“Yes,” Justine said. “I know. I’ll be ready.”
Frowning, Fairamai said, “We are more than capable of sending the transmission. You do not need to come on this mission. Remain here, be safe. We will return with news.”
“No.” Justine shook her head. She could feel the vibrations of the Fainne as it banked around the Skanse Station, lining up for the run at the Gliese star beacon. “It’s my responsibility.”
A communication speaker in the room hummed, and a moment later, Naila said, “Engaging Aethersleep in 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1—
∞
Justine had conditioned herself to react the moment she came out of the photonic state. She did not wait to find out the origin of the arriving ship, because it didn’t make a difference to her plan.
A split-second after returning to normal space in Centauri, Justine quantized herself and pushed her particles outside the hull of the Fainne. Utilizing the technique Red Spot had taught her, she shielded her photons—essentially making her invisible to detection—and used her sight to scan for the other ships in the area. She figured there would be an even chance between one of two possibilities.
If the new ship was Kulsat, Justine’s intention was to stow away on board. So long as the Kulsat didn’t suspect their unseen passenger, Justine would be able to feed off the Kinemetic radiation of the ship and exist in her photonic state indefinitely. At such time as the Kulsat discovered Sol System, Justine would hitch a ride and return to her home world, and there do the best she could to aid in the defense of her people—by finding the final component, if it existed on Earth.
If the ship were from Sol, Justine would go on board and do everything she could to evade the Kulsat warship, and return to Sol, even if she had to commandeer the ship and pilot it herself.
She felt guilty for deceiving Yoatl about her intentions, but her promise held: she would not share technical knowledge of Kinemet. It was possible she wouldn’t have to. It had been a while since Alex, Kenny, Michael, and Yaxche had returned to Sol System. They would do their best to prepare for a Kulsat invasion, and to advance their own Kinemetic technology as far as they could.
No matter what they did, though, she knew the one thing that could save her system was to do what Red Spot had suggested: possess the only technology more advanced than the Kulsat’s, and make them surrender.
The first ship she sensed was the Kulsat warship, a behemoth compared with the mining ship that had abducted her when she first arrived in Centauri. She could feel the overwhelming quantity of Kinemet on board—they were stocked, enough to supply a fleet for years. To her surprise, they were already firing their weapons, not at the Fainne, but at the Solan ship that had just arrived.
She became aware of several things at the same time:
The Solan ship had traveled from Sol to Centauri outside light. For the first time since she’d left her home system, Justine could momentarily sense the star beacon from Sol, attached to the Dis Pater monument. It was faint, and the signal dissipated quickly, but it was there nonetheless. The technology that had hidden it and Sol System from the awareness of the rest of the galaxy had been tripped by the very act of using the star beacon. In the back of her mind, she knew it would only be a matter of time before the Gliesans became aware of this and, with Justine already having laid the diplomatic groundwork, ratified Sol System into the Collection of Worlds.
Those thoughts came and went in a blink. What captured Justine’s attention was when she realized the Solan ship had the same markings as the ship that had chased her and the Ultio out of Sol System.
The flashback of narrowly avoiding destruction from a Kinemetic torpedo gave Justine pause. For a very brief moment, she didn’t know which ship she would rather see blown apart.
Only a few thousand meters apart, the Kulsat and the Solan ship were firing on each other, the Kulsat with their sonic energy beams, the Solans with the Kinemet-modified nuclear warheads.
To Justine’s surprise, the Solan ship was holding its own. Many of Earth’s industrial ships, especially the long-haul vessels which traveled between planets, were still heavily reliant on electroceramics—a highly durable material which provided insulation against solar radiation and other forms of energy, including sound—to bolster the titanium hulls. The Ultio, being a private yacht designed for short excursions, did not have the electroceramics shell over its titanium hull. The mining ship, with its sound energy beams designed to rip through asteroidal metals, had torn the Ultio right apart.
Even still, the sonic blast was enough to cripple the Solan ship. Panels of the hull shattered and flew off. The vessel listed, as if its internal stabilizers had malfunctioned.
As she pushed her photonic particles forward toward the battle, she could sense the Kulsat ship changing the aim of one of its energy beams. She had not noticed, but the Fainne was coming about and attacking the Kulsat warship. Their weapons were no match by themselves, but in concert with the Solan ship, they helped to even the odds.
The distraction gave the Solan ship enough of an opportunity to shift itself a few degrees below and to the starboard of their enemy.
The Solans fired a conventional torpedo at the belly of the alien ship where, by Justine’s estimation, their quantum engine was.
Unlike the Kinemetic ordnance, the conventional torpedo caused damage. It didn’t disable the warship, but it shredded a section of the Kulsat’s hull, and Justine could sense a level of protective radiation diminish. If the Solans followed up with another torpedo in the same spot, or if the Fainne fired its weapons, they might be able to inflict heavy damage.
Apparently, the Kulsat were aware that if they suffered another hit they would be dead in space; instead of returning fire, the ship changed course, pointing toward the star beacon, and engaged its quantum drive. It vanished from Centauri space.
Justine watched as the Fainne moved off from the Solan ship. There was no way for Naila or Fairamai to know where Justine was, or if she was still in Centauri space. They also had no way of knowing if this Solan ship were friend or foe. Their only two options were to go back to Gliese for further instructions, or stand by and see what happened. They chose to wait.
Not wanting to contact Naila, since he would most likely charge her to return to Gliese, Justine approached the Solan ship, and experienced a moment of trepidation.
This group was the same that had tried to destroy her four years before. She knew they had not followed her right away—the reappearance of the Sol System star beacon in her photonic consciousness proved that whoever piloted the ship had not only developed the ability to create Kinemats, but had also discovered how to travel outside light.
She could only come to one conclusion: one of Earth’s more aggressive nations had mastered the ability to travel faster than light. The fate of her friends suddenly became uncertain to her.
Under her current circumstances, however, she did not have another option. Now that the Sol System star beacon had activated on the interstellar grid while the Kulsat monitored it, the armada would head there as soon as they marshaled their forces.
Mentally steeling herself, Justine pushed her photons through space toward the Solan ship. It took her quite a while to get there. At first, she had the impression the ship was flying away from the star beacon, but as she got nearer, she realized it was drifting. It had not come out of the fight unscathed. Perhaps the ion engines had been damaged in the fight, she wondered.
She could also sense that many of the electrical systems on board were blown out. Once she pushed herself through the hull and into the ship, she heard the cries of the crew who were badly hurt; some of them were dead.
As she floated near one section with several bodies on the ground, she examined them. The first thing she noticed was that they were multiracial. Pausing near one man, she looked closer. The style of uniform and the insignia on the sleeve were unfamiliar to her, but the words written on the epaulet sent a wave of dread through her: her Chinese was rusty
, but she swore it translated as ‘Solan Empire Space Force’.
The hallways were strewn with metallic rubble, overhead lights sparked, and smoke filled the air. Still in her photonic state, Justine was able to navigate through the ship to the bridge.
It was there that her suspicion was confirmed. The captain of the ship was, indeed, a Kinemat. Justine could sense the radiation emanate from him. When she saw who it was, she couldn’t believe her senses.
Standing with the assistance of a bulky set of biomechatronic legs in front of a bank of computer consoles, Chow Yin shouted orders to the half a dozen men to get the ship’s controls back on line. Justine was glad she’d learned how to mask her photonic form from other Kinemats and Kinemetic sensors. She was free to eavesdrop until she had enough information before she decided what course of action to adopt.
An older uniformed man, with general’s stars on his collar, stood at a console beside Chow Yin. He looked up and said, “Emperor Yin, we have reports that the fires in the ion engine room have been put out, but it will take several hours to repair the damage.”
“What about the quantum drive?”
“Intact, Sire.”
“What about torpedoes.”
The general called up a readout. “Two conventional, four Kinemetic, Sire.”
Chow Yin pointed to him. “Ensure they are all armed. That other ship could decide to fire on us at any time. Meanwhile, put as many men as you can on repairs.” He let out a throaty growl. “And keep your eyeballs on that star beacon readout.”
“Yes, Sire. That other ship is maintaining its distance. It doesn’t look like it’s attacking.”
“If it changes position, let me know. Otherwise, ignore it. We don’t know if they are the Kulsat or another race.”
Everything was happening far too fast for Justine to figure out what was going on. She needed more information. Coalition? Solan Empire Space Force? Emperor Yin? What had happened in the years since she left Sol System?
She watched for the next several minutes as the crew desperately tried to repair their vessel.
In a panicked voice, one of the helmsmen called out. “Sire, the sensor indicates the star beacon is activating. We have no way of knowing if it is the aggressor returning, or the Coalition.”
Waving his hand dismissively, Chow Yin said, “It doesn’t matter who it is. Prep the torpedoes. Fire both a conventional and a Kinemetic warhead the instant any ship rematerializes.”
Justine felt a moment of panic. She didn’t know who the Coalition was, but if they were opposing Yin, then they had to be the good guys. She highly doubted the Kulsat would return to Centauri; now that the Sol System beacon was revealed to them, they would be able to head there from any point in the galaxy.
The general said, “They should be arriving in five seconds. Three … two—”
With a thought, Justine shifted to normal space.
“Stop!” she yelled.
She expected Chow Yin and the officers would be surprised at her unexpected appearance, at the very least. The moment she became a physical being, however, the general pivoted toward her. He had a phase pistol in his hand, and fired without hesitation.
The only thing that saved Justine was that she was close enough to Chow Yin that the general aim was off to avoid hitting his Emperor.
Outraged, Justine quantized him.
Chow Yin’s reaction was a fraction slower than his officer’s, but much more effective. He tapped a control on the console on the arm of his computer and activated a Kinemetic damper.
The entire bridge became a null zone for the Kinemetic energy.
When Klaus had used the damping technology on Justine on Venus, she’d been in physical form. The effect was that she’d been unable to shift into light, or use the energy.
The general, already in a photonic state, suffered a much different effect.
Without Justine’s Kinemetic link to guide the reversal, the photons became physical, but they did not realign with the general’s original form.
A mass of flesh appeared in midair, hung there for a moment, and then fell to the deck in a bloody pile. Justine gagged and looked away before she threw up.
Ignoring the dead general, Chow Yin barked an order to the nearest other crew member on the bridge. “You, put a gun on Major Turner. If she moves, kill her.”
The man drew a gun and pointed it at Justine. She put her hands up.
Chow Yin pointed to another officer and yelled, “You! Get over there and fire those damned torpedoes.”
Justine looked up at the holo casement on the front wall. Another ship had entered Centauri space, and its architecture was familiar. It looked like one of the U.S. Space Corps’ warships.
Just as the crewman raced to the general’s station and launched the torpedoes, the U.S. warship opened fire, spraying Chow Yin’s vessel with thousands of projectiles that ripped through the already damaged hull and breached the inner compartments. On the screens, the two torpedoes exploded halfway between the two ships.
The blowback rocked Chow Yin’s warship. Alarm klaxons sounded. The ship was venting atmosphere.
The helmsman called out, “Sire, we must abandon ship.”
“The hell you say! We can send repair crews to patch those holes. Launch more torpedoes. Their countermeasures can’t possibly stop all of them. Blow them out of space. Damn it!” he yelled, and pressed a control on his console. “I’ll do it myself.”
The U.S. warship launched a torpedo of its own; it wasn’t weaponized Kinemet, but it carried enough of a conventional blast that the force knocked everyone on the bridge back. Chow Yin started to tip over, and the self-styled Emperor fought to keep his balance.
Some of the electrical systems were going offline because of the widespread damage. To Justine’s amazement, one of those systems had been powering the Kinemetic damper. Her power came back to her in an abrupt rush, and she didn’t waste a moment.
She quantized everyone on the bridge.
∞
The U.S. ship was launching another volley of projectiles. In a panic, Justine raced for the communications console and looked for the radio controls. From her days at NASA, she remembered which emergency channels the military used during conflicts, and hoped they had not changed protocol.
“U.S. vessel, this is Major Justine Turner aboard the enemy ship. I have secured the bridge. Cease fire. Cease fire. I repeat: I have secured the enemy bridge.” She tried two more channels before she received a reply.
“Major Turner, this is General Gates. Verify your identity.”
“Recall code: seven-alpha-seven-five-five-alpha.”
“Verified.”
Justine breathed a sigh of relief. “Welcome to Centauri, General.”
“It was quite the welcome,” the general said wryly. “What is your status, Major?”
“Chow Yin and the bridge officers are quantized. The ship itself is badly damaged; it may not be salvageable. There are at least a dozen wounded, several dead.”
The general said, “If you have access to the internal communications, inform the crew to surrender and prepare to be boarded.”
“Understood, General.” Before Justine complied with the orders, she asked, “Do you mind if I ask, who is the Kinemat on your ship?”
“I’ll let you talk to them yourself,” the general said.
“Them?”
A moment later, a very familiar voice came over the speaker. “Justine,” Alex said, “I have so much to tell you.”
“You’re all right,” Justine said, feeling the weight of worry lift from her heart. Then she asked, “Wait a minute. You’re a full Kinemat?”
“Sort of,” Alex said. “It’s a long story.”
Justine shook her head in wonder, even though no one could see her. “You’re going to have to give me the condensed version. We have another problem. Moments before you arrived, Chow Yin was engaged in battle with a Kulsat warship, and he managed to wound it enough that it retreated.”
<
br /> The general came back on the radio. “Are we expecting it to return with reinforcements?”
“No, General, it’s much worse: The Kulsat armada has at least a hundred-thousand warships. They are now aware of Sol System, and their standard response will be to send an invasion fleet there and destroy everything and everyone they consider a threat. I’m afraid they are not open to negotiation. How many Kinemats do we have?”
“Counting Alex and you,” the general said, “Four.”
Four? Justine wondered.
She could hear the apprehension in his voice when the general asked, “Do we have any allies who will intervene?”
“The situation is dire,” Justine said. “The Kulsat are the dominating force in the galaxy. The Collection of Worlds cannot stand up to them. And even if they could, they hold to an ancient law which prevents them from interfering. I’m afraid we’re on our own, General.”
“We’re almost to you, Justine. We’ll secure the enemy ship and transfer the prisoners.”
“Don’t forget the Kinemet,” she said. “There are several kilotons here.”
“Right. Then we can go into a thorough debriefing.”
∞
Alex and Michael were waiting in a large conference room just off the bridge, and Justine could barely contain her emotions. It had been less than two months since she’d seen them, but it felt like a lifetime.
Standing up and throwing his arms around Justine, Alex said, “You gave us all a scare. We thought the worst.”
“I’m alive,” she said, and gave him a wide smile. “I’m so glad all of you are all right.”
“Thanks to Ah Tabai and Aliah,” Alex said, and then formally introduced everyone to each other. Aliah excused herself to contact Naila aboard the Fainne and give them an update.
Worlds Away (The Interstellar Age Book 3) Page 30