A Taste Of Despair (The Humal Sequence)

by Robert Taylor

  The ‘malfunction’ was turning out to be a costly affair for the military.

  *****

  The Assault shuttles had somewhat better Skip Drives than the maintenance craft had been equipped with. Whereas it took the vessel Hamilton and the others were on a whole day to Skip from the heart of the Aurica Naval Base out to the extreme edge of the system, it took the shuttles less than six hours.

  As each of the six shuttles arrived, between two and three hours apart, they shut down their drives and waited.

  The sensor drone ignored them completely. Before they had left, Marten and Williams had reprogrammed the drone to ignore all ship traffic and unusual activity and simply transmit an ‘all clear’ signal at regular intervals back to the Naval base. With six shuttles and the Ulysses on station, that was a lot of vessels for it to ignore.

  Whilst they waited for Hamilton and the others to arrive, the Ulysses uploaded a new Skip course to the waiting shuttles. It was the same course that the Ulysses itself had waiting in its navigation computer, ready to activate as soon as the maintenance craft returned.

  When Hamilton and the others arrived all was in readiness.

  All six shuttles, the Ulysses and the maintenance craft all Skipped out into the depths of space beyond the edge of the system at almost exactly the same moment.

  The neutrino and tachyon burst that the eight craft generated was huge, almost the equivalent of that generated by a capital ship. The Naval forces could not fail to notice, nor could they afford not to investigate.

  However, all that the light cruiser Loki discovered on arrival, eight hours later, was a sensor drone that appeared to have self-destructed.

  *****

  Far out in deep space, the Morebaeus concluded loading the Assault shuttles into its three big loading locks, two vessels to each module’s lock. The craft were flown in remotely by Veltin and LeGault without incident. The maintenance craft managed to squeeze in alongside two of them in one of the modules.

  Where there had been nine vessels, now there were just two. The Ulysses once again came alongside the Morebaeus and the umbilical was extended so that the crews could mingle.

  “I have to admit,” Rames told Hamilton. “I didn’t think you’d pull it off. My money was on you all being captured.”

  They were in the main module that Hamilton’s people were using for accommodation.

  Hamilton shrugged. “The military relies on procedures and protocols. It’s not designed to defend against an enemy on the inside. That’s why Walsh and his kind are doing just fine. It’s not in the mindset to admit that anything could get that close.”

  “What’s that for?” Rames asked, pointing at where a big display panel was being attached to the bulkhead by Carl and Klane.

  “Operations planning. I intend to run through the missions later. Everyone has to know what they’re doing and when, or we’ll end up screwing everything up.”

  Rames frowned. “Still going with your idea of two separate missions at the same time?”

  Hamilton nodded. “Our shopping expedition was bad enough. For all we know, one or more of Walsh’s alien buddies was in Aurica. In fact, it’s almost certain. They may not know what happened yet, but they will eventually. They’ll figure out what we want to do with the shuttles and munitions we stole, or at least, be able to hazard a good guess. The sooner we get on with this, the better.”

  “Do I even want to know who gets to fly into the lion’s den?”

  Hamilton smiled. “Would that be the alien lion’s den, or the Imperial lion’s den?”

  Rames sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t make much difference, at that.”

  “Not really.” Hamilton agreed. “Both missions are going to be hard enough.”

  Rames frowned. “Why both at the same time? I mean, I get that we don’t want to tip our hand to Walsh. But there are few enough of us as it is. We stand a better chance of success if we stick together, surely?”

  Hamilton drew a deep breath. “It’s true either mission would stand a better chance of success if we did them one at a time. But the increase in success rate is offset by the risks of failure. If one or other of the missions fail and we are all involved, then everything goes down the toilet. If one mission fails and only half the people are involved, some of us live to fight another day. Doing both missions simultaneously means we get to do both missions. If we do them consecutively, the second mission is a bust if anyone gets caught during the first one.”

  Rames digested this. “I guess. Though I doubt anyone would crack that easily under interrogation.”

  “It’s not Imperial questioning methods I worry about. It’s if one of us falls into Walsh’s clutches that things go to pieces.” Hamilton said.

  Rames nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Well, like you say, if one mission fails at least the others live to fight another day.”

  “I’ll be ready to give the briefing in an hour or two.”

  *****

  An hour or two turned into three before Hamilton felt ready to step in front of the assembled crews and begin his operational briefing. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what he was going to say, more that he wanted to go over the briefing mentally and try and guess at the questions that would come his way.

  Last minute preparation. He told himself. Don’t want to get caught out and look like a fool.

  The crowd of people had arranged themselves around the display panel that had been set up on the wall. A few had helped themselves to drinks, but no one was drunk. They all watched him expectantly, and rather curiously, as he shuffled the papers in his hand – printouts from the database for the most part. Almost nobody used actual paper anymore, but fifty years ago, when the Morebaeus had flown on its ill-fated colonial supply mission, it was still more common than the ubiquitous data panes that were everywhere today. Hamilton’s rich kid upbringing had exposed him to all sorts of things that most folk would regard as decadence. Some of them, like his appetite for meat had stuck.

  The paper, along with the printer to make use of it, he had found amidst the Morebaeus’ supplies intended for Alpha Centauri. Williams had rigged up a quick interface lead and the result were the sheaves of paper he now held in his hand.

  Paper just feels nicer. He thought, leafing through the prints.

  But of course, the printouts wouldn’t be much use for outlining the missions. That was what the panel on the wall behind him was for. He drew a deep breath and stood at parade rest, looking out over the sea of faces.

  “Everybody here? Anyone missing?” He asked generally. People looked around themselves, looking for missing faces.

  “Everyone’s here.” Rames replied.

  “Alright then.”

  Hamilton pressed the remote control he held in his hand. From the glow he knew that the first of many images had appeared on the screen behind him.

  “This is our enemy, people. He seems to like the name Walsh, which was the name of the person whose body he possessed when I knew him. The body you can see now belongs to one Joel Amyson.

  “Joel was a senior engineering technician on a project apparently funded by wealthy billionaire, Paul Vogerian.” Hamilton clicked the remote to show the old man’s face. “Paul was himself under the direct control of our friend Walsh. If Vogerian ever wondered at why he had a sudden interest in tachyon beam transmission, he never let on. Perhaps he thought he was getting senile and pretended to know what was going on. More likely is that, whilst under the direct control of Walsh, he had no knowledge of what he did.

  “Either way, he funded the construction of something called the Tachyon Listening Post Project. Ostensibly an array designed to detect tachyon bursts and transmissions from deep space. In effect, watching the skies for signs of alien activity. In reality, the array was part of Walsh’s plan to send his fellow aliens back into human space. The array featured a large data storage network that would have been more than large enough to house thousands of aliens.

  “Now, officially, ac
cording to the records, Joel Amyson was assigned to the array, which was constructed here.” Another click, another image, this time a graphic depicting human space and the position of the array within it.

  “However, thanks to Captain Rames deactivating the automated update routine aboard the Ulysses, we can look back at the database as it was just prior to the arrival of myself and my crew in the Glendara system. That database tells a different story. The array, according to the old database, is located here.”

  The image changed again. Both locations were still marked but now the original location was marked “true position” and the official location marked “false position”.

  “As you can see, the array was built in a good spot, at the edge of human space to spinward, but close enough that, once the aliens were here, they could easily migrate into the more populated systems of the Empire.

  “However, after it became known to them that I and my fellows had returned, they amended the database, showing the array, and Mr. Amyson’s workplace, as here in the system designated 317-X12. It’s a feeble red dwarf system, completely unsuitable for colonization, hence why it only has a number. However, in analyzing the database differences, it appears there was a scientific research outpost located on an airless planet in this system. The outpost was abandoned over fifteen years ago due to radiation concerns from the star. Officially, it was never reoccupied.

  “What the base means to us, however, is that the entire system was properly surveyed by the Corps that I was once a part of. We know where every planet, every moon and every tiny particle of dust is, within that system.

  “Our enemy, in amending the database, has altered almost every piece of data concerning this system. I imagine he hoped we’d jump blindly into the system, be confused when it failed to match our database. Then, whilst we were trying to figure out if we’d mis-jumped or not, his ships would have pounced on us.”

  Hamilton paused to let them digest the information. Behind him, the display showed the layout of the system as it actually was.

  “The alteration of the database, from the time signatures, occurred about fifteen minutes after our likenesses were transmitted to Tantalus Station. So we can conclude that our enemy has exceptional communications, well above our own StellarNet facilities. What this means for us is, that we should assume that the moment we make our move, Walsh and his friends will know about it. Which is why both missions should be undertaken at the same time.”

  A hand rose. Major Harvan. Hamilton nodded to him. “Major?”

  “Aren’t we assuming they already know we’re coming? I mean, they’ve laid this ambush, or trap, for us.”

  “True. They have set a trap. But they don’t know when, or even if, we’ll take the bait. The moment we do, they’ll spring every surprise they’ve got for us.”

  Rames frowned. “You don’t intend for us to simply walk into their ambush, I hope!”

  Hamilton shook his head. “No, of course not. The aim of both these missions is to improve our position. Gain more intelligence, obtain someone who might be able to assist us with analyzing the aliens and the Humal and, if we’re lucky, obtain an alien for study. Then we’ll see what else we can do.”

  “So what are we going to be doing?” Rames asked.

  Hamilton drew a deep breath. “The main mission is to secure information about the aliens, including, if possible, capturing one or more of them. To that end, most of the resources and manpower we have available are going to be sent here.” He clicked the remote, changing the image to the system that actually contained the Tachyon Array.

  “Walsh went to some trouble to hide this from us. We know he used it to send his alien cohorts to. It’s likely he still sees a use for it. There are probably other caches of his alien friends dotted about the galaxy. He’s probably out searching for them right now. It would be most helpful for his goals if he could transmit them straight back to the array.

  “Our aim, is to enter this system, bypass or destroy and defenses set against us and capture then destroy the array.”

  There were nervous mutterings.

  “I appreciate this might seem a monumental task, given what we have to work with, but our lot is not as poor as you might think. For one thing, Walsh almost certainly believes he’s hidden the array from us. It won’t be undefended, that’s for certain, but hopefully the main thrust of his attempts will be focused on his ambush attempt.

  “The team will jump into the extreme edge of the system, as we did at Aurica, and take a look at what we’re up against. Since we can’t know the precise details until we get there, I’ll spare you any detailed planning. We’ll have to play it by ear. However, thanks to our shopping expedition, we have some serious ordnance available to us. Twenty-five Mark Ten EMP warheads and fifteen, fifty kiloton nuclear warheads.”

  “Sorry,” Harvan frowned. “But what use are the warheads without a delivery system? We have no torps to put them in.”

  Rames nodded in agreement. “Ulysses only has a small missile battery. Primarily for point defense against torpedoes. Nothing like large enough to take those payloads.”

  Hamilton smiled. “We have, hopefully, all the delivery systems we need.”

  There were mostly blank looks around him. Klane and, surprisingly, Lewis were the only two smiling with realization.

  Hamilton sighed. “Why else do you think we stole those assault shuttles?”

  It was like watching a sea of children’s faces light up at a magician’s trick. As they figured it out and started to see the possibilities there were nods of appreciation.

  “With an EMP warhead on each of those shuttles and the shuttles themselves remote piloted, we have the ultimate in unavoidable ordnance – the Skip torpedo! We detect a threat, we Skip a shuttle to it and its lights out for the opposition! There is zero chance that they can avoid it, unless they happen to Skip away whilst it’s in transit. The minute it arrives, it detonates. The likelihood is that detecting it will be the last thing their sensor screens show them before they go dark!”

  There were smiles and nods now. They understood there was a chance the mission could actually succeed.

  “So… what are the nukes for?” Harvan asked eventually.

  “Well, assuming our six shuttles are sufficient to deal with any ships and other defenses, we go down to the array’s storage area and control buildings. I’m betting there may be one or two of Walsh’s buddies there to keep an eye on things at least. We try to capture them. There are also likely logs of what activity the array has been doing. It’s possible Walsh has erased all this, but then again, it’s worth a look-see. If we can copy the logs, it might tell us where the aliens were sent after they arrived at the array. That would at least give us future targets for attack if we manage to survive all this.”

  “I like it!” Klane grinned. “We fry the defenses, go in and rape the computer systems. Then I guess the next step is where the nukes come in?”

  Hamilton nodded. “We leave as many as necessary behind to destroy the facility and the actual array itself. Any civilians that aren’t either aliens or controlled, we get clear. From what I’ve seen of the records, the staff was minimal at the best of times. So we aren’t talking scores of people to relocate, just a handful.”

  “Hmmm.” Rames admitted. “It actually sounds do-able.”

  “We’ll need both ships. Ulysses to go in and get the data, capture any aliens etc. and plant the nukes. Morebaeus will remain out-system acting as a carrier for the assault shuttles, which will deal with any threats in-system. This will require most of our personnel to pull off, but I think the gains will be worth it.”

  “What about the other mission?” Rames asked. “To kidnap a Humal expert. How are we going to accomplish that if all our ships are taking part in the assault on the array?”

  “I didn’t say all our ships would be at the array.” Hamilton replied. He flicked the remote back a few images until the display showed the overview of human space. A few more taps high
lighted certain systems. “We’re here…at Aurica, currently. Sol system is here and the array over here. As you can see, to get to the array it’s not exactly a major detour to stop off at Sol. We’ll jump far outsystem of Sol, drop off the maintenance craft along with the kidnap team. Then the rest of you can jump to the array.”

  “So you’re taking on the kidnap mission yourself?” Rames asked.

  Hamilton nodded. “It makes sense. I’m more use in an infiltration role, anyway. But I plan on asking for a few volunteers later. First, though, let me outline what the kidnap will entail.”

  More pressing of the remote.

  “This is Sol. Heart of the Empire and residence of our dearly beloved, but entirely decorative, Emperor. It is the seat of all things military and civilian. Population estimated to be sixty five billion, spread across the planets and moons and outposts and orbiting facilities. Suffice to say, it’s very busy and very full. Security is extremely tight. No ship moves without logging a flight plan. Any that do are immediately pounced upon by Skip capable craft. Anything that looks remotely dangerous is destroyed by either the innumerable warships that prowl the system or the even more numerous orbot and batsat defense systems that festoon every planet and moon. All command and control functions are centralized in a major orbiting facility around Earth. But outlying ‘satellite’ systems are semi-autonomous and capable of acting on their own initiative. It’s beyond a doubt that Walsh has a major alien presence here, so effectively any defenses are under his control. Which, given their almost instantaneous comms, means that one slip and we’ll have had it.”

  Rames scowled. “So, let me get this straight. You want us to drop you and a couple of others off in a craft that doesn’t have a proper hyperdrive. Then leave you there. It’ll take us, what, best part of a week to jump to the array, do our business, then a week back. What are you supposed to do for two weeks?”

  “One week to infiltrate Sol and the Martian Science Institute. Then we have to do our mission as you do yours. Once the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, I suspect security will tighten dramatically. You do not come back for us. We set a rendezvous, like we did before at Tantalus Station. You do your mission, then head to the rendezvous. We do the same.”