by Sid Kar
He had traveled 47 light years and had 40 more to go. It would be a week before he reached his destination. However this time he planned on sneaking in by using the gravity of the large objects in the system to mask his own approach. His sensors would need just a few minutes to sweep the planet and grab a lot of the valuable information. As he was contemplating his approach he fell asleep and was awoken a few hours later by an alarm going off.
“What happened?” he asked no one in particular.
His long range gravitron scanner displayed a cluster of dots on the screen. He counted about six of them but the computer algorithm had analyzed the data points and broken them into 15 different entities with their own distinct if subtle signatures.
If they were grouped together so closely, they must have arrayed themselves in a battle formation, Roofus thought. They were traveling at 1,000 light speed and when Roofus tasked the computer to plot their probable course, a straight line to Nestorian Space appeared on the screen.
This could be the larger invasion force that General Bakus had been fearing. He had to find a way to get closer to them and engage his sensors without giving himself away. He tasked the computer attached to the gravitron scanner to search and identify large, material objects near the probable path of the alien spaceships. The computer spit out multiple results and he found one of them promising.
It was a large comet and if the cluster of spaceships kept their path they would pass the comet close enough for his sensors to pick up their signals. He changed the plot of his spaceship towards that comet and took it off the auto-pilot to fly it there himself.
He accelerated his spaceship to the top speed of 2,500 lights and felt the vibrations reverberate across the ship. But the distance wasn’t far and the journey to the comet was short. He had done this before many times and he dexterously maneuvered his spaceship onto the comet while decelerating and brought it to a dead stop as he landed on the surface. The comet was approximately fifty times bigger than his ship, was made of a raggedy rocky surface with small craters – evidences of past collisions with other comets – and had an icy tail of frozen methane.
Landing small spaceships on comets, asteroids and assorted space debris was part of the training and standard operating procedure for a space spy. That is how spy ships monitored the travels of the enemy battleships without being detected. They shut down their engines to avoid getting picked up by the electronic scanners and the larger gravity of the object shielded the spy ship from detection on the gravitron scanners.
Roofus waited patiently on the comet with his engines shut, his lights off and his sensors tuned. He watched the cluster get nearer on the gravitron scanner and slowly the dots expanded: six became eight then twelve and then fifteen as they came closer. The computer was right after all. The fifteen battleships passed the comet by in less than a second. Much less than a second. That was how long the sensors had to pick up any signals sent in between the ships and any signals inside the ships that might leak and fray across space.
Roofus checked his signal collection computer and it spit out a sequence of unintelligible garbled mathematical symbols on his screen. This was not a surprise. They had no knowledge of these aliens and their electronic protocols and methods. He looked at the size of the signal data file and this satisfied him. Even in far less than a microsecond the sensors had collected enough data to fill up an entire normal computer’s memory. But if this signal could be descrambled and understood there was only one place in Nestorian Republic where it could be done: Whisper Station.
But now he had a choice to make. He had to warn General Bakus and Nestorians about the invasion force that would reach them in two weeks’ time. He could beam the signal and continue onward. But if the alien battleships had their own signal sensors they could pick it up and try to jam it. He wasn’t that far away from the battleships for his signal to bypass them by a wide margin. Or he could try to outrun them, get ahead of them and then send a signal. But there was a risk of getting caught.
He had to take the risk to make sure the signal reached Nestorians. He could not take the other risk of leaving them unwarned. The dangers of that were too terrible to contemplate.
He made up his mind and with a stern determination, fired up his thrusters and accelerated away from the comet and away from the battleships. He would first try to flank them and then resume his route to Nestorian Space.
But even with his spaceship rushing away from the battleships their long range scanners apparently picked him up and one of the battleships broke off from the formation and took off after him. Roofus switched full power to the engines and accelerated to the top speed of 2,500 lights. Amazingly the humongous spaceship that was approximately 15 miles long also accelerated over 2,000 lights and steadily kept gaining speed.
When it was at 2,300 lights, Roofus prepared his signal for transmission. He encrypted and concentrated it, then encoded it over the gravity waves that could “tunnel” through space, and beamed it off to the Whisper Station and another copy to Bakus’ command at the Battleship Republic.
He took a sigh of relief after his signal was beamed and he was sure that it was out of the range for any jamming device abroad the alien battleships. But his relief was short lived as the battleship chasing him accelerated to 2,500 lights and went beyond hitting 2,600 and 2,700 lights in no time and closing in on him. His spaceship was physically incapable of going faster even though it was the fastest Nestorian spacecraft.
Then his spaceship started rapidly decelerating and his first thought was that his engine was finally coming off at seams. But the computer displayed no warnings. He came to the conclusion that the alien ship was utilizing some form of a magnetic beam and suctioning his spaceship.
A few minutes later his ship was pulled into a large and empty bay of the alien battleship and he saw sharp blue lights on the ceiling and a gray metallic floor and walls around him. There were no aliens nor robots and they were probably remotely analyzing his ship. He had heard of the crew of the other Nestorian vessels getting abducted and no one had ever made it back. He took out his laser pistol and checked the charge, it was full and he was going to go down fighting.
“What is the latest update from the Whisper Station?” General Bakus asked his signals officer Porkus Bellus. Porkus Bellus was a fat man with big saggy piggy cheeks, curly hair, round eyes and thick glasses laying low on the bridge of his nose.
“Nothing general,” Porkus said, “They still haven’t been able to decipher the alien signal.”
“Damn it,” Bakus said. He was pacing back and forth on the bridge of Battleship Republic where he had received the signal from spy pilot Roofus whom he had sent on a deep space expedition to retrieve data from the aliens. Republic was undergoing extensive repairs in the orbit of Planet Hope, one of the centers of spaceship manufacturing in Nestorian Republic.
Two of them were the lone Army personnel on the Republic now while workers and technicians worked round the clock to restore it to its original condition. Bakus was due at Nestor to meet with Remus; instead he had rushed to the Republic after hearing about the signal and asked Remus to join him there.
“General, deciphering the signals of a new alien civilization into meaningful data usually takes the work of entire university departments spread over many years,” Porkus said, “Whisper Station is throwing everything they can at it, but it is the first signals from these aliens. They have no references to cross check.”
“We don’t have many years, we don’t even have many weeks,” Bakus said, “The part of the signal in our language makes clear that Roofus picked up 15 battleships steaming away over 1,000 light speed at us. We will need every edge in the coming battle.”
“VC Remus’s ship just docked,” Porkus said.
“Tell him to meet me in the officers’ quarters,” Bakus said, “he is familiar with this spaceships layout.”
Bakus exited the bridge, hailed a hovercraft and made it to officers’ quarters just in time to find
VC Remus pouring himself a glass of water. The quarters were much nearer from the docking bay and were completely empty except for them two.
“Where is everybody?” Remus said, “All I see are welders but none of your crew.”
“Sent everyone from officers to cooks down to Hope for one last furlough,” Bakus said, “I have shifted repairs to top gear and didn’t want the repair crew and ship crew stumbling into each other. I also want my soldiers well rested and to enjoy what could be their last days, speaking bluntly.”
“It’s that bad?” Remus asked.
“Fifteen battleships,” Bakus said, “I had said they couldn’t have had only twelve capital ships since their populated planets are so far away in space.”
“Planets? We have spotted only one planet,” Remus said.
“What spacefaring civilization do you know that can field multiple battleships from the resources of just one planet?” Bakus asked, “None I know of.”
Remus shook his head in negative,” neither do I.”
“They must be at least a 15 – 20 planet spanning empire,” Bakus said, “but we can analyze them in leisure once Whisper Station deciphers their signals that Roofus sent us. I called you here to discuss the looming battle.”
“This will be the big one huh?” Remus said.
“No doubt they are throwing their major force against us,” Bakus said, “And we will have to respond with most of ours to stand a chance.”
“What do you need from me?” Remus asked.
“Everything,” Bakus said, “I need you to convince the Chancellor to give me direct command of our entire battleship fleet. I am going to throw everything at this battle. If we don’t win this, we will lose a large part of our space.”
“All the battleships under one general?” Remus thought and scratched his chin, “That is going to take some convincing.”
“Not once he hears their target,” Bakus grinned wickedly.
“Do you know?” Remus asked.
“I have guessed: Nestor,” Bakus replied.
“That would be terrible,” Remus was taken aback and he poured himself another glass of water, “but how can we be certain of that?”
“We can’t but it is the obvious move,” Bakus said, “Their battleships are significantly faster than ours. We can’t catch them in deep space. Only inside the solar system where the gravity fields severely reduce operational speeds their advantage is significantly diluted. With our Starfire Cannon destroyed, they can pick and choose the star system they want to fight us in.”
“Why not pick off one or two battleships in the outlying systems and then run back for another strike?” Remus asked.
“They would have dispatched three or four ships for that,” Bakus said, “This is a major strike and Nestor has to be its target.”
“What are you going to do?” Remus asked.
“Lay a trap,” Bakus replied with a grin.
“At a time when we will be pushed against the wall?” Remus asked.
“They will least expect us to use our capital as a bait,” Bakus said, “I admit it is risky and I could get fired as a general if I fail. But they won’t have sent a mere expeditionary force to attack Nestor. If we smash this fleet, we could plausibly cripple the enemy and go on the offensive.”
“What is your battle plan?” Remus asked.
“Leave the four battleships orbiting Nestor to face the initial assault,” Bakus said, “They have huge support from ground batteries and the enemy won’t be operating at light speed so close to the planet’s gravity field. I will bring in the remaining battleships from the rear and hit them hard. But you will need to get all the battleships under my command.”
“I hope I can convince the Chancellor,” Remus said.
“By the way, what’s with the Starfirians?” Bakus asked, “Are they sending any battleships to help us out?”
“They are but I don’t know how many,” Remus said, “They are due for arrival within the timeframe as these aliens.”
“Doesn’t help us at all if they come even a day late,” Bakus said, “Nevertheless I won’t count upon them.”
“There is one piece of good news,” Remus said, “our 34th Battleship is finished and I have decided to appoint you the commander till the Republic is properly refurbished.”
“That is great,” Bakus said, “What have you named it?”
“Battleship Avenger.”
“The name fits its purpose,” Bakus said, “We owe our explorers and miners who have been abducted from deep space by these aliens. We avenge them in the coming battle.”
There was a knock on the door of officers’ quarters and they turned around to see officer Porkus Bellus waiting with an eager look on his face.
“What is it Porkus?” Bakus asked, “Any new word from Whisper Station.”
“Yes sir,” Porkus replied, “They were able to identify one word from the alien signals used for their fleet communications. The word could be cross referenced against chemical composition and properties to identify it as Mercury.”
“Mercury?” Bakus said, “So what? They use Mercury as an industrial chemical in battleship components. That reveals no military advantage. I want more than a single word.”
“It is a lot more important than that,” Porkus said, “They use it heavily in self-reference and call themselves The Mercurian Empire.”
Chapter 19: Collision
Commodore Raptor was walking down the grand hallway of the Starship Conquistador towards the command room and the bridge when he sighted Capitan Alvina walking from the other side. Her hair was lush with slight waves and came down to her shoulder, her eyes sparkled and she had a small mouth to go with her narrow cheekbones. She saluted him and was about to pass him when Raptor stopped and said, “Capitan Alvina.”
“Yes sir,” she stood at attention and looked at him.
“At ease,” Raptor said, “The laser section performed well in the last battle.”
“Thank you,” she replied, “Commodore, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead,” Raptor said.
“Were you in the same class in the Space Warfare Academy with me?” Alvina asked.
“I do remember seeing you,” Raptor said, “but I don’t think we ever talked.” Raptor had always regretted not working up the courage to speak to her beyond class matters.
“I thought I knew you from the Academy,” Alvina beamed a smile at him and Raptor’s heart fluttered a bit.
“Capitan Alvina,” Raptor said, “I checked your records, like I have done with all of my officers, and I see that you were in logistics. How did you get into the weapons section?”
“Sir, it is sort of personal,” Alvina said.
“I understand but it’s an Army matter,” Raptor replied.
“I started out in the weapons section, as a junior laser officer,” Alvina replied, “but then I had a falling out with Colonel Segwyk, my fiancé…”
“Your fiancé!” Raptor felt his stomach sink and his heart collapse.
“My former fiancé,” Alvina corrected herself and Raptor took a deep sigh of relief but without a show of emotion on his face. “He had me demoted in anger when we parted ways.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Raptor said, “You should have filed an official complaint.”
“He is one of the protégés of Commander Carvyk,” Alvina said, “you understand I don’t want to start a political fight with a Regional Star Commander.”
Raptor was glad Alvina had bad blood with Carvyk; at least he had found something in common with her to get himself started.
“Where is Col. Segwyk now?” Raptor asked. It was a risqué question as he was getting deeper into the private territory and could get rebuffed but he had to try to get closer to her and get her to open up to him to establish more than a formal connection with her.
“He is the Commodore of Starship Masterpiece now,” Alvina replied, “and still very close to Com. Carvyk.”
“Capitan Alvina,”
Raptor said, “I want to assure you that you don’t have to worry about your future now. This is my ship and you are my officer now, I won’t allow either one of them to interfere with your record.”
“I hope you are careful, Carvyk is a clever and powerful man,” Alvina said then hurriedly added, “I meant Com. Carvyk, sir.”
He liked that she was getting more personal with him.
“We have a war hero on our side now, Com. Antrar,” Raptor said, “and after our next tactical maneuver a big can of worms may open up for Carvyk,” Raptor didn’t care to show Carvyk any more courtesy due a superior officer.
“What are we going to attempt?” Alvina asked.
“You finish your break quickly and get back to the command room,” Raptor said, “you will see.”
“Yes sir,” she saluted him and walked on. Raptor looked after her and her gait for a few seconds and then said, “And Capitan Alvina,”
She turned around to look at him.
“Meet me in my personal quarters after this is over,” Raptor said.
She saluted him, smiled and walked away. He wondered if her smile contained a hint of naughtiness in it as if she recognized his heart's desire.
Commodore Raptor walked into the command room and all the officers, juniors and crew members stood up and saluted him sharply.
“What are Enemy One and Three doing?” Raptor asked as he walked up to the central station and took his seat. Almost all the officers had reassembled back in the command room after their breaks and Antrar and VC Barryett were standing in front of the display and chatting.
“Following us,” Horyett said, “But maintaining a safe distance.”
“Two of them by themselves aren’t going to be able to take us,” Barryett said, “Unless they want to fight a suicidal battle where they too are destroyed.”
“Capitan Flyptar, put the spaceship on the path to the sun and place us in an orbit,” Raptor said.
“Yes sir,” Flyptar replied and his junior flight officers turned the starship towards the large, red sun. They had made it to the solar system a while back and their pursuers had picked up the surviving crew floating in space after the destruction of Enemy Two and returned on their tail. But they appeared hesitant and weren’t making any aggressive moves.