StarFight 1: Battlestar

by T. Jackson King

  “I have no idea,” Osashi said. “Maybe Chief Petty Officer Steinmetz can tell us. He’s our science . . . expert.”

  She looked right to Willard Steinmetz, someone she knew only by name and rank and the fact he ran one of the Bridge function posts. The forty-something CPO gave a shrug, which made his large belly shake a bit.

  “Acting Captain, I have no idea. Before this event, the air above the meeting site was calm, with a few scattered clouds and no sign of a storm or low pressure front approaching,” the man said thoughtfully. “One of my jobs was monitoring the meet site for bad weather. Got a second undergrad degree in meteorology. This planet has normal weather. Equator is warmer than the poles. Primary winds come from the northwest. The meet site is distant from any ocean or sea. I saw no natural source for the light event.”

  “Nothing natural,” murmured Jacob from behind her, his tone musing.

  Behind Daisy the hatch that gave entry to the Bridge hissed as its pressure seal released. Those would be Jacob’s friends. And hers too. She liked them and Kenji and also the four pilots who flew the Marine Darts. Piloting was a unique profession and every pilot on board the Lepanto knew every other pilot, no matter the deck or rank or gender. She left active the alien ship holo and her overhead screen image of the Bridge and the people on it, then looked left as the three friends came toward the command seats that filled the middle of the Bridge. What would Jacob ask of them?

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Jacob gave thanks the vacsuit’s flexible helmet could be lifted up and hang against his upper back. It allowed him to breath ship air and hear every squeak, rustle or low word spoken by the nine Bridge crew who occupied the function posts in front of him and Daisy. Seeing him do that had resulted in the crew doing the same. Course, once they entered active combat, everyone would seal up. And cross their fingers that the outer hull’s ablative coating and adaptive optics mirrors would deflect away or absorb the worst of any laser hit. Straight on laser hits would cut through the ablative coating that lay under the mirrors, but the two meters of titanium-nickel-steel armor that was the outer hull would resist any laser strike that did not stay focused for long minutes. Below the armor was a level of water, with the inner hull further below. Thousands of tons of water filled the space between the inner and outer hulls. The water gave them further shielding from stellar radiation that penetrated the outer hull. At the rear, the fuel tanks of tritium and deuterium isotopes gave further shielding to the crew folks working on Engines Deck, which filled the back half of Command Deck. Below the inner hull lay the seven decks stacked like a layer cake, with pressure hatches breaking every hallway and every gravlift shaft into spaces where air could be contained in case of a hull rupture. Course, if a beam or a deep penetrating missile hit the three fusion reactors that filled the central core of the ship, then life on the Lepanto would come to a quick end. The hiss of the Bridge entry hatch diverted him from the recorded imagery of the last moments at the meeting site. His friends had arrived. He looked left.

  Lori led the group, followed by Carlos and Quincy. They faced him and saluted.

  “Ensigns reporting as ordered,” Lori said over her vacsuit’s comlink. Seeing his helmet pushed back, she copied him. As did the two young men.

  His three friends watched him carefully. Jacob sitting in the admiral’s seat had quickly told them he was in command on the Bridge. But beyond that, and the ship status change, they knew nothing. He saluted them back.

  “Thank you each for coming.” Jacob gestured at the front wallscreen with its image of the opposite side of planet four. “We have lost contact with the admiral, our captain and our XO. The other ships have also lost contact with their captains and XOs. Using the ship status change code shared with me by the admiral, I changed our status to Alert Unknown Enemy.” He pointed at the spysat image of the black lightning storm that still swirled above the meeting site. “A massive electrical storm happened forty minutes ago, right after the arrival of a second alien shuttle. I had Tactical launch a Cloud Skimmer to give us a direct eyes-on view of the meeting site.” He focused back on his three friends. “The loss of tablet contact with everyone at the meeting site raises the chance this is due to enemy action. Presumably by the aliens on the far side of this world. We have radar painted the meeting site using a spysat, but it showed only the presence of eleven shuttles. Our nine and two alien. The enemy ships have not changed their geosync orbital attitude. I called you three here to get your thoughts.” He fixed on black-haired Lori, who wore an NWU Type I uniform like Daisy. In fact, all of them wore the camo uniforms. No one wore dress blues unless ordered to do so. The Russian woman, a graduate of some exobiology institute in Moscow, peered intently at him. “Ensign Lori Antonova, you are a biologist with a specialty in exobiology lifeforms. You know what our colonists have found on Earth’s seven colonies. You’ve seen the images of the wasp-like aliens. What do you deduce from the imagery of them and of their ships?”

  The slim woman adopted a parade rest stance. She glanced at the front wallscreen and at Osashi’s holo that showed the alien ships, then back to him. “Acting Captain Renselaer, while the lifeforms on the colony planets show similar organization into mammal, avian, aquatic and insect-like lifeforms, with millions of exotic bacteria, the analogy to Earth animal life is risky. One world has lifeforms with tripodal leg arrangements. On another world, the animals resemble our radial pattern starfish. A third world has hopping as its primary locomotion mode. The presence of vertebrate life, predators and prey, scavengers and parasites, along with air and water-breathing lifeforms, is common to all seven worlds.” She pursed her lips, glanced aside at Daisy, then sighed. “Yes, these aliens resemble giant yellow jacket wasps. The striking red and black bands on their yellow exoskeleton bodies suggest they are predators. Bright colors warn of danger. In biological science it is called aposematism. It also makes sense due to their presence off planet. Predators hunt for new territory.” She paused, took a deep breath and continued. “But why they are here could be due to many factors. Exploration. Expansion of the home territory. Failure of the home world ecology. Or colonizing of suitable worlds. The fact the gravity on planet four is just a half gee suggests these insect aliens evolved on a world with low gravity, a high oxygen level, and perhaps dense plant life and ground life similar to what is found in Earth’s jungles.” She stopped.

  Jacob nodded. “All of that makes sense. Assuming they have some analog with our wasps, what behavior do you expect of them?”

  She grimaced. “They could behave in any manner. Fight, flight, freeze or negotiate. Or something stranger than Earth norms. My guess is this group of starships is led by at least one leader, maybe two, in view of the two six-groups of ships. The hexagonal hull shape of their ships suggests a tendency for the aliens to cluster tightly into social groups. That is, if we assume the hull shape indicates the structure of their nest building.”

  Jacob noted that Carlos was looking at Daisy’s holo of local space, which carried the images of the twelve alien ships. That fit his Navigation work. Quincy, a Black guy he’d come to know as a happy go lucky beer drinker and lover of reggae music, looked bored. As you might expect from someone who was a Weapons Deck person. He fixed back on Lori.

  “If they have a primary leader, would that leader be located on the bigger ship in the front group of six?”

  She frowned, then shrugged. “He or she could. Our admiral was on the Lepanto, which is larger than any other Earth ship. The same may be true for the aliens.”

  “Are they eusocial?” Jacob asked.

  She showed surprise. “Uh, taking E. O. Wilson’s definition from the last century, you wonder if these alien insects have a division of labor, overlapping generations and cooperative care of the young? Like the ants, bees, wasps and termites on Earth. And we humans.” She looked at Daisy’s ship holo. “Oh yes, I am certain they have a eusocial society. Their behavior to date strongly supports that likelihood.”

  He nodded. “Are the
y inherently peaceful? Or quickly combative?”

  “I have no idea,” Lori said, her light brown lips pulling back from her white teeth.

  Getting opinions from the woman was like pulling teeth. Or catching slippery rainbow trout. “Why did they invite our leaders to the meeting on the world below?”

  Her blue eyes widened. “A good question. Perhaps to agree on a means to communicate. Perhaps to see us in person, versus imagery. Our only effective communication to date has been through an AV signal wavelength that we recognized. The electromagnetic signals from their outer system satellite did not correspond to any radio, radar or visual emission frequency. The signals were polarized, which says they conveyed something intentional. What, we have no idea.”

  “They are clearly insects,” Jacob said, persisting in his effort to decipher the future behavior of an alien species. “How does one group of insects react when it encounters an opposing group of insects?”

  “They attack one another. Immediately,” Lori said, her Russian accent barely noticeable. “Or they avoid each other.”

  “How do they signal the decision to attack? Or to avoid?”

  She squinted, then looked up at him. “Most insects use pheromones to signal a behavior change, or to provide info on something that matters, like food. Earth insects cannot see red or infrared, but they can see in the ultraviolet range. Plus, some insects like bees can detect polarized light, which helps them find their way back to the home nest.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “A signal to attack us may be sent by pheromones, by ultraviolet signals or by polarized light emissions. Acoustic orders could also be sent by rasping of their hard shell bodies using arms or legs. The way grasshoppers make sounds.”

  “What about their technology,” Jacob pressed. “How similar is it to ours? How different?”

  Lori blinked, her expression going thoughtful. “Like us they use phased array aperture synthesis radar. And also pulsed Doppler radar. They emit complex encrypted radio signals between their ships. Their ships use fusion reactors, based on a neutrino signature that is identical to our reactors. And their normal space movement is by fusion pulse drives, based on the radioactives emissions from the rear of their ships. Unlike us, they have both compound and single lens eyes, similar to the eyes possessed by wasps, spiders, horseshoe crabs and other complex arthropods. Which means their video imagers will be different from ours.” She fixed on him. “Acting Captain, these speculations are the most I can do based on analogy with Earth and other worlds’ insect populations.”

  Jacob nodded, then focused on Quincy. “Spacer Quincy Blackbourne, you’ve seen the spysat imagery of the alien ships. Have you and your mates been able to detect signs of weaponry? Like lasers, cannons, missile launchers or other weaponry?”

  The short, stocky man put both fists on his hips and frowned. “Acting Captain, it’s been hard to tell. We’ve only been in orbit for a few hours. Our spysats and comsats have been in orbit for just that long.” He pointed at Daisy’s holo. “I’ve looked closely at expanded images of those ships. The rods at the front, middle and ends of each ship could be gas laser emitters, proton lasers, plasma tubes or Smart Rock launchers. The ships are maintaining their orbital position by use of attitude jets very similar to those our ships use. The rear of each ship shows exhaust funnels similar to our fusion pulse exhausts on the Lepanto and our battle group ships.” His friend, who spoke with a London accent, shrugged his thick shoulders. “If we could move a spysat closer to one of those ships, I could make a more accurate guess on their weaponry. If they are similar to wasps, they surely have one or more stingers. I expect them to be dangerous opponents.”

  Jacob felt the same way. He focused on Carlos, a Latino from East Los Angeles who played soccer in the ship’s Exercise Hall, loved tequila and played a mean classical guitar. Their group had always shown up for a guitar session hosted by Carlos. It was one of the things that had glued all of them, including Kenji, into a common friendship. Plus, Quincy and Kenji had been willing to join him, Lori, Daisy and Carlos in the ensigns ward room. That took some daring, which Jacob appreciated. His own quota of daring had peaked in his assumption of temporary command of the Bridge.

  “Ensign Carlos Mendoza, you’re a Navigator. If we have to run from these aliens, we will not head for Earth and Sol. What is the nearest star colony we can head for?”

  The man jerked his head away from scoping out the looks of O’Hara, whose curvy shape showed well in her NWU camos. His brown eyes looked over Daisy, then fixed on him. “Well, Kepler 10 is just 65 light years away from this system. At our FTL speed of 25 light years a day, we could reach the system in two and a half days. Of course, Lieutenant Commander Bannerjee runs my Navigation Deck. He could give you more star colony options. And Louise here at Navigation could have told you what I just shared.”

  Jacob knew that. A CWO named Oliver Diego y Silva was in charge of the Weapons post on the Bridge, while red-haired CPO Louise Slaughter headed the Navigation post. He didn’t know them. Nor any of the other Bridge crew. He did know Carlos, Quincy and Lori. And Daisy. He was doing the best he could, recalling academy lessons and simulation scenarios that—

  “Acting Captain,” called O’Hara from Tactical. “The Cloud Skimmer is arriving at the meeting site. I’m putting its imagery up on the front wallscreen.”

  “Lori, Carlos and Quincy, take a seat in the observer row behind us,” he said quickly. “Let’s see what this shows.”

  At last. In a moment they would all know just what had happened at the meeting site nearly an hour ago. Jacob focused on the giant wallscreen that covered twenty meters of the curving front wall. The real time image of the dark storm vanished and was replaced with a scene that resembled Hell.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jacob scanned the overhead view that showed a red-glowing crater where the glass dome had once been. As the skimmer began its automatic circling of the arrival point, he noticed the condition of the human shuttles. The front ends that faced toward the dome were melted into slag. The alien shuttle front ends were also melted. A glance at the spectroscope sensor readouts that filled one side of the skimmer’s live video image showed the metal of the alien shuttles was the same mix of steel, titanium and nickel that made up the Earth shuttles. Beyond the melted shuttles, the green grass of the meadow had become withered brownness, while the red bark and green needle leaves of the alien trees were blackened on the sides facing the meeting site. Clearly something very hot and very violent had hit the meeting site. There were no survivors. No foot prints were visible in the dirt and ash that lay outside the central crater. The terrain looked overcast due to the storm clouds above. In the distance, yellow lightning bolts spiked down to touch the mountain wall that lay to one side of the site. As the skimmer continued its circling, more yellow bolts streaked down, hitting the nearby lake, some trees and then the mountain slope on the other side of the site. White steam still rose from the red-glowing crater.

  “Fuck! What the hell hit them!” yelled Oliver from his Weapons post.

  “So terrible,” muttered Osashi.

  “God, that’s awful,” called Rosemary from Tactical, her expression pained.

  “Jacob,” called Daisy from the XO seat below him, “there’s nothing left. They’re all gone. What could have done this?”

  He gripped tight the ends of his seat’s armrests. No more guessing now. It was a fact that all the senior officers of the battle group were dead and gone. Along with nearly twenty aliens. Was this enemy action? Would the wasp creatures kill their own people in order to kill the commanders of the ten Earth ships? If the wasps had killed his people, why were their ships not doing anything?

  “AI Melody, transmit this imagery to every ship in the battle group. Maintain the transmission so long as the skimmer functions,” he said.

  “Transmitting imagery,” the AI said, her tone sounding as tense as Jacob felt.

  “Melody, activate our All Ship vidcom. Transmit this imagery over every
ship vidscreen. Add my image.”

  “All Ship vidcom active. Transmitting imagery.”

  Jacob licked his lips, tried to sit straighter in his seat than he already did, and spoke.

  “All personnel, you are now seeing imagery of the meeting site where Rear Admiral Johanson, Captain Miglotti and Executive Officer Anderson were meeting with the wasp-like aliens who invited our senior officers to meet with them,” Jacob said, hoping his baritone did not sound shaky. “Whatever vaporized the meeting site did a complete job. The captains and XOs and ensigns from the fleet’s other ships are also gone. The shuttles are half melted. Our Cloud Skimmer is circling the site. There is no sign of survivors.” He paused. “Melody, move ship status to Alert Combat Ready.”

  Overhead the alert lights went to blinking red. The ceiling speakers gave out a high-pitched siren, which repeated three times. “People, it is possible the loss of our senior officers is due to enemy action by the wasp aliens. One of their shuttles released a floating globe just before we lost the tablet imagery of the meeting. I am suspicious that this is not a natural weather event. If the aliens did this, that is a hostile act. Therefore, all personnel are ordered to Battle Stations. All decks must prepare for possible enemy action. I will keep you informed of any change in the tactical situation. Acting Captain out.”

  He looked up at the ceiling. “Melody, prepare to transmit my words to each of the other nine ships in the battle group. Add my image.”

  “Encrypted audiovid neutrino signal established. Ready to transmit voice and image,” the AI said quickly, a touch of curiosity now discernible in its human-like voice.

  “Each ship, I am Acting Captain Jacob Renselaer, the only surviving Command Deck officer on the Lepanto. Earlier, I ordered a change in Alert status. I have now moved us to Alert Combat Ready status based on what you are now seeing. Whoever is in command on your ship, move to that alert stage. I require the cooperation of every ship, until we make contact with Earth or find a senior command officer in a human colonized star system.” Jacob paused and drew a deep breath. “This destruction of the meeting site occurred after the aliens released a floating globe that rose above the site. That globe may have caused this destruction. If so, that is a hostile act. There is no change in wasp ship formation at the moment. There is no sign of a hostile act by any wasp ship. However, I judge we must be ready to move to Alert Hostile Enemy status whenever any wasp ship moves toward one of our ships. Advise me of your compliance and identify who is now commanding your ship.”