by S. H. Jucha
Telemetry required many days to update, but when the data was finally collected, they located their signal transponder attached to a pile of hull plates, close to the target’s final transit location. The derelict-appearing warship was nowhere in sight.
The scout ships eased away from the system and transited a short distance away.
The SADEs cooperatively enumerated the count, described the apparent technology, and estimated the armament. None of the warships appeared to be patched or ill-prepared to fight.
Consensus was reached. The SADEs decided to return to the wall where the fleet lay. They hoped the other scout ships had better fortune.
Another pair of scout ships, led by Deter and Verina, noted their target hadn’t transited after more than eight days, and the SADEs suspected the warship had arrived at its home world. When they arrived at the coordinates of their target, telemetry revealed a host of missiles hurtling toward them.
The SADEs desperately maneuvered their vessels to seek openings between the onslaught of fast-moving armament, but first one scout ship and then the other succumbed to the barrage. The SADEs and their scout ships joined the galaxy’s growing litter of space debris.
Killian and Genoa’s scout ships waited seven days after their targeted ship stopped transiting. They chose a careful approach, making a transit short of the target’s coordinates. Then they made a second transit to a spot below the ecliptic and waited for telemetry to collect.
Trium remarked,
Genoa volunteered.
The scout ships cut the return trip to a portion of the time they’d spent tracking the warship. There were no delays waiting for the alien vessel to transit again, and the SADEs calculated that with a single transit they could reach the fleet.
After exiting their transit to the wall, the arriving SADEs pinged the other scout ships, receiving signals from Linn and Beryl’s ships. There was no response from the other two scout ships.
There was a slight pause on the comm, while the returning SADEs came to the same conclusion — the scout ships of Deter and Verina were lost.
Killian contacted Alex, and his opening statements caused Alex to call a meeting of key personnel to view the telemetry. The individuals met on the Freedom’s bridge, and Cordelia activated the primary holo-vid. When everyone was ready, Bethley began spooling off the scout ship’s imagery to the city-ship, and Killian narrated.
In the middle of Killian’s dialog, Alex suddenly froze the display and magnified the image for a better view of the colossal ship that rested on the surface of a significantly sized major moon orbiting a ringed planet. Julien and he exchanged stricken looks.
Immediately, Julien accessed the city-ship’s archives, which held databases he’d coopted over the decades, most without permission. The particular database Julien desired was New Terran. Examining the historical material in the database, Julien compared the images he found with those on the holo-vid. The evidence was conclusive.
“Yes,” Julien said simply to Alex, whose shocked expression resembled someone who had received news of the death of family members. In many ways, Alex had.
The bridge personnel’s implants, comms, and tongues were stilled. Alex’s distress and Julien’s solemn expression cried for patience and understanding.
“What is it?” Renée asked, taking hold of Alex’s arm.
“That huge ship, the one stranded on the moon, is an Earth colony ship. It’s the New Terra,” Alex replied in a choked voice.
“I thought the New Terra was destroyed,” Tatia said, confusion and consternation evident in her voice.
“Not destroyed, abandoned,” Alex replied. “It was badly damaged, and a small group of colonists were chosen to fill the shuttles and try to make planetfall.”
“How many people were originally aboard the colony ship?” Reiko asked.
“Fifty thousand,” Julien replied.
“And how many exited the ship in the shuttles?” Mickey asked.
“A few thousand,” Julien said quietly.
Gasps slipped from the mouths of humans.
“What about the others?” Renée asked.
“According to the records, most of the colonists were in hibernation,” Julien said. “There was a small portion of crew and colonists who were awake, but weren’t selected to board the shuttles. It must be understood that, according to the captain, Lem Ulam, there were no expectations of the shuttles reaching a secondary target planet or that they would find it welcoming if they did make it. In fact, the colonists barely survived planetfall until they solved many major and complex issues encountered on New Terra.”
“Do you think the colonists survived? Are they working this system?” Tatia asked, incredulous at the turn of events.
Alex stared at Julien, his heart tearing apart.
“One moment,” Julien said, hoping to help his f
riend weather the horrendous news. “I’m requesting Miriam’s expertise.”
The New Terran databases Julien was examining had been collected, copied, and transported whenever the SADE changed locations and ships. He shared a link with Miriam, who, with her engineering experience, was the SADE he judged best capable to evaluate the New Terra’s condition.
Miriam extracted the colony ship files from the Freedom’s databases, examined the ship’s engineering specifications and studied the damage reports. The bridge audience waited anxiously for her analysis.
“The New Terra captain detailed in his personal records, which Julien has archived, the damage to the colony ship, which ran into a massive meteor storm,” Miriam said. “Based on the ship’s deteriorating conditions, the length of time necessary to travel to this distant system, and its present appearance, I would estimate that the colonists, who were aboard, didn’t survive the trip. I’m sorry to be the one to make that pronouncement.”
“So, who is in the system, if it isn’t humans?” Renée asked.
“The ship could have been discovered here or found and hauled to this system. It would be a great resource. Kind of a ready-made platform,” Mickey volunteered.
“Which brings us to a strategic question: Is this system worth investigating in terms of leveraging a race away from the federation?” Reiko asked.
“There is no habitable planet here,” Julien remarked. “However, the sentients working this location must have originated from some other system. Based on the conditions of their ships and mining operations, I’d think they were ideal candidates to investigate.”
Reiko waited to hear Alex’s opinion, but he and the New Terrans appeared lost in thought. She glanced toward Renée, who signaled patience. Reiko and the Méridiens remained silent. They couldn’t imagine the thoughts churning through the minds of their comrades, who were faced with the remains of their lost colony ship and its entombed inhabitants. A shudder ran up Reiko’s back, wondering what the aliens had done with the bodies.
When Alex failed to say something more, Julien sent,
Alex shook his head to clear his thoughts. “What’s our present state of repairs?” he asked, which galvanized his audience to focus.
“Traveler repairs are completed, and there are four more Tridents waiting time in the Stardust’s bay,” Reiko responded.
“The city-ship is fully operational, except for three beam weapon emplacements, which aren’t capable of being brought online, at this time,” Cordelia added.
“All in all, Alex, we need eight more days before the fleet can move on,” Tatia summarized.
“Good. In nine days, we set sail for this system, where the New Terra lies,” Alex pronounced.
-16-
Dead System
When repairs had gone as far as possible, the fleet sailed, cleared the star’s gravitational well, and transited to coordinates far short of the dead system where the New Terra had been found.
The four scout ships crept close, embedded themselves in the outermost asteroid belt, and waited for telemetry update. They transferred the data they received to the Freedom, allowing Alex time to determine the next step.
“Four warships,” Reiko noted, “They’re patrolling positions at the system’s periphery.”
“Freighters, mining sites, and processing plants,” Mickey added.
“An extremely active system,” Tatia noted, wondering if the obvious abundance of personnel and shipping might be more than they could handle. It was one thing to take on an enemy fleet in a single battle; it was another to wade into a heavily populated system and engage in diplomacy, while trying to ensure the safety of the fleet.
Alex stared at the holo-vid, shifting the view, changing the magnification, and studying the various ships in detail. Occasionally, he glanced at Tatia, Reiko, and Mickey, expecting them to comment, but they were silently watching him.
Alex stood and paced the back of the room, trying to imagine what factors would force these aliens to toil in this dead system under such difficult conditions, while their masters possessed much greater technological capabilities.
“We’ll need to get their attention,” Alex announced. “We send a statement that we’ve got power but don’t intend to use it.”
“Shades of Vinium,” Ellie’s voice muttered from the holo-vid speakers.
“Something much like that, Admiral,” Alex replied, “although I don’t think some fancy positioning off a warship’s bow is going to do the trick. These alien ships, despite their ancient appearance, have deadly armament.”
“Then what attention-getting maneuver do you have in mind, Alex?” Tatia asked.
“I think a small force should approach one of these warships, Admiral, and we wait to see what they do,” Alex replied.
“And if they open fire on us?” Svetlana asked.
“Analysis of these warships’ movements indicates that they’re unable to turn with any great alacrity,” Miriam stated. “Perhaps some expert flying, as Alex phrased it, might be in order. Our ships’ greater acceleration and maneuvering abilities might awe the enemy. In which case, they might relent to being approached rather than be destroyed, which I suspect they would expect us to do.”
“The tagged warship did witness the destruction of its fighter fleet,” Ellie hypothesized. “More than likely that has been communicated to personnel throughout this system.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Tatia admitted. “Our reputation precedes us, which means that when our ships make their appearance in this system, more than likely, we’ll create a panic.”
“Yes and no,” Alex mused. “If we enter the system at a significant velocity, spread out, and overfly the freighters, we’ll make the point that we’re not here to destroy them. In addition, we’ll ensure that some of our Tridents end up near the closest warship.”
“Ah … diplomacy by intimidation,” Julien commented, which produced a frown from Alex.
“But our Tridents won’t assume stationary positions around the warship,” Reiko cautioned.
“Definitely not,” Alex agreed. “They keep moving, but our other ships can take up stations around the freighters and mining posts.”
“Interesting message,” Tatia said. “I wonder how the aliens will interpret our actions.”
Alex shrugged his wide shoulders in reply to Tatia’s rhetorical question.
“Suppose the warship fires on our Tridents?” Reiko asked. “What’s our response?”
“We’ll need to deliver a surgical strike. I would think the best maneuver would be to eliminate its engines,” Alex replied. “And to anticipate your next question, Reiko, whether the warship counters our actions or acquiesces, our next step will be to board the alien vessel.”
“Board a warship?” Reiko asked, with incredulity. “How do you expect us to do that?”
Alex turned toward Myron McTavish. The ex-master sergeant and Dischnya warrior commandant was grinning at Tatia, who returned her own lupine twist of lips.
“I take it that you’ve e
xperience in these methods?” Alex asked, glancing between Tatia and Myron.
“Terran Security Forces constantly trained for these circumstances,” Myron replied. “I, myself, have led boarding actions multiple times.”
Many humans in the conference comm were relieved that at least two individuals among them had the acumen to execute Alex’s directives.
“What do you need?” Alex asked.
“First, we need access,” Myron enumerated on his hand. He glanced toward Tatia, who tipped her head, informing Myron that she’d ensure the boarding team got entry to the warship.
Reiko watched the interaction between the New Terrans. It was evident to her that she would need a crash course from Tatia in this type of intimate attack.
“Second, I need a team who can handle close quarters confrontation,” Myron said, extending a second finger.
“And who would you recommend for the team?” Alex asked.
“The Dischnya,” Myron replied emphatically.
“But the Dischnya don’t have Omnian capabilities,” Svetlana objected. “They haven’t implants.”
“Your concern is noted,” Myron replied respectfully. “However, the Dischnya have the attitude, reactions, and strength needed to handle aliens in a ship’s confined spaces.”
“But we don’t know what type of aliens the boarding team might face,” Franz said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Myron replied. “Whatever form these aliens take, the warriors will be more suited than humans to handle them.”
“Cedric and Frederica have agreed to lead the boarding team,” Alex stated, referring to the massive New Terran-like avatars that Z and Miranda used in confrontations. “Myron, are there any more fingers to be raised?”
“Yes, number three, Alex. I need to know what type of weapons you will allow the team to carry,” Myron said.