Embers of War (Adventures of the Starship Satori Book 8)

by Kevin McLaughlin

  Fixing the Satori entirely out in space wasn’t even in question. Many of the repairs were too severe. She would need weeks back on Earth to get her back up to full readiness. But in the meantime, they would do what they could.

  The ship reached the asteroid field without much done beyond life support. At least they knew they would continue breathing for the time being! Beth heaved a sigh, wiping sweat from her forehead. Her hand came away tinged with red again. The sweat must have opened up the slice on her head.

  She slid out from beneath the console. “Reboot her, Sergeant. You should have a connection to the sensor systems again.”

  Sergeant Hernandez sat back down at his station and went through the process of resetting the controls. Without full sensor feeds, they were more or less blind. They knew where the major orbiting bodies would be by doing the math, but there was no way to know if there were any other ships in the system.

  That nothing had jumped on top of them to blow them to bits was a good sign, but Beth wasn’t willing to take it for granted they’d continue to have that reprieve. She wanted all her ‘eyes’ open, watching for threats.

  “We’re live, ma’am. Scans are populating. I’ve got…all planets confirmed. We’re closing on those asteroids, nearest ones will be passing by on our starboard side in about two minutes,” Hernandez said.

  “Anything else out there?” Beth asked, trying vainly to hide her impatience.

  “Scan sweep is still finishing… Yes, ma’am. Looks like three ships in the vicinity of Cyan,” Hernandez said.

  “On screen,” Beth said.

  A low-resolution image popped into view. It showed three ships, two of which were Naga battlecruisers. They seemed to be engaging a much larger ship. It was one of the alien dreadnoughts, like the one which had almost destroyed the Satori with a single volley. Beth sucked in a breath despite herself. Was it the same ship? If not, how many of the things were there?

  At first she thought the Naga vessels were advancing, but as she watched they drew away from the other, much larger ship rather than advancing on it.

  “The Naga are trying to run,” Beth said.

  “Yes, ma’am. Also picking up a lot of debris near that fight,” Hernandez said.

  “That’ll be the remains of the Naga station,” Beth replied. “It was already destroyed the last time I was here.”

  “No ma'am. Picking that up too, but there are three new clouds of debris nearby as well.”

  “Naga? Or that other race?” Beth asked.

  She wasn’t sure which answer she was hoping for. Both races had proven to be deadly adversaries. That they were fighting each other was great for Earth, but that also meant both of them would fire on her if they got half a chance. The idea that there was not one but two star-faring civilizations out there ready to take out Earth ships any chance they got was a nightmare.

  “Definitely Naga,” Majel replied. “The spectral analysis of the hull material shows typical Naga armor alloys in all three clouds.”

  Damn. It looked like that one dreadnought had taken out three Naga vessels without breathing hard, and was in pursuit of two more. A five on one situation should have let the Naga blow just about anything to pieces. Whatever that other ship was packing, it was more than a match for a small fleet. That was going to be trouble.

  “How old is that data?” Beth asked.

  “About ten minutes.”

  Ten light minutes. Close enough that all three ships had surely detected the Satori. They could run - the wormhole drive had recharged somewhat. They could jump out someplace. It didn’t have to be Earth. They could just jump a light-year or two away from the star, and land someplace far enough out that none of the ships would spot them easily.

  Unless that dreadnought could track their jumps. Beth shoved the thought from her mind. One problem at a time.

  “The Naga vessels are still trying to flee. It looks like one is falling behind and…” Hernandez’s voice trailed off as the vessel exploded on their screen. “The other is trying to jump to hyperspace.”

  “What vector?” Beth asked.

  “It’s coming our way, more or less,” Hernandez replied.

  “More more, or more less?”

  “Hard to say until we see it jump. If they make even the smallest course correction before they enter hyper, it’ll radically change their direction by the time they’ve traveled this far,” Hernandez said.

  “Ready a jump, out one light year,” Beth said. "We'll repair the ship from far enough out that they'll have one hell of a time tracking us."

  She watched the energy reading build around the fleeing Naga as it tried to make a jump. Would it jump out before it was destroyed? Either way, the dreadnought had surely spotted the Satori as it ran for the asteroids. What would it do once the Naga were gone? It might be too damaged to try another engagement, but she wasn’t going to bet on that. It was time to run. Past time, in fact.

  No sooner had the thought crossed Beth's mind than she heard the proximity alarms come alive, blaring a warning that they'd come dangerously close to another object in space.

  Nineteen

  The bridge was in chaos by the time Dan arrived. A thin haze filled the air. Something had shorted out, some console or conduit blown. De Toro had the con and jumped up from the command chair like he’d been burned by it as soon as he saw Dan.

  “Thank god you’re here, sir!” De Toro said.

  “What are we facing?” Dan replied.

  “Two of them, sir. Same class as last time. One of them jumped in ahead of us as soon as we were pulled from hyperspace,” De Toro said. “While we were busy engaging it, a second ship jumped in directly beside us and clamped on.”

  “The Marines are dealing with our boarders,” Dan said. He hoped that was true. Martelle would undoubtedly have his work cut out for him. The crew compliment the enemy had to be expecting from a Naga ship was over three hundred. All Naga - which meant all fighters. While most of his people were capable of at least basic self-defense, the majority of the Independence crew were not warriors.

  “Ensign Scott, how’s the helm?” Dan asked.

  “Sluggish with that limpet attached to our side, sir.”

  “Time to break them off, then. Patch me through to Captain Larsen.”

  There was a moment of pause, then De Toro spoke up. “You’re on, sir.”

  “Larsen, how heavily engaged are you out there?” Dan asked. He knew it couldn’t be pretty. Checking his radar, he saw there were only sixteen fighters remaining in space. They’d launched all twenty. That was a massive toll for just a few minutes of combat.

  “Hairy as hell, sir,” Larsen replied. “But we’re keeping them busy so they can’t take any swings at you.”

  “I’ve got a plan. We’re going to make the other ship jump. Continue to harass them when they come back, but I want you to detach four fighters back to the Independence,” Dan said.

  “Problems, sir?” Larsen asked.

  “I want this garbage scow that’s attached itself to my hull removed. Four fighters firing their missiles ought to do the trick.”

  “Might damage the ship, too,” Larsen warned.

  He wasn’t wrong. Precision missile fire at the alien ship directed at the spots where it had coupled with the Independence might well knock it loose. But if those missiles went even a little astray, they’d have friendly fire that wouldn’t be fun. Debris knocked loose from the explosions could slam back into their hull and damage their ship as well. But it was a risk Dan felt they had to take. Who knew how many boarders were coming their way? How many aliens were on board that ship, ready to engage Martelle’s Marines? No, it was time to end that part of the attack.

  “Do it. Soon as the other ship jumps,” Dan said.

  “Yes, sir!”

  He cut off the channel. Then he turned to Johansson. “Fire missiles. Full barrage, all tubes. Take that thing down - or make it run for cover.”

  “On it, sir,” he replied. He needed n
o more urging.

  The ship began to thrum with the steady staccato of missiles leaving their tubes. The radar on Dan’s console showed two, then four, then ten missiles inbound on the enemy ship, and the Independence continued to launch.

  The alien ship must have known what those missiles could do. It didn’t linger to even try shooting them down. Instead, it formed a wormhole directly in front of its bow and vanished in a burst of light, appearing again a few thousand kilometers aft of the Independence. Far enough that those missiles wouldn’t be able to turn around and engage.

  “Now, Larsen,” Dan whispered. The flight captain couldn’t hear him, but he knew his business. Already four fighters raced in toward the Independence, while the other dozen dashed back to engage the alien vessel.

  Missiles flew free from the four fighters. If the enemy had thought they were secure being so close to the Earth warship, well, they were about to receive a rude awakening. He flicked his view to an external camera and saw little puffs of freezing water vapor escaping from the breach the aliens had made in his hull. They were trying to pull away. But they weren’t going to manage it in time.

  There was another danger to the ship’s crew, though. Dan activated an all-ship intercom. “All hands, brace for impact and prepare for possible decompression.”

  That was all the warning he had time to give before the missiles slammed home against the alien vessel. He hoped it was enough for the crew to take some cover, especially the Marines who would be most vulnerable if the area they were fighting in decompressed.

  One of the four fighters winked out in a flash of light as the aliens’ energy beams stabbed out at their attackers. Dan winced, hoping the others would be able to get clear. But the explosions from the missiles drowned out the image a moment later, blocking much of his view for a few critical seconds. He switched to a computer-enhanced radar view.

  Eight missiles had been fired at the alien ship. They were smaller than the ship-based weapons but still powerful enough to pack a punch. Dan heaved a sigh of relief, seeing that none of the shots had gone wild and hit his ship instead of the target. The side of the alien vessel which had been facing his ship was a mess, ruined bits of hull twisted about themselves. The enemy still had power though, and was trying to use its engines to get clear.

  “Missile batteries on the port side, target that ship and fire,” Dan snarled.

  Missiles sailed through the short gap between the two ships, pummeling the alien vessel with punishing fire. Explosions wreathed the cruiser. Plasma stabbed out from the Naga guns and found purchase against its hull. Whatever force field had shielded the ship was no longer functioning.

  The fusillade was brief, violent, and final. The enemy cruiser exploded in a brilliant burst of light.

  “Yes!” Scott yelled.

  Dan allowed himself a thin smile. “Well done. Ensign Scott, bring us about. Johansson, fire all weapons on that other ship as they bear. Let’s go help our pilots out.”

  The Independence wheeled, spinning around as rapidly as its vector allowed. The other ship saw the new threat and darted away, still harried by the swarm of fighters surrounding it. The alien vessel was venting atmosphere and showed multiple hull breaches. They’d lost six fighters out there - but the pilots had done their work well.

  “Energy buildup in the bow of the ship, sir,” De Toro said. “They’re getting ready to jump.”

  “Johansson, target the bow and hit it with everything we have,” Dan said. He opened the channel to Larsen again. “I want that ship down before it jumps.”

  “Yes, sir,” Larsen replied.

  Immediately, a flurry of missiles launched from the fighters as they dumped what must have been all their remaining ordinance into the enemy ship. Naga plasma weapons stabbed out across space, striking the shield and sending flickers of light up and down the ship. Missiles streaked across the void between the ships.

  “Something is wrong with their wormhole drive,” De Toro said. “Energy fluctuations!”

  It was the plasma. Those shields must draw an enormous amount of power. So did the wormhole device. They couldn’t do both at the same time without problems. “Fire all plasma guns. Maximum fire. Burn out the guns if you have to!”

  Streams of fire spat from the Independence, and space around the alien cruiser flashed into brilliant light. A wormhole sparked into being ahead of the ship. It sped forward, the nose vanishing into the hole in space-time. But there was something wrong with the wormhole - it was unstable, shrinking rapidly.

  Then the missiles impacted, pounding against the enemy armor, blasting chunks of metal free into space, burning armor into vapor. The wormhole blinked out.

  The front third of the ship was somewhere else. That aft two-thirds were still there, floating in space. More missiles slammed against the broken hulk, and it exploded into fragments.

  Dan leaned back against his chair, heaving a sigh of relief. They’d won. Both ships were smashed. Destroyed. Now there was only one other thing they had to worry about. He opened a channel to Colonel Martelle.

  “How are things with our boarders?” Dan asked.

  There was a long pause. Dan’s heart thudded loud enough that he thought everyone on the bridge must be hearing it. They could still lose everything here. If the Marines had failed to stop the invading force, they might still lose the battle even though they’d beaten both ships.

  “Martelle here.” The colonel sounded tired and worn, his voice carrying a sharp tone that Dan read as pain.

  “You all right down there, Colonel?”

  “We’ve taken care of the visitors. Heavy casualties. I’ve got medical working on the wounded already,” Martelle said. “But Captain - you’re going to want to get down here to see this.”

  “On my way. De Toro, you have the bridge,” Dan said. Then he turned and strode from the room as rapidly as his tired legs could carry him.

  The Kkiktchikut had been on his ship. Dan sucked in a breath. At long last, maybe he could lay the mystery of these strange beings to rest. It was time to see the enemy in person.

  Twenty

  Alarms blared across the Satori's bridge. Beth didn't have to ask what was wrong. She could see it on the main screen, big as life. The alien dreadnought had opened a wormhole to their location. It slipped silently out of the wormhole, white and blue energy discharges flashing across the hull like heat lightning.

  The thing was enormous, bigger than any aircraft carrier on Earth. As it cleared the wormhole, Beth scan console showed flashes of energy building up all along the dreadnought's starboard side. It was getting ready to fire its broadside. They'd barely survived the first one. She was pretty sure they couldn't get lucky twice.

  "Majel, jump the ship!" Beth cried. No human was fast enough to get them out of there in time. Majel was the only being who might be able to save them. Beth heard the whine as their wormhole drive engaged, pouring a planet's worth of power into the space in front of the ship.

  She wondered what had happened to the Naga vessel. Had they gotten away? Or had they been blown to bits by the enemy? No way to tell. Oddly Beth found herself wishing the best for the Naga. Frightening as they were, this strange new enemy was even more terrifying. Their wormhole was blossoming into life ahead of them. Another moment and they'd sail through. Hopefully to safety, at least for a little while.

  "Massive energy wave approaching from the planet. Gravity and quantum fluctuations," Majel reported.

  "What is it?" Beth asked.

  "Unknown. Possibly the wave front of the Naga's hyperspace drive, but if so it's coming right at us," Majel said.

  "Will it impact our jump?" Beth asked.

  "Unknown."

  Beth drummed her fingers on the console. The wormhole flashed into being in front of her. There wasn't any choice. They had to run. As if to emphasize that, the dreadnought opened fire on them. The path between the two ships was littered with debris and asteroids, which blocked most of the first volley, but the Satori shook h
ard enough to rattle her teeth as one blast got through. The dreadnought was veering around some of the larger chunks of rock, making for a spot where it would have a clear line of fire. They could play 'can't catch me' in the asteroids for a while - the Satori was the smaller ship and could evade them for a bit.

  But Beth had no doubts how the fight would end if they stayed to engage this thing. There wasn't any choice. Not really.

  "Jump," she said.

  "Yes ma'am," Foster said. He touched a control, and the ship shot forward into the wormhole.

  Immediately Beth knew something was wrong.

  There was always the smallest sense of time passing by while transiting a wormhole. Even though the science said that was impossible, it was something every human traveler consistently reported. Near as they could tell from every possible measurement, there was no space in a wormhole. You entered and left in an instant transition from one place to another. Even if it didn't feel that way.

  But this was something wildly different. Beth felt stretched thin, like she was being drawn out on a rack, but even more so. The feeling went on and on - far beyond the time they should have been in transit. She had the time to wonder how long she'd been trapped inside that space. Whether she would ever escape it. The time reached out, an infinity of moments stretching out before her where she was silent, could not move, and-

  The Satori exploded back into real-space with a burst of light. But the brilliance was only outside the ship. Nothing was lit within the Satori, and as the light outside the ship faded away Beth had a hard time seeing her hand in front of her face in the sudden gloom. She was in free-fall, though. Everything was gone, even the artificial gravity.

  "Lights on," Beth called out. Nothing. "Majel, can you get the emergency lights on?"

  No response.

  "What's going on, ma'am?" That was Foster. He sounded all right, but confused. Which made sense to Beth - she felt as bewildered as the lieutenant.