by David Bruns
***
As she stood in the airlock, leashed to a small space scooter, Addison had second thoughts. She wasn’t trained to survey an alien vessel. What did she hope to find?
Addison turned and gave Topper and Little Dick, also dressed in pressure suits, a thumbs-up. They exchanged unenthusiastic glances. “Bridge, this is the survey team, we’re ready to go in ’Lock One.”
“We’re not that formal here, Commander.” Laz’s voice dripped with sarcasm. He had wanted to go with her, but Addison refused. He needed to stay to make sure they were able to contact UEF. That was her stated reason, but the real reason was that she didn’t trust the rest of his crew not to leave her, especially Mimi. Addison had clearly interrupted some relationship—maybe financial, maybe romantic, maybe both—between Mimi and Laz. The other woman was not happy about it and not afraid to let her feelings show.
Good riddance. Mimi could have him if she wanted him.
“Alright, Laz, let’s do this,” she said into her mike.
“Dropping cloak,” Laz replied. “Opening ’Lock One.” The exterior door yawned open, inducing the sense of vertigo she always felt when she started a spacewalk. She focused on the sound of her own breathing to calm her nerves.
“Here we go, Commander,” Topper said in his deep voice. Her line went taut as the man gunned the scooter out of the airlock.
The piece of Swarm wreckage was massive, at least three times the size of Renegade. She directed Topper to do a slow external survey of the debris. It appeared this piece must have been near the bow of the Swarm ship. They passed one of the laser emplacements, an enormous dish, easily twice the size of any energy weapon the UEF possessed. She thought about the hull of the Warrior, cleaved in half. The amount of focused energy required to do that kind of damage . . .
“There’s no guns,” Little Dick said. She looked over at him, trailing along on his tether, arms wrapped around his own pulse rifle.
“What?” Addison said.
“No point defenses,” Topper said. “No laser cannons, no rail guns, nothing.”
“Just giant lasers,” Addison finished for him. “And lots of fighters.”
“And really, really good armor,” Little Dick said. They swung closer to view the exterior plating on the ship: a series of overlapping plates, like scales.
“Let’s go inside,” Addison said.
Laz’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Not a good idea, Commander. You’ve gotten great intel. Let’s call it a day.”
She pointed at a gaping hole in the interior of the ship. “Anchor there, Topper.”
If it was possible to drive a space scooter reluctantly, Topper managed it. Little Dick floated forward to clamp the anchor to the structure. Addison detached herself and pushed toward the wreckage. She energized her mag boots, feeling the footwear grip the surface.
“We’re in, Laz.” She focused her light into what looked like a hallway. “Well, I can report they are not nine feet tall. More like four feet, maybe.” The passageway was definitely built to accommodate much shorter statured beings than the average human. Addison reckoned if she hunched over, she could make it.
“Yeah, well maybe the nine-foot lizards crawl instead of walk upright,” Laz retorted. Addison saw her two companions exchange worried glances again.
“I’m going in,” she said.
“Topper, you go with her,” Laz said.
“Look, boss, I don’t—”
“Do it!”
Addison started walking down the alien passageway without waiting for him. Topper’s helmet light appeared behind her. The side passage connected to a main hallway that was wider, but not any taller. Every room they looked in was empty of bodies; the only evidence that there had been beings there at all was a sticky gray mess that clung to the panels. Did the aliens evaporate when exposed to a vacuum?
They entered a side room. Addison scanned the dead panels, covered in hundreds of geometric shapes. It reminded her vaguely of their own flight control room, just scaled up to account for thousands of fighters instead of dozens. She recorded everything, then stepped back into the main hallway. Her back was killing her from walking hunched over and her thigh muscles burned.
“Addison, you about done over there? I’m picking up some Chinese ships on long-range scanners.”
“A few more minutes,” she replied, avoiding Topper’s angry gaze by turning deeper into the ship. The hallway dead-ended at a large circular object that spanned four levels of the interior. Addison was able to stand up and stretch out her back as she looked around. In fact, all hallways dead-ended at the circular object. Control room?
The curved walls of the sphere seemed to be formed from a different material than the rest of the ship. Polished to the point where she could see her own reflection, kind of like a cross between glass and steel. Addison pointed the handheld sensor at the wall, but it came back with a null reading. “Damn thing,” she muttered.
“Addison, you guys about done over there?” Laz’s voice crackled in her ear. “If you haven’t found the lizards by now, they probably all abandoned ship.”
“Very funny. I got a strange reading from this wall. I think it’s a new element.”
“Great, we’ll call it Addisonium. Will you just leave now? Please?”
Addison ignored him. She stalked around the exterior of the sphere, thankful for the headroom but very aware of the darkness around her. She stopped at a set of double doors covered in hieroglyphics, made shadowy by her helmet light. “Let’s open it,” she said.
“Are you nuts?” Topper said. “We have no idea what’s in there.”
But Addison had already pulled the all-purpose tool from her belt and was working the blade into the central seam in the doors. “Help me, Topper,” she said through gritted teeth. The shorter man knelt next to her with his own tool. Together they levered the doors apart. Addison was surprised when a stream of atmosphere shot out past them. The room had still been pressurized, which meant . . .
She scrambled back, pulling out her sidearm. Topper had done the same. With her weapon trained on the doorway, Addison advanced in small steps, Laz’s nine-foot dragons in the back of her mind.
The room was empty, but it still had power because the panels glowed. She swung her weapon slowly across the room, taking it all in. Definitely not a control room. Instead, it seemed more like a . . . chapel was the only word that came to mind. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the chamber seemed holy.
The space was divided into seven quadrants, each with a corresponding star chart and separate panel with raised hieroglyphics, reminding Addison of stained glass windows in an old-fashioned church. She stopped at the nearest one, sucking in a breath. At the center of the star chart was a nine-planet solar system with the third planet highlighted in bright orange. Earth. She studied the chart, trying to make sense of the markings. It dawned on her slowly: she was looking at a map of the human population across the galaxy.
She swung her attention to the other sectors. The star charts were unfamiliar to her, but they had the same type of highlighted markings. Other races?
“Commander, look,” Topper said. He was pointing at the center of the room where all the seven sections of the room met in a pyramid shape. The seven-sided structure pulsed with energy. The entire central display was covered in a thick layer of the same gray goo they’d seen in smaller quantities all around the ship, and a nine-digit hieroglyphic hologram floated in the air above the pyramid. One digit changed in a regular pattern.
“What is that?” she whispered.
“I dunno,” Topper said. “A clock? Look, let’s bugger out of here, Commander. This place gives me the willies.”
“A clock . . . that’s an interesting idea—”
The floor trembled under her feet. She looked at Topper, but he was already moving toward the door. Addison followed as fast as she could.
“What going on over there?” Laz said, concern in his voice. “We just saw an energy spike and
part of the wreckage blew out.”
“We found something,” Addison said from outside the chamber. The floor rumbled again and the deck below them fell away. Topper scrambled down the hallway, back the way they’d come.
Addison waited long enough to see the circular chamber fire off thrusters and drop out of sight. Then she followed Topper’s retreating lights.
Chapter 24
SS Renegade – Bridge
The Swarm ignored Lunar Base. Addison watched the four remaining Swarm vessels enter high orbit around Earth, escorted by Invincible. Captain Baltasar apparently found no need to disguise his alignment with the alien race any longer.
“How good is your cloak against the Swarm technology?” she asked. Her whole body ached from the extra g’s they’d pulled as they raced in from Lagrange.
Laz shrugged. “As far we can tell, as good as against UEF sensors. If you flood the area around us with background radiation, we look like a hole in space. As long as no one is shooting at us we should be fine, Commander.”
Addison grunted. Although he spoke her title without any trace of irony, it still made her uncomfortable. Maybe she’d been too harsh on him earlier. No time for that now, she thought.
“When am I going to hear about your super-secret comms channel?”
He shrugged again. “These things take time.”
Time. The one thing they didn’t have anymore.
With its blue oceans and swirling cloud patterns, she’d always enjoyed the view of Earth from space, but the line of Swarm ships marred the peacefulness of the scene. The fact that the alien column of ships was led by one of their own made the picture all the more jarring.
“Any sign of the Fleet?” she asked Laz.
He pointed to his screen. “Here comes the armada.”
Addison looked over his shoulder at the fleet of ships massing on the far side of the moon. Armada was the right word for it. “Are those Russian warships?” she asked.
Laz nodded. “We’re looking at a who’s who of the Jane’s Ships of the Fleet,” he said, referring to a common resource they’d both studied at the Academy. In addition to the Constitution, there was the Independence and the Victory, both carriers like the Constitution, as well as the Tighe, Flint, Pittsburgh, and a number of smaller ships. She scanned the Russian contingent: Vladivostok, Brezhnev, and Murmansk were all heavy cruisers with plenty of firepower.
“Looks like the Russians are joining forces with the UEF,” she said with a hollow laugh. “Now we know this is serious.”
“No Chinese,” Laz observed.
Addison studied the lineup. “We know it takes a ton of firepower to knock out one of those Swarm ships. Our lasers are pretty much ineffective unless you can punch through their hull with the rail guns first. Nukes work, but you need to be right on top of them . . . as far as fighters go, if the other four alien ships carry the same fighter contingent as the lead ship, we’re in trouble. They’ll eat our smaller ships alive. And I’m sure Baltasar will tell them everything there is to know about UEF defenses—”
“What is going on down there?” Laz was pointing out the windows toward the orbiting alien battle group.
The Swarm vessels were forming an arrowhead configuration again with Invincible in the lead position. She watched them disappear over the horizon as they made another orbit of Earth.
A few minutes later, they came into view again, passing over the Atlantic Ocean. The starboard ship belched out a ball of fire as they crossed the East Coast of North America.
She pounded Laz on the shoulder. “Where is it headed?” The weapon transited the atmosphere, leaving a trail of vapor and smoke in its wake.
“Cleveland,” Laz said finally. “It’s going to land on Cleveland.”
Addison could only imagine what it looked like from the earth’s surface. A ball of fire streaking across the sky, the sonic boom shattering windows as it passed overhead, the terror . . .
“Three seconds to impact.” Laz’s voice was raspy with emotion.
The detonation created a horribly beautiful mushroom cloud of dusty brown and brilliant yellow, lit from within by furious flashes of lightning.
The sound of the Swarm swelled in the ship’s speakers. Suddenly, it stopped and an open hail blanketed all frequencies. Laz looked up at her. Addison nodded. “Answer it,” she whispered.
Captain Jason Baltasar’s head and shoulders filled the screen. His eyes glittered with emotion and he smiled thinly.
“Greetings, People of Earth. I have the honor to speak on behalf of an alien race, the ones you call the Swarm. Your warships have been unable to stop us. We have given you a small demonstration of our destructive might.” He paused to flash a picture of the devastation that had once been Cleveland. “We demand unconditional surrender. All races, all people. No exceptions, no bargaining. You have one hour to decide. If you do not comply, we will destroy another city.”
The screen went blank. The drone of the Swarm noise rose again.
Topper and Little Dick had come up behind Addison and Laz on the bridge. Tear tracks creased the dark skin of Topper’s cheeks.
“What are we gonna do?” Little Dick asked.
Laz said nothing. He just stared at the blank screen.
“We have to do something,” Addison said.
“Great intentions, Commander, but I think we need more of a plan than that.” Laz’s tone was sharp with sarcasm.
Addison snapped back, “I can’t help but think that the cargo you were carrying has something to do with this, Lazarus.”
“Of course, it’s my fault. It’s always my fault, isn’t it, Addie?” Laz launched out of his chair, taking a stance over Addison that put his face right in hers. “Blame me. You’ve been doing it for twenty years, why stop now?”
“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you. At least I didn’t run away like a little bitch—”
“Stop it!” Topper shouted, stepping between them. “You two want to do something, why not stop that guy? The captain?”
Addison didn’t bother wiping the tears out of her eyes. There was nothing in the world she’d enjoy more than stopping Baltasar, but to do that they’d need to—
“That’s it.” Addison threw her arms around Topper. “If we can retake the Invincible, that makes us an even match against the Swarm. Well, more even, anyway.”
“You have a plan?” Laz raised his eyebrows. The furious redness had left his cheeks.
“I have a plan.” Addison bent over the screen and touched one of the UEF warships. The screen expanded to show the ISS Victory. “Set an intercept course for her.” She faced Laz. She wanted to say she was sorry, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, she said, “Now would be a good time for that super-secret comms channel with UEF CENTCOM.”
Laz’s voice had lost its fire. “Aye-aye, ma’am.”
Chapter 25
SS Renegade – Flight Deck
Little Dick helped her into the cockpit of her fighter and handed her helmet up. “Good luck, Commander,” he said.
“Little Dick, you can call me Addison.”
A slow smile spread across his broad face. “I like that name.” He frowned. “What about Captain Laz?”
“He can call me Commander,” she said.
“He likes you,” Little Dick replied. “I can tell.”
“Yeah, well, once upon a time I liked him, too.” She slammed her helmet down on her head. “But that was a long time ago.”
The strobe overhead started to flash yellow, indicating a pending depressurization. “You’d best get going, Little Dick.”
“Good luck, Addison.” He tucked the ladder under his arm and plodded to the door.
“Alright, Commander,” said Laz, “we’re going to slow down and poop you right out the back. Hopefully, the uncloaking will be so quick that no one even notices.”
“Poop, huh? That’s what you think of me?”
Laz chuckled. “Poor choice of words, I guess. Look, Commander, if this doesn’t
work out, we might not get to talk again, so I just want to say—”
“Save it, Laz. This is going to work.” It was a lie and they both knew it.
“Even so,” he began.
“Stow it and give me a countdown.”
The strobe overhead turned red and the airlock doors opened to reveal a star-studded background. Her panel was green. Laz’s voice was low and confident in her ears, just like the old days.
“Launch in three . . . two . . . one . . . GO.”
She punched the throttle and shot out into space.
***
The transit toward the inbound fleet was unnervingly uneventful. She engaged the autopilot and allowed her mind to relax. The stars were sharp and bright against the darkness, like diamonds on velvet; the only sound was her own breathing. In this moment of beauty, she could almost forget the existential threat that orbited her home planet.
Her panel blinked as she crossed the sensor line for the Fleet. Addison keyed her mike. “ISS Victory, this is Invincible fighter Xray-bravo-niner-niner. Request permission to land.” She turned on her ID beacon.
“Fighter Xray-bravo-niner-niner, stand by.”
Her panel lit up as their fire-control systems targeted her. She keyed her mike again. “Victory, this is Commander Addison Halsey, requesting permission to land. Over.”
“Fighter Xray-bravo-niner-niner, permission granted. Starboard fighter bay, Commander. Stand by for auto-recovery lock-on.”
“Acknowledge auto-recovery. Niner-niner, out.”
Addison steered into the flight lane for the correct fighter bay and waited for the automatic recovery system to take control of her craft. She never liked automatic systems, but in this case it was the best way to show she was not a threat. She crossed her arms as the ship flew past the point-defense rapid-pulse ordnance (RPO) guns, any one of which could rip her ship apart in a matter of seconds.
Her fighter passed through the field generator that kept the flight deck at atmosphere and she squinted as light flooded through her canopy. The auto-recovery was guiding her craft onto a cleared deck. A full squad of armed marines waited for her.