Hal stood and addressed them from the center of the room.
“We did well,” he said, shifting his proud expression to each person in turn, “it may not seem like it, but you all did your jobs perfectly, and under sudden and adverse conditions. I’m sure we’ll see worse before this is all over, but I wanted to let you know our little skirmish was a success. It proves to me you can do your jobs, and it should prove you have the confidence, ability, and courage in the face of the enemy. I’m proud to be your Captain.”
There were nods of acceptance, and a few skeptical looks, but Hal sensed most of them felt good about what happened.
“That said, we have work to do. The last missile hit has damaged the hyperdrive engines, and although our capable engineering team is repairing them,” he gestured to Teaghynn and Mared, “we may not be in the clear yet. Gina, I want your marines to help with the repairs in any way they can—grabbing parts, holding tools ... whatever. I know that’s not what you folks trained for, but we need all hands involved to ensure these repairs get done. If we can’t manage the repairs quickly, say within 48 hours, I’m told the hyperdrive may suffer severe damage, and we’d be forced into normal space to make repairs, putting us all at greater risk.”
“Anything we can do, Captain, you’ve got it.” Gina said.
“Yes, sir!” came a chorus from the marines.
Hal smiled at them. “Good, I like your enthusiasm. We’re still seven days from New Midgard in hyperspace, so I really don’t want to get stranded out here. Our Pinnace does have an emergency hyperdrive, but at one-third of our current speed, that would be twenty-one days just to go get help—one way.”
“Sir,” said Kasper Vollan, “we could get out and push…” The team laughed.
Hal was happy to see some of the tension ease from his people.
“Maybe just you, Vollan,” Hal replied.
“Yes, sir!” Vollan said, standing with a crisp salute.
“Ok, that’s it. Dismissed,” Hal said.
The crew began shuffling out of the room and Hal motioned for Nila to stay.
“Yes, boss?” Nila asked.
“Nila, I want you to identify every habitable refuge between here and New Midgard, that way we have a ready list of emergency stops should we need them.”
“Of course. I’ll also program that data into the Pinnace, shuttles and life-pods, just in case.”
Hal nodded. “Ok, great. Let’s hope we don�
��t need it, but better prepared than not.”
Nila nodded enthusiastically, eyes wide. “Indeed!”
* * *
Hal stayed in the War Room to use the large holographic projector, typically used to plan battles, but was also used to browse astrogation data. He called up a star-chart of all the space between their current location and New Midgard—essentially browsing the route and the data he’d asked Nila to prepare. He just wanted to get a rough idea of what was in between them.
Eva walked back in, and Hal turned. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much, I just wanted to see how you were holding up. It has been a trying few weeks,” she said.
“Yes, it has,” Hal gestured to a sofa, suggesting they take a seat. He sat on one end … and Eva sat in the middle, closer to Hal than he would have expected anyone else to do, but they did have an intimate history. This was probably just automatic reflex for Eva, he thought.
“I just wanted to let you know you can talk to me,” she offered gently, “if you need to open up, or speak about things that you might not be able to with the others … we were close once, no?”
“We were.” Very close, he thought. At this distance he caught the subtle scent of soap and shampoo, a delicate womanly fragrance, almost intoxicating. Maybe he didn’t realize consciously, but he was hurting, badly. He felt suddenly drunk with desire and other sensations flooding over him.
Hal abruptly stood up. He tried to shake off this wanting, it was wrong, so wrong. His wife and son captured, or worse, and he let himself feel this way?
“Thanks, Eva. I appreciate the offer.”
She looked shocked, clearly surprised at his reaction to her friendly offer. If she only knew what he was feeling right now.
“I’m sorry, Captain,” she said more formally, “I did not mean to overstep. I just thought, since we had been close … once ... ” Her words trailed off.
“Thanks,” he said. Hal turned and left the room.
* * *
After his brush with Eva, Hal decided to walk off his pent-up frustration and self-loathing, and wound his way down a deck into engineering at the aft of the Sleipnir. From a few meters away, Hal could feel the gentle purr of the engine, usually a sweet and pleasing sensation—but today something was amiss. There was a very slight dissonance in its usual harmony. It spoke of an instrument out of tune, or a musician off key.