Star Crusader: Siege of Kalar

  Matilda didn’t argue that point.

  “It would be nice to have at least a generation where we are no longer fighting a war, though. Wouldn’t it?”

  “True,” said Nate.

  Billy moved on from the armour and pointed to a helmet of a T’Kari soldier.

  “The first aliens we ever met.”

  Matilda chuckled.

  “Not quite. You know the Biomechs and their creations were already on our colonies hundreds of years before we build the Rift Engines, don’t you?” She shook her head with wry amusement, “We were connected to this place centuries ago. We just never knew it.”

  Billy listened, but he was quickly becoming bored.

  “Come on, quicker we get there, the quicker we can put our feet up.”

  And with that, Billy was gone. Nate hesitated, but then moved after his friend. Gone were the days of them wearing civilian clothes, and if anybody spotted them, they would now always have to consider them pilots, like all the others. Both wore their PDS gear, as well as their firearms attached at their flanks. They moved differently to normal, though neither would have noticed it. Their nervous, almost careful pacing through the ship replaced by something bordering on a swagger, brought on by the seemingly never-ending dangers they faced.

  “Is it me, or is this place seriously dead?” Billy asked.

  Nate kept on walking, but looked equally confused. He paused and double-checked the dimly lit signage to make sure they were heading in the right direction.

  “Dead? What do you mean?”

  “Well, look around the place.”

  Nate’s eyes opened wider as he examined the passage. There was no engine vibration, and many of the panels looked brand new, as though just installed. There was little change to the innards of Victorious.

  “It looks new, but I don’t quite get…”

  “The people,” whispered Billy, “Where are the people?”

  Nate continued walking, but as they passed a number of dormitory doors, he paused and moved to the second of them. A tap on the door access panel opened the metal doorway, and he leaned inside. The room was big, like most of the rooms he’d seen on the newer Alliance ships. There were double bunks on each side, as well as computer panels and a few low tables and chairs in the centre. It was a place to sleep as well as to relax.

  “You’re right,” He looked back to Billy, “Where is everybody?”

  Billy shrugged.

  “Dunno. Maybe they were never here to begin with.”

  “Are you blind?”

  They looked back to see Matilda and Cassandra. Both looked exhausted, and Cassandra’s eyes were sunken and dark. Even Matilda appeared worse for wear, following their seemingly never-ending struggle

  “What?” Nate asked.

  Matilda lifted her right hand and pointed inside. She stepped through the gap and walked towards the first of the bunks, pointing to various objects.

  “Boots, a spare jacket. And this, a photograph.”

  She lifted the small metallic plate and showed it to the others. Nate stepped closer and looked at the face of a young Marine. He was not much older than Nate, and wearing fatigues and carrying a rifle. At his side were another three, all roughly the same age and height. Nate shrugged.

  “They could have been here for months.”

  Matilda grumbled but then walked further inside. She stopped at reaching a magnetised tray on one of the tables. It stuck to the surface with enough force to stop it sliding. On top was a cup with a special anti-spill top fitted. She leaned over and smelt the top.

  “Tea…and it’s got milk in it.”

  Cassandra joined her and sniffed the drink.

  “It’s from today, Nate.” She looked back at him, “So where is everybody?”

  A figure appeared at the door and leaned in.

  “What are you all doing in here?”

  Nate twisted about and almost panicked before realising it was Lieutenant Commander Holder.

  “Sir.”

  “At ease, pilot. Now…why are you here? I thought you had orders to get to the rec room.”

  “Yes, we do,” answered Matilda, “But something isn’t right. Where is everybody?”

  Holder looked at them, and as she examined their faces, she felt guilt. She’d joined the military, and like so many others, she’d been trained for what they were doing. But not these, they were young, too young. They were eager and skilled, but each of them showed the marks and stresses on their faces.

  They need time out, maybe withdrawal from the front-line. Yet removing them from their duties is impossible.

  As she scanned the room, that became even clearer.

  “I don’t know. All I can tell you is that we have pilots on board, and each of you needs rest. Maybe they shifted the rest of the ground troops to the transports to make room.”

  Nate could tell she was making it all up. Even worse, she was nervous, and that did little for his confidence. He spotted Billy slumping down into one of the comfortable looking chairs.

  “Sir, we’re still heading back home, though, right?”

  That was when he spotted the look in her eye, something close to a squint. It was a minor behaviour trait, but even Nate could see she was about to say something that made her uncomfortable.

  “Not yet, Nate. We’re going back to the fleet. The entire Navy has been mobilised, and we’re needed.”

  She pointed to him.

  “And so are you. We will need every single pilot we can get our hands on. Are you up for that?”

  Nate nodded without even thinking.

  “Yes, Sir. Definitely.”

  “Good. Then get to the rec room and calm your minds for a little. We won’t be back for a little over a day, assuming the engines hold up.”

  As she said the words, a thud shook through the ship. Matilda placed a hand on the sidewall as though doing that would allow her to sense what was going wrong. Luckily, the vibration stopped as quickly as it had begun. Holder gave them a nervous smile.

  “Like I said; one day, as long as the engines keep going.”

  She then left. Cassandra walked into the centre of the space and placed her hands at her hips.

  “Okay, then. Who wants to play a game?”

  Nate’s expression changed instantly.

  “Game?”

  “Yeah. Come on, this place gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  They went back into the passage and walked the short distance to the recreation room. The passage was wider, the glass on the walls giving the place an open, more comfortable setting. At the end an opening rather than a door led into the room. The name was something of a misnomer, as it actually consisted of a wide space, along with several smaller upper areas jutting out above them.

  “This is more like it,” said Billy.

  There were plants fitted in key places, as well as lounge seating, tables, and even space for card games. To the uninitiated it might easily have been a bar, but there was no alcohol present. A tall structure rose up from the floor filled with liquid and many bubbles. Nate paused, watching the unusual colours and patterns moving about inside.

  “Weird.”

  Matilda moved off to the wall at the side where a long table functioned as a model display. There were metal artefacts showing the designs for all manner of ships and machines. She inched closer and stopped in front of the largest model.

  “ANS Warlord.”

  Nate moved up to her side, while Billy and Cassandra wandered about, examining the artwork and unusual plants. Nate reached out and touched the large model. It was almost a metre long and constructed from the fabricator machines on the ship. As he ran his fingers along the shape, he smiled. He could feel the subtle ridges, serving as a reminder that the machines had built it with layered metal powder. It was a technology dating back to the twentieth century, and used on the ship to construct non-critical parts.

  “It’s not the prettiest of ships, is it?”

  Matilda walked towards
its bow and pointed to the design.

  “No. She’s far from pretty.”

  Both had seen her in the flesh, but this model looked different in some way. It took Nate several seconds to realise it was because now he could see it in perfect light. In space there was little light, and what there was tended to be harsh and directional. A consequence of that were ships, or large parts of them were often hidden from view.

  “Do you know why they built her?”

  Nate tried to remember, but only fragments appeared to him.

  “I…uh…can’t remember.”

  Matilda didn’t look surprised.

  “Back in the last war we were building ships as fast as possible. Most factories back home, and even the new one at T’Karan, were putting out standard ships of the line.”

  “Crusader and Liberty Class?”

  Matilda nodded.

  “Yes. At first the factories were just building Crusaders. They are our best overall ships, especially the final iteration with particle weaponry and larger mission bays.”

  “But we needed escorts, and fast.”

  “Yes,” said Matilda, “That’s where the Liberty Class came in, cheap and fast to build. At the peak of the war there were three for every Crusader.”

  She nodded towards Warlord.

  “She is something else, though. We developed a stronger version of the Crusader, bigger, more on board capacity and even a gun heavy version. But they took a lot longer to build, and every one was different.”

  She placed a hand between the pair of hulls.

  “The enemy revealed themselves, but we were running out of ships and people. Power systems were low, and the last tranche of officers was already on the front-line. So the ship builders came up with this idea. They shared key systems, reducing the build time, and cutting the crew and components required. Warlord cost thirty percent less than building two ships, and used a thousand less marines and crew.”

  “Is that really the reason she was built?”

  Matilda looked away from the model and into his eyes. Though there were only a couple of years between their ages, she was like the elder of the group. She acted, dressed, and even looked as though she was a generation over him, yet there were times when it seemed she’d be happier as one of them.

  “Interesting, you have some insight?”

  Nate grinned.

  “Well, I’m not convinced this ship gave any real savings to the fleet. Plus, why take the chance in the middle of a war?”

  He moved to the rear of the model and pointed to the massive section at the centre.

  “Look at this part. There is enough hardware here to build a destroyer.”

  “So?”

  Nate licked his lips, concentrating his thoughts. Matilda was quite the intellect, and every time they spoke he always came off worse. This time he was doing his best to avoid that.

  “I think this ship was built to be a statement, much more than it was designed to save on costs.”

  He glanced at the port hull.

  “I’ve seen reports that say she has nearly three thousand crew. That is more than double the crew for the individual ships. The engineering would have been complex and difficult, and to what benefit? It’s a single target with double the guns.”

  Matilda continued to look at him, refusing to be goaded to say another word.

  “So…Warlord was built, and named to give us a ship unlike anything anybody else had. A super battleship with a greater mass than the Byotai, Klithi, T’Kari, Khreenk, or the Helions could ever have. The ship is a statement, and so far I think it has worked.”

  Matilda actually looked impressed, much to Nate’s surprise.

  “Very good, Nate.”

  Those three words should have meant a lot to him, but they came across as condescending, perhaps even sarcastic. Billy wandered over, running his hand over the model ships as he worked his way down the line. Nate watched him as he came closer, before stopping at Warlord.

  “So, Billy. Why do you think we built this ship?”

  Billy glanced at it for a few seconds and then looked to Matilda.

  “It’s bigger, so it must be better.”

  Nate laughed, and even Matilda appeared to find that funny.

  “Okay,” said Cassandra from further off into the room. She clunked down four glasses of green liquid and then sat down at a large round table, “Who’s up for a game?”

  Billy moved from the ships and headed right for her. Matilda held back, perhaps wanting to spend more time looking at the model. Nate suspected she would be much happier there than joining in with the others.

  “I’m in,” said Nate.

  He made his way across the open space but stopped as Cassandra tapped her Secpad bracelet. Pale yellow lights activated, and the gentle thud of music filled the room. Billy nodded as he sat down alongside Cassandra and then lifted the glass. Without even checking what it was, he threw back the fluid, downing half in one go.

  “Not bad, not bad at all.”

  Nate kept on walking and reached a seat opposite Cassandra. It was big and shaped much like a circular poker table. He pulled back the chair just as more shapes arrived. Nate saw the expression on Cassandra’s face was one of disappointment.

  “Valdis. Welcome.”

  The three Byotai female pilots entered, and Valdis moved towards Nate. The other two held back, waiting as more Byotai pilots arrived. Nate counted eight in total, and they quickly headed to the drinks area to the side.

  “I thought you would be on the simulator again,” said Valdis.

  Matilda approached and sat down alongside Nate.

  “No. There is a time for simulation and another for relaxation.”

  “True,” Valdis agreed, “The mind must be exercised and rested…” She then looked to Nate, “Just as the body must be.”

  Nate felt multiple sets of eyes staring at him, as though they were burning into his flesh. His face started to redden, but luckily for him the light in the room made it difficult to spot.

  “Want to join us?”

  Valdis paused and looked to each of them at the table.

  “Perhaps. What are you doing?”

  Cassandra placed a hexagonal object on the table and tapped it. The device pulsed once and then projected a sphere above it. The simulated object was as big as one of their heads, but lacked any perceivable details.

  “Truth or Feat, Conquest.”

  Valdis listened, but her face gave away her confusion. Even so, she pulled up a chair into the gap between Cassandra and Nate so that the three faced off in a triangle.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Cassandra moved her hands to the holographic unit and over the sphere. It changed colour several times and transformed into a planet. There were polar gaps, and multiple large continents. All the landmasses were dull in colour, apart from a small and heavily separated area of colour.

  “Each of us starts with a single nation.”

  “A what?”

  Cassandra looked at Valdis, a little uncertain as to which part she was confused about.

  “A nation.”

  Again, Valdis shook her head.

  “A nation is a large cultural and political group. In our past, our single world included hundreds of such nations. Some worked together, others fought, but each was different. They can be so dissimilar that people from one nation wouldn’t understand another. Yet, biologically, they were roughly the same.

  “Ah,” said Valdis, “I understand. A nation.”

  “Right. Now, in this game you control one coloured location, your nation. We take the globe, and it will randomly select a nation until all have been selected. Each of us controls the nation. We are given the choice of answering a random question from one of us, or a feat dictated by the game. If you’re successful, you expand your territory.”

  “And the one who controls the planet wins?”

  Nate laughed as he heard that.

  “Well, whoever controls the most
within an hour wins. Taking the planet, that can take a whole day.”

  “Okay,” her voice now slower, “I will join in.”

  Cassandra twisted the sphere so that the colours reset.

  “Tap the colour you want, and we’ll start.”

  One by one they tapped colours, with Valdis lunging in to hit the red. She waited impatiently as the device made an odd serious of sounds. Nate rubbed his hands together.

  “This is gonna be interesting.”

  The device pulsed and flashed, and then started to spin.

  “Get ready,” said Billy. He watched the sphere. It stopped spinning, and a single colour flashed green.

  “That’s me!” Billy said.

  He leaned forward and tapped the colour.

  “Truth or feat?” asked the device.

  Billy didn’t even have to consider his options.

  “Truth!”

  A white light raced around the outside of the sphere and stopped in front of Matilda.

  “What does this mean?”

  Nate leant towards Valdis.

  “Whoever gets the light, asks the question. If they fail or refuse to answer it, they forfeit their turn.”

  “And if they answer correctly?”

  “Then their nation expands, and they move closer to victory.”

  Matilda rubbed her chin and looked at Billy.

  “When did you last cry?”

  The young pilot’s expression turned from amusement to instant embarrassment. He’d presumably expected an odd question, but this one struck lower that he expected.

  “Yesterday.”

  The device pulsed, and then spoke in its exaggerated artificial voice, “Correct!”

  “Wait,” said Valdis, “The game can tell the truth?”

  Matilda shrugged.

  “The device scans temperature, pulse, and facial expressions. It’s reasonably accurate. The rest it leaves to us. It’s only a game, so it doesn’t always have to be right.”

  Billy’s expression changed the minute his nation expanded to take up twice the space as before.

  “Yeah,” he exclaimed.

  The sphere spun again, this time stopping and flashing a different colour. It was Cassandra’s turn. She tapped it and made the same choice as Billy. She waited until the light stopped at Nate. He looked at her carefully, looking for a sign of weakness, or something that she would not want to say to the group.