The Thunder of War (Thunder in the Heavens)

by Dietmar Wehr

  Ripley lost no time in responding. “Helm, maintain this orbit until further notice. Cate, while I go down to the Vehicle Bay to greet our Liaison Officer, I want you to take the Con. You may as well stay at Tactical. I doubt anything unexpected will happen in the next few minutes.” Activating his console, Ripley said, “This is the C.O. Prepare Vehicle Bay for small craft arrival. I’m coming down there now.” As he got up and headed for the doors, he nodded to Harrow.

  Harrow watched the approach of the Odina shuttle, as she now chose to think of it. The actual landing would be handled by the Vehicle Bay Flight Ops people under the personal supervision of the Old Man himself. All Harrow had to do was watch the tactical display and respond to incoming Odina transmissions, if any. What she wasn’t expecting was the relatively quick return to the Bridge of Ripley plus the Odina Liaison Officer.

  When she heard Ripley say, “And here is our control center which we call the Bridge,” Harrow turned around to look just in time to hear an unfamiliar voice say, “Why do you call it the Bridge? Is it connecting one part of the ship with another?” What Harrow saw was a tall, slender, clearly female figure that was NOT wearing any kind of environmental suit. That fact was shocking, considering the risk of mutual transmission of potentially harmful micro-organisms, and Harrow was about to say something when she saw Ripley look at her and slightly shake his head as he replied to the question.

  “The name is the traditional name for the part of the ship where control is exercised. It evolved from the time long ago when large vessels sailing our oceans needed to be designed so that the commanding officer could walk from one side of the ship to the other quickly and easily. Some traditions die hard.” Ripley cleared his throat and said, “Attention everyone! This is Second Officer Ashiana. Do not be concerned by the fact that she is not wearing an environmental suit. She has assured me that Odina medical technology has eliminated any micro-organisms that might be harmful to us and is also protecting her from our micro-organisms. Something I’m certain our medical people would love to get their hands on.”

  Harrow relaxed and looked back at Ashiana. She was surprised to see the alien officer staring at her. “Is that your tactical station, Commander Iru—, sorry, Ripley?” As she asked the question, Ashiana walked towards Harrow.

  “Yes, it is,” said Ripley, clearly caught off guard by the sudden interest. Harrow saw her approach and was frantically thinking what the proper response was. Should she stand up and what, stand at attention, or should she stay seated. She decided to stay seated. Ashiana stopped in front of her as close as it was possible to get, uncomfortably close in fact. Harrow looked up and took note of the finely chiseled facial bones, the pointed chin, the somewhat pointed ears, the red eyebrows and short, flaming red hair that so far seemed to be the common Odina color. The two females looked each other in the eyes for a few seconds. Ripley decided to say nothing and wait while he watched the encounter.

  Ashiana looked down at Harrow’s nametag and said, “Cate Harrow. What is your rank, Cate Harrow?”

  Harrow cleared her throat before answering. “SubCommander.”

  “SubCommander,” said Ashiana slowly. “And you are Pathfinder’s Tactical Officer I take it.”

  “Ah no, my normal duty station is the Command Station,” said Harrow nodding in the direction of the empty Command Station chair. “I’m temporarily commanding the ship from the Tactical Station.” She wanted to say more, to explain why, but decided it would only confuse Ashiana.

  “I see,” said Ashiana in a voice that clearly indicated she really didn’t understand. “Perhaps when you’re off duty— is that the correct phrase? —we can discuss control center— ah, excuse me— Bridge routines?”

  Harrow wasn’t sure she liked where this seemed to be going and wanted to say no but instead said, “Perhaps.”

  Ashiana gave her a small smile and turned away to look at Ripley. “Human ships have some strange procedures, Commander Ripley.”

  Ripley smiled. “I’m curious to know how our Bridge compares to your ship’s control center in terms of size and layout, Second Officer Ashiana.”

  As the two of them walked away, Harrow realized she’d been holding her breath and let it go. If only Ashiana hadn’t gotten so close. She found the invasion of her personal space surprisingly disconcerting. If she had stood up, Ashiana’s face would have been only a few centimeters from hers, although Harrow had a hunch that she was slightly taller than Ashiana. Next time a meeting like that took place, she would make sure she was standing. That might keep Ashiana a bit further away.

  Eagleton reported for his duty shift early. “You’re relieved, SubCommander,” he said in what he hoped was a casual voice.

  Harrow looked up at him and smiled. “I’m just finishing up some calculations, Gort. Well, did you get a glimpse of our guest?” she asked as she turned her attention back to her console.

  “Oh yeah. I was in the mess hall when the C.O. brought her in for a quick peek. I’m not sure, but I have the feeling she wasn’t impressed by what she saw. I heard that she and you had an intimate little chat here on the Bridge.”

  Harrow could tell by his tone that he was being playful and nodded. “That’s one way of describing it, I guess. I’d have been happier if it hadn’t been quite so intimate.”

  Eagleton chuckled. “Really? Did she invite you back to her shuttle to look at her etchings?” He got a half-hearted, back-handed blow to his belly.

  “Cut it out. You know I’m old-fashioned straight. As for Second Officer Ashiana, who the hell knows what she was actually thinking. I’m not going to assume anything. Now shut up for a minute so I can finish this calculation, okay?”

  Eagleton remained quiet while he watched Harrow. Cate had never given him any sign that she might be sexually interested in other women. No, it wasn’t Cate he was wondering about, it was Ashiana, but Cate was right that they shouldn’t make any assumptions about Ashiana’s motivations. Just because she was fluent in a human language didn’t necessarily mean that she thought the same way humans did. And speaking of being fluent in a human language, how had she managed that so quickly? He made a mental note to ask her if he got the chance. It came the next day.

  Eagleton and Harrow were in the Officer’s Lounge playing chess when Ashiana walked in. Eagleton had his back to the door but noticed the sudden drop in the level of background chatter as the other officers stopped talking. As he turned to look where everyone else was now looking, he saw Ashiana walk towards him and Cate. When she saw that they were playing a game, her expression took on a look that Eagleton couldn’t help interpreting as amusement of the kind that adults feel when watching children at play.

  “That looks like an interesting pastime,” said Ashiana. “Would I be intruding if I asked questions about it?”

  Eagleton was about to say yes, but Harrow said no first. She gestured for Ashiana to take a nearby vacant chair. Over the next half hour or so, Ashiana asked questions about the game, and Harrow answered them. Eagleton stayed silent and tried to concentrate on the game. Cate was the superior poker player, but when it came to chess, he managed to win almost half the games. Whether Cate was distracted by the questions or whether she was just having an off day, the end result was a win for him. As he set the board up for another game, Eagleton noticed that Ashiana was watching both him and Cate rather intently. Cate, as usual, took her loss well.

  “Good game, Gort. Perhaps you would like to try a game with Senior Lieutenant Eagleton, Ashiana?”

  Ashiana looked at Harrow, then at Eagleton, then back at Harrow again. “Perhaps another time, after the battle I think. I’ve just come from your Bridge. The technical staff at our Operations Command Center is having difficulty synchronizing tactical data with your ship’s computers. There isn’t much time left. We expect the Tyrell to arrive anytime after the next forty-five of your hours.”

  “How can you be sure of their arrival time?” asked Eagleton.

  “Because they told us the time
interval in very precise terms. Have they not visited your world yet?”

  “Not yet,” said Harrow. “We learned about the Tyrell from the Sheepul.”

  “The Tyrell visited us and left their automated drone precisely…” Ashiana closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. “Ten of your years, four months, seven days and a few hours ago. My people suspect that this time period translates into an exact number of Tyrell time units. They clearly think they have the superior technology. It will be a pleasure teaching them the folly of their arrogance.”

  Eagleton looked at Harrow and would have bet that she was thinking the same thing he was: the Tyrell weren’t the only ones who were displaying arrogance. “We know that the Sheepul informed your people about us several months ago. How were you able to learn our spoken and written language so well so quickly?” he asked.

  “Since you are asking that question, your people have apparently not yet developed the advanced teaching technology that we have,” said Ashiana in a somewhat condescending tone. “Once we knew to expect you, one officer aboard each ship was tasked with learning your language. Our Ship Commander was using the translation algorithm provided to us by the Sheepul.”

  Harrow’s expression showed that she at least was impressed by that accomplishment. “Are you allowed to tell us anything about your ships’ weapons, Ashiana?”

  “Of course. Our primary ship-to-ship weapon fires a beam of negative particles that I believe you humans call tachyons. The tachyons have a negative polarity that disrupts ordinary matter upon contact. Because they travel faster than light, their effective range, particularly for a target as large as the very large Tyrell ships, is up to ten light-seconds. The disruptive effect upon hitting normal matter is similar to what would happen if the target were hit by a stream of negative protons. The complete annihilation of matter would release enough energy to cause secondary damage both to the ship’s hull and interior. A properly aimed negative tachyon beam fired at close range might be able to cut one of the Tyrell ships in half. At longer ranges, the particle stream tends to spread out and the disruptive effect becomes less concentrated. Do your people know of negative tachyons, Cate?”

  Eagleton saw that Cate was embarrassed. “To the best of my knowledge, we have not yet progressed beyond a theoretical understanding of anti-tachyons which are what we call negative tachyons.”

  Ashiana quickly hid her momentary look of surprise. “Were you at least able to duplicate the faster than light communication technology that the Tyrell drone contained?” she asked.

  Harrow nodded. “Yes, we were able to figure out how to make that technology work I’m pleased to say. I personally view the narrow beam nature of longitudinal beam technology both a blessing and a curse. It’s reassuring that the Tyrell won’t be able to intercept our transmissions unless their ships just happen to be in the beam’s path; however, the reverse is also true, and from a strategic point of view, being able to monitor their communications would be a huge advantage.”

  Ashiana did not respond right away. She stared at Harrow with no change in expression for so long that it made both Eagleton and Harrow uncomfortable. When she finally stopped staring, she sighed and leaned back in her chair.

  “It is unfortunate that your race is so far behind us in technology, Cate. I’m certain that my superiors will see any military alliance with humans as benefiting your race greatly but our race not at all. Your point that longitudinal waves are 100% narrow beams implies that you can’t offer any useful insights into Tyrell operations or planning. If you don’t have anti-tachyon weapons, then I fail to see what contribution your people could make to any alliance.”

  “What about strength in numbers? Surely having access to the resources, both material and operational, of another race would improve the chances of ultimately bringing the Tyrell to heel?

  Ashiana smiled. “That would be a valid point only if the Tyrell turned out to be a very large multi-system empire, which my superiors do not believe is the case. We have only detected—” Her eyes widened suddenly as she left the sentence unfinished, and her smile vanished. “This has been a most interesting discussion, Cate—” she turned to Eagleton, “—and Gort. I need to check with my people on the progress of the tactical interface.” Ashiana got up and quickly left the room.

  “I think she was on the verge of revealing something that we’re not supposed to know about,” said Harrow.

  Eagleton nodded. “Yeah and I have a hunch it has something to do with detecting longitudinal beams without being in the direct beam path.”

  Harrow shook her head. “I don’t see how that could be possible. Everything we know about longitudinal beams says they are not omnidirectional, which means if you’re not in the right spot, you can’t detect them.”

  “Well, if it’s not that, then it has to be some other kind of what…long range detection of ships? Over interstellar distances? That makes even less sense, but clearly the Odina have some reason to believe that the Tyrell are a relatively small star empire and that they can take them on without our help, thank you very much, the arrogant bastards! God, I felt like a chimpanzee in a zoo!”

  “I think we’ll have to wait and see what kind of fight the Odina can put up when the Tyrell arrive. Maybe if the Tyrell turn out to be more difficult than the Odina are expecting, they may be more approachable about an alliance or at least some limited tech assistance.”

  “I just hope the Tyrell don’t turn out to be TOO difficult,” said Eagleton.

  It was just about 18 hours later, while Eagleton was having what he considered breakfast in the mess hall, when Ashiana entered, looked around, saw him and walked over. She looked disgustingly alert and full of energy. When the hell does she sleep? Maybe she doesn’t sleep at all. You poor primitive humans, you still haven’t discovered how not to need sleep? He had to consciously keep his expression from showing his state of mind.

  “May I speak with you for a few minutes before your duty shift, Gort? May I refer to you as Gort?”

  As she sat down without waiting for permission, Eagleton cleared his throat and said, “Actually I would prefer that you call me Senior Lieutenant Eagleton.”

  Ashiana’s tiny smile didn’t change at all. “Even though I know your language, there is still much that I do not know about your culture and behavior patterns, particularly as it applies to relationships between human males and females.” She waited for his response.

  “Go on,” he said.

  “It occurs to me that I could learn a lot about this topic by asking about your relationship with Cate. Do you have a…I believe the correct word is intimate relationship with Cate?”

  Eagleton thought that over carefully before leaning forward and saying, “Yes we do.”

  Ashiana looked at him as though he was a new species of insect about to be dissected. “I find Cate to be a fascinating female. There’s something about her, which I can’t quite identify, that is strangely appealing.”

  Eagleton felt like laughing but suppressed the urge. Son of a gun! She feels it too! So Cate’s charisma can affect another species.

  When it was clear that Eagleton wasn’t going to say anything, Ashiana continued. “I think you already know of my interest in Cate, and that means that you might see me as a potential rival if you’re already in an intimate relationship with her. So if that’s the case, then there’s no reason why you would deny it. On the other hand, if there is no such relationship right now but you’re hoping that someday there will be, you would have an excellent reason to lie by saying yes. I strongly suspect that this is the actual situation.” Ashiana sighed. “After we eliminate the Tyrell as a threat, there will no longer be any reason to continue contact with humans, and Cate and I will have to say our good-byes. If she decides that she has no interest in exploring a closer relationship with me while the opportunity is still here, then that will be her loss. I think there is much I could teach her.”

  As Ashiana stood up and turned to go, Eagleton said, “There�
��s another possible future you know.” She turned back and looked at him with an inquiring expression. “The war with the Tyrell may not end as quickly as you think. That being the case, it’s quite likely that humans will enter into military alliances with other races, like the Sheepul, and Cate may find herself in a battle with Tyrell super-ships without having the benefit of anti-tachyon weapons. How will you feel if she dies in battle because your people refused to share technology that could have saved her life?”

  He saw her momentarily flinch at that prospect. After a few seconds of silence, she said in a more somber tone, “I would mourn her death. You have an impressive grasp of verbal tactics, Senior Lieutenant Eagleton.” She turned and walked away without waiting to see if he had a response.