The Long Road Home (A Learning Experience Book 4)

by Christopher Nuttall

  He scowled as time ticked by, slowly. There didn't seem to be anyone in charge of controlling passage through the gravity point, but the fortresses were in perfect position to interdict Odyssey. He was all too aware that trying to double back would merely bring them up against another set of fortresses. Unless, of course, they headed out into interstellar space and dropped into FTL. He didn't want to take his ship close to that much firepower without permission to proceed.

  “Picking up a response,” Williams informed him. “Captain, they have cleared us to pass through the gravity point.”

  Elton knew he should be reassured. Free passage through gravity points was a hallmark of interstellar civilisation. It was a relief that that hadn't changed. And yet ... and yet ... the mere presence of the fortresses was ominous. It suggested that the Kingdom of Harmonious Order expected trouble. They might expect to be going to war with their neighbours.

  Or they might already be at war with their neighbours, he thought, sourly. It isn't as if we’d know anything about it until we saw the fighting.

  “Gravity point transit in seventeen minutes,” Marie reported. “Gravity jump generator powering up now.”

  Elton scowled, feeling cold ice congealing in his chest. He’d never seen a gravity point so ... so inactive. The fortresses were maintaining their silent watch, but nothing was coming in or going out of the gravity point. Perhaps it made sense, hundreds of thousands of light years from galactic civilisation, yet here ... there should have been dozens, if not hundreds, of freighters transiting the gravity point. It looked, very much, as though their way had been deliberately cleared.

  He watched the fortresses, half-expecting them to bring up their weapons as soon as Odyssey was within effective range. His ship was already too close, although he could swing around and avoid their fire long enough to escape. But the fortresses did nothing, even when the starship entered sprint-mode range. They seemed sullen, yet silent. He would almost sooner have been fired upon.

  “Transit in one minute,” Marie said. “Captain ...?”

  “Take us through,” Elton said. He forced his voice to stay calm. The crew were well-trained, but they’d be shaken - badly shaken - if their commander sounded nervous. “Mr. XO, order the freighters to follow us one by one.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Biscoe said.

  Elton forced himself to relax as the last few seconds ticked away. He’d considered trying to take two or more of the freighters through the gravity point in the first jump, but that would have been unacceptably risky. In theory, the odds of interpenetration were low if the ships jumped together; in practice, there was just too great a risk of being slammed together and destroyed. The Harmonies would probably see it as an assault, too. They’d certainly be concerned about three starships exploding as they crossed the gravity point ...

  “Jumping ... now,” Marie said.

  The universe sneezed. Everything went grey, just for an instant ...

  ... And then the tactical console started to chime an alert.

  “Targeting sensors,” Callaway snapped. “They’ve locked on to us!”

  Elton tensed. “Raise shields,” he snapped. The display was covered in washes of red light, focusing on his ship. They didn’t even have a solid lock on whoever was targeting them. “Stand by point defence!”

  There was a long chilling pause. “No incoming missiles,” Callaway said. Seven new icons - all fortresses - blinked up on the display. “I say again, no incoming missiles!”

  “Move us forward,” Elton ordered, sharply. The first freighter would be jumping through the gravity point at any moment. “Communications, send a greeting and ask for permission to fly to Harmony.”

  There was a long pause. “They’re hailing us, Captain,” Williams said. “Standard galactic communications protocol, galactic two.”

  Elton nodded, slowly. “Put them through.”

  He leaned forward, feeling a shiver of excitement, as the Harmony appeared in the display. He - or she - was humanoid, with green skin ... what little he could see of it. The alien wore a silver robe that concealed everything, apart from his face. Even his hands were covered by silver gloves. The eyes were dark pools that were utterly inhuman ...

  “Greetings,” the alien said. His voice was surprisingly human. Elton couldn't help wondering if he was using a voder, although most Galactics would rarely deign to use one in front of someone they considered an inferior. “I welcome you to our system.”

  “I thank you,” Elton replied, in the same language. The Solar Union insisted that all naval officers had to have a working knowledge of at least two different galactic tongues, even though there had been complaints that it was a form of subtle imperialism. “We are pleased to finally lay eyes on your world.”

  He kept his amusement to himself. He’d been carefully briefed on what to say - and what not to say - over the last few weeks. The Galactics had a protocol, after all, and woe betide the person who didn't follow it. They might not be able to actually see Harmony - the world was well out of sensor range - but it didn't matter. All that mattered was ensuring that the first contact went smoothly.

  “We are pleased,” the alien said. “My speaker must now speak to your speaker.”

  The ambassador, Elton thought. The Harmonies, if the files were accurate, insisted on talks being conducted between people of equal rank. His counterpart, he assumed, would be a starship commander. In some ways, it was a concession; in others, it was annoying. And she’s been waiting for this for months.

  “My speaker will speak to yours,” he said. He keyed his console, allowing Rebecca to join the conversation. “She will open communications.”

  The alien bowed and vanished. Elton frowned at the empty space where his image had been for a long moment, then moved his eyes to the tactical display. The Harmonies were still targeting his ship, even though they’d opened communications; the remainder of the freighters were spreading out, unsure what to do. Elton nodded to Biscoe - he’d have to comfort the merchant skippers - and then returned his attention to the display. The Harmonies might not be shooting, but it didn't make him feel any better. They were pointing enough firepower at him to vaporise Odyssey within seconds ...

  He looked at Callaway. “Tactical analysis?”

  “Most of their tech is Tokomak-level, as we expected,” Callaway said. “But some of their ECM generators are stronger than anything we’ve seen from the Tokomak. They’ve actually wrapped their fortresses in enough ECM to make targeting difficult.”

  Elton frowned. “You can compensate for it?”

  “Yes, at close range,” Callaway said. “At longer range, the fortress’s exact location will be a little fuzzy. I wouldn’t expect Tokomak-grade missiles to be able to lock onto the fortress without a direct link to a sensor probe.”

  “Noted,” Elton said. He studied the blurred icons on the display, thoughtfully. “And beyond?”

  “I think there are some cloaked ships nearby, but it’s impossible to be sure,” Callaway admitted. “Captain, they’re jamming our sensors alarmingly well. I honestly can’t swear to anything outside close-in sensor range.”

  “And we’re really far too close to their missile batteries,” Biscoe added.

  Elton nodded. There were three fortresses within sprint-mode missile range, all capable of overwhelming Odyssey’s defences and blowing her away if they fired in unison. He didn't think they had a hope of escape, unless they managed to jump back through the gravity point ... where there were five more fortresses waiting for them.

  He looked down at the timer, feeling cold. The Galactics, he’d been told, could take years arguing over the shape of the conference table before discussing the agenda. He wasn't sure he believed it, but as the minutes went on and on ... he forced himself to relax, hoping that Rebecca wasn't about to start a diplomatic incident. He’d told her, often enough, just how dangerous it was to jump through a fortified gravity point ...

  “Tactical,” he said. “Can you see the other g
ravity points? Are they fortified?”

  “No, sir,” Callaway said. “I can pick up the points themselves, but I can't detect any fortresses or minefields at this distance.”

  Elton’s console bleeped. “Captain,” Rebecca said. “I need to talk to you. Please can we meet in your office.”

  “Ah,” Elton said. Technically, a captain wasn't meant to leave the bridge in a dangerous situation. It wouldn't look good on the post-mission report. But then, on the other hand, he couldn't recall any starship that had jumped right into such a dangerous spot before. “I’ll meet you in my office in two minutes.”

  He rose. “Commander Biscoe, you have the bridge,” he said. “Alert me the moment anything changes.”

  “Aye, sir,” Biscoe said.

  Elton took one last look at the display. The sensors were finally starting to compensate for the cloud of ECM, telling him things he hadn't wanted to know about their potential opponents. If their tactical sensors were a mark of their firepower, the Harmonies had crammed more missile tubes into their fortresses than the Tokomak had ever done. And, beyond them, there were very definite hints of minefields and cloaked starships. There was no way to avoid the simple fact that they were in deep trouble.

  And this was meant to be a diplomatic mission, he thought, as he headed for the hatch. I don’t want to have to tangle with those defences in wartime.

  ***

  “Absolutely out of the question!”

  Rebecca sighed, inwardly. She'd expected the response. It didn't make it any easier to bear.

  “It’s a reasonable request,” she said, calmly. She’d talked to rogue warlords and alien governors. She could talk to a single starship commander. “They want you to deactivate and dismantle your weapons array while you’re in their system.”

  The captain took a long breath. “There is no way that I will render this ship defenceless,” he said, curtly. “Quite apart from the simple fact that regulations forbid it, I have no way to know what will happen in the future. We don't know what’s actually going on in this system.”

  Rebecca rubbed her forehead. Talking to the alien had given her a throbbing headache. He hadn't used one word when twenty would do and he’d seemed to take a perverse delight in alternatively being accommodating and demanding. One of her staffers had wondered, on their private channel, if he was being pushed and pulled by two competing factions on Harmony, but there had been no way to know for sure. The Harmonies themselves seemed to be of two minds about the whole affair.

  “It’s a reasonable request,” she repeated. “Would you want an armed alien starship orbiting Stuart Asteroid?”

  “I would be happy to hold diplomatic discussions well away from anywhere vital,” the captain countered. “I certainly wouldn't invite a starship to come all this way and then demand that it disarm itself.”

  He took a breath. “And I would also understand why some people would be concerned about the galactic situation,” he added. “We don’t know what’s going on! Or did they tell you what’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Rebecca said. She looked down at the deck, wishing her implants would hurry up and fix the headache. “They just talked about security considerations. But we wouldn't be having any substantive discussions here anyway.”

  “Security considerations,” the captain repeated.

  “Yes,” Rebecca said. She wished she’d been able to learn more, but the alien diplomat had spoken hundreds of words and said nothing. “They have to be a little worried about having an armed starship orbiting their homeworld.”

  “If their homeworld is as heavily defended as this gravity point,” the captain said, “they’ll have enough firepower to reduce us to atoms.”

  He calmed himself with a visible effort. “I can safeguard the weapons, of course,” he added. “I can certainly make sure that they’re not fired without authorisation. However, I cannot deactivate them, let alone dismantle them. It would render us vulnerable when we don’t know what’s really going on.”

  “Captain ...”

  “That’s not something I can compromise on,” the captain said, firmly.

  “This might be a precondition for the talks,” Rebecca said. She fought down the urge to yawn. She understood his point, but she understood theirs too. Seeing things from both sides of the table was the mark of a good ambassador. “Captain ...”

  The captain scowled. “And how many concessions are you prepared to make?” He asked, bluntly. “For all you know, this is a test to see how far you’ll go to talk with them. This might be the first set of unreasonable demands. What next? Will they want to search the ship?”

  “They do want to inspect it ...”

  “No,” the captain said, flatly.

  Rebecca pulled herself upright and glared at him. “It is a principle of galactic law that ships can be searched, when docked at a foreign port,” she pointed out. Technically, the Solar Union had never signed the interstellar treaties, but it had usually honoured them. “And not one we can avoid.”

  “That only applies if the ship is a freighter and suspected of smuggling,” the captain countered, stiffly. “As a diplomatic ship, which we are, we should be immune to search.”

  He looked back at her, evenly. “We have technological secrets,” he reminded her. “The Galactics will want to know how we beat the Tokomak, if they have any sense at all. They need to copy our weapons, sooner rather than later. There is no way we can allow them to search this ship.”

  Rebecca scowled. He was right. They’d both be in deep shit when - if - they got home.

  She rubbed her head, again. She had a nasty feeling he was right about the test, too. The Harmonies had good reason to believe - correctly - that humanity was eager to come to terms with them. And yet, they wouldn't see humanity as a peer power. Pushing and prodding at her, testing her willingness to make concessions ... it might well be intended to weaken her bargaining position.

  But if there is a war going on, she thought grimly, they might have reason to be worried about us too.

  “Offer a compromise,” the captain said. He leaned forward. “We’ll give them a tour.”

  Rebecca blinked. “A tour?”

  “A sanitised tour,” the captain said. He sounded oddly amused. “We can show them around the ship, but never show them anything truly sensitive. They'd know they were being snowballed, yet they wouldn't be able to complain.”

  “You gave me a tour, as I recall,” Rebecca said. Her eyes narrowed. She was in no mood for jokes. “How much did you hide from me?”

  “Almost everything,” the captain said. “We certainly didn't open compartments for you to take a look inside.”

  Rebecca made a mental note to discuss that later, although - she had to admit - there was no reason why they should have shown her everything. She held a high security clearance, but she doubted she had any reason to look at the starship’s innermost workings. There was no need for her to know.

  “I’ll discuss it with them,” she said, tiredly. Her headache was still pounding inside her skull. “And I hope you’re right.”

  “I hope you’re right, too,” the captain said. He sounded pensive. “I’m feeling rather naked out here.”

  ***

  “Captain,” Williams said, an hour later. “They’ve sent us permission to cross the defences and enter the system. And they’ve given us a preset flight path.”

  “Forward it to the helm,” Elton ordered. He glanced at the console. The ambassador had obviously managed to convince the Harmonies to drop at least one of their demands. That was a relief. He knew he couldn't disarm the ship, but he also knew he was in no state to press matters. “Marie?”

  “It’s a straight-line course to Harmony, Captain,” Marie reported. “They’re not trying to be fancy.”

  “Good,” Elton said. The fortresses were still targeting Odyssey. A reminder of their power or something more sinister? He couldn't escape the feeling they’d flown into a war zone, if it wasn’t a trap. Just what was
going on? Hopefully, they’d be able to get some answers soon. “Take us out, standard cruising speed.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Marie said.

  Elton keyed his console. “Major Rhodan, report to the bridge immediately,” he ordered. “We have a tour to plan.”

  Chapter Eleven

  That is something of my point. We are putting ourselves first. We cannot hope to defeat a towering galactic civilisation without help. Heart - or heartlessness - does not come into the equation. The cold equations of military reality demand that we find allies who can help us defeat our enemies. Even if they do nothing more than soak up enemy missiles, they will be helping us.

  We are putting ourselves first.

  -Solar Datanet, Political Forum (Grand Alliance Thoughts).

  Harmony was an old system. It teemed with life.