The Voyage Home

by D. J. Holmes

  “Impossible,” Gronkin said. “An Elder frigate hasn’t been captured or destroyed in two millennia. Not since the battle for Earth. Tell me, why are you really here?”

  Klixar was confused. He had never heard of Earth. “I thought it was more like three millennia,” he said carefully. Gronkin seemed to know something he didn’t and he wanted in on the secret. “And I assure you, I am telling you the truth.”

  “It has been two, but then, I suppose, the official records you have been brought up on would say three wouldn’t they? So you really did lose a frigate did you?” Gronkin said.

  “Yes,” Klixar answered. He felt his whole body turn slightly blue. It was a sign of shame for his species.

  “That seems about the right color to me, Admiral,” Gronkin said as he poured scorn into Klixar’s title. “I can assure you, we don’t have any missing frigates here. Yours must be someplace else. I have always assumed losing a frigate wasn’t something an Elder Admiral did. Your brother must have been an imbecile to have been defeated by, what was it you said, a bunch of pirates?”

  Klixar tried as hard as he could to suppress his anger. Gronkin could have him executed on the spot. “I do not know exactly what happened,” he said. “Only that the Elder ship was boarded and taken over by a crew of pirates. Since then, it has travelled up the Orion Arm of the galaxy attacking Elder ships and bases as it went. In total, two frigates have been destroyed and another two badly damaged. As well, a blacklisted gold mining operation was raided.”

  Klixar’s report seemed to get Gronkin’s attention. “You are serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” Klixar said.

  “And who else knows about this?” Gronkin asked.

  “No one else outside my squadron,” Klixar answered. “I did not think it wise that news of this pirate gets out to the colonies.”

  “That certainly wouldn’t be good,” Gronkin said. “I still don’t know what you expect to find here however, there has been no runaway frigate arrive in this system. And I can assure you that whoever your pirate is, she isn’t from this world. We have carried out thousands of experiments on the natives here, both with interface helmets and imprinting with artificial intelligences. In the end, they all go mad or die in the process. Your pirate can’t be from the species of this planet.”

  Klixar was sure she was. All the evidence pointed to that fact. Instead of contradicting the High Admiral, he took another tack. Something didn’t add up, why was a High Admiral, posted to this backwater part of the galaxy. More importantly, why had it been kept hidden from the rest of the fleet? “This is Earth isn’t it?” he said, taking a guess. “This species managed to put up a fight against our fleets when they conquered this part of the galaxy two millennia ago didn’t they?”

  “You are quick-witted, I’ll give you that,” Gronkin said. “However, you should be careful. Such information may get you in trouble back on the Elder Homeworlds.

  “The species from this planet must have destroyed a number of Elder ships,” Klixar surmised, pressing on. “That means their level of technology must have come close to rivalling ours.” Though he found it hard to believe, it was the only explanation that made sense. “That is why our leaders have kept this planet a secret. Its history would cause an upheaval. The colonies we rule submit to us because they believe that we are the only race capable of understanding advanced technology.”

  “I can neither confirm nor deny such a theory,” Gronkin replied. “Though as I said, you are quick-witted.”

  Klixar smiled inwardly. He had been correct. That meant he had a way to get what he wanted. “There’s just one thing I don’t understand. Why are you here? Why is this shipyard here? Surely this species has been defeated for two millennia?”

  “If your theory was right, and I say only if,” Gronkin said slowly. “Then don’t you suppose our leaders might want to study such an advanced species? To understand their ways? And, if you weren’t sure you had conquered all their planets, wouldn’t you build a shipyard, in anticipation they might return. Granted, this monstrosity is far larger than the situation calls for. I believe some smart bureaucrat thought it a good idea to have an auxiliary shipyard outside the Homeworlds in case of an unforeseen disaster.”

  Klixar allowed his smile to show on his lips. “Then I think I have come to the right place after all,” he said.

  “Ha,” Gronkin laughed. “You are letting your mind get away from you.”

  “Think about it,” Klixar began to explain. “Someone was able to defeat an Elder frigate, board it and then imprint with its artificial intelligence and so take command of the ship. We know of no other species that can imprint. There is only one logical explanation. This species is the only one I have ever heard of who may have the technology to genetically engineer themselves to use our technology. I know the pirate is from here. She must have been engineered.”

  Klixar paused for a second. Gronkin looked shocked by his theory. He wasn’t surprised. If it was true, it meant the humans had developed the technology right under his nose. Klixar had grown up with Gronkin as a hero. He was a legend of the fleet. Yet that had been five hundred years ago. The High Admiral appeared to have grown slow and pompous in the years since his removal from Home Fleet Five. Without letting Gronkin respond, Klixar pressed on. “With your permission, I would like to send a team to the surface to investigate my suspicions. If you refuse, I will have to send a report back to the Homeworlds detailing what I think has happened here.”

  Suddenly, Gronkin looked far more serious than Klixar thought possible. “Such an accusation could have me executed. There are some among our leadership who are very paranoid about these humans. They destroyed more than fifteen warships from the fleet that was sent to subdue the planet. You would dare to threaten me? A High Admiral?”

  “The High Admiral that I grew up knowing, the one who inspired me to enter the fleet, wouldn’t have mocked a fellow officer’s brother,” Klixar began passionately. “Especially one who was now dead. I am here because an Elder warship has been hijacked by a woman from this planet. Those are the facts. I have been working to catch her and prevent the truth from getting out. Surely that is a goal we can both agree is worthwhile. The frigate was under my command when it was taken. I do not wish word to get back to our leaders until the frigate has been recovered. You, I’m sure, don’t wish them to know that the woman came from Earth. I would think we can both work together?”

  Gronkin paused. “Fine,” he eventually said. “You may send a team down to the surface to look into this. I will instruct my people to assist you. You have only one week however. After that, you will leave the system. And if you haven’t found anything by then, you can be sure I will be the one sending a report back to our Homeworlds. Detailing all your failings.”

  “That is acceptable,” Klixar said as he bowed to Gronkin.

  The High Admiral didn’t return the gesture. Instead he just cut the COM channel.

  “Send new orders to the frigates,” Klixar said. “They are to patrol the outer edge of the system. If Sarah is here, she may be hiding out there watching us. Then send for Angrave. I have a new mission for him.”

  Turning away from the holo projector, Klixar slithered back to his command seat. Sitting down, his gaze came to rest on Earth, now visible out his cruiser’s viewing screen. He would find out if Sarah was down there. And if she wasn’t, he would find out where she would have likely gone. Either way, he would catch her and bring her back here, so that she could see the destruction of her planet. Even if it meant he had to go to the Elder Homeworlds first and use her as proof of Gronkin’s failures. He would destroy her world, and he would make her watch.

  Chapter 43

  Just four days after she had left Hope V, Destiny jumped out of subspace right next to the asteroid. Seeing the human base again brought up a host of conflicting emotions for Sarah. Pushing most of them to one side, she focused on the only one that mattered. She needed to save Earth.

  �
�The asteroid is powering up an extremely large number of weapons,” Alexandra reported.

  “Don’t respond,” Sarah said. “Hail them instead.”

  “They have accepted a request to open a COM channel,” Alexandra replied.

  “Simmons, I told you I’d be back,” Sarah said. “I know you didn’t want me bringing Destiny back here. I wasn’t planning on bringing her, but things have changed. We need to talk right away. Earth is in danger.”

  It took about thirty seconds for Simmons’ face to appear on Destiny’s holo projector. “You have a lot of nerve. First you risk Earth’s future by just running off. Now you bring that ship here. If you weren’t so important I would blow you and it into space debris.”

  Sarah wasn’t surprised by Simmons’ anger. Yet she needed to find a way to placate it. “You need to listen,” she began. “Earth is in danger. I know I took a risk bringing Destiny here. But look, nothing has happened. I am still in control and Alexandra is functioning properly. We have a far bigger problem. Admiral Klixar followed me to Earth. He arrived approximately three days ago. You know what he is capable of. He has already destroyed several worlds. As soon as he finds out I am not on Earth, he may destroy it completely.”

  Simmons’ face changed. Her anger seemed to drain away. Fear took its place. As Sarah looked at the older woman, she realized she could see just how old she was. Her face looked very worn and weary.

  “You fool,” Simmons said. “I feared this would happen. Ever since I read your report on how you got to Earth. You fool, your actions could yet destroy everything I have worked for.”

  “We need to act fast,” Sarah said, ignoring Simmons’ insults. “We have a plan. We need to gather all the destroyers from all the Hope stations. With them we can defeat Klixar and the other Elder warships in orbit around Earth. We can stop him from destroying the planet.”

  “And what happens when the Elders send a much larger fleet to retake Earth?” Simmons asked. “They will destroy Earth and then hunt down our Hope stations. Humanity will be completely wiped out. If Klixar has come to Earth, then maybe it is best we face reality. We may have to enact plan Beta.”

  “No,” Sarah almost shouted. Plan Beta called for the Hope asteroids to be abandoned. Simmons and the other station commanders would then lead their people into unexplored space in search for a new homeworld, outside the Elder Empire. “We can’t give up. We have a plan. We think we can stop the Elders from sending any other fleets after us.”

  Simmons didn’t respond. Instead she stared into Sarah’s eyes for several seconds. “Transmit your plans,” she finally said. “I will review them and get back to you. Then maybe I will send for the other destroyers.”

  Before Sarah could respond, Simmons’ image disappeared.

  Quickly, Sarah transmitted the plans. Then, nothing happened. For a whole ten agonizing minutes, Simmons didn’t respond. No one else from Hope V contacted them either. They were just left sitting in space waiting. Sarah could feel tension on the bridge rising. Jake, Melissa and the others were all there. She could also sense Kevin, as their wait continued to lengthen, he grew more nervous.

  “Do you think she is thinking of a way to disable Destiny?” Sarah finally asked Kevin through their neural implants. She knew he trusted his great grandmother implicitly. But her mention of plan beta worried her and she suspected it worried Kevin as well. If Simmons was going to run away, she might want to take Sarah with her to study her more.

  “No,” Kevin said firmly. “She is probably just going over our plan with a fine-tooth comb.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Sarah replied. She returned to her silence and forced herself to remain calm. If Simmons was not going to help them, she would take Destiny to Earth and do what she could. Maybe she could lure Klixar away. Yet if Simmons disabled Destiny, Earth would have no hope. At the same time, if she tried to run, Simmons wouldn’t help them. She was stuck. Finally, something happened.

  “Look,” Kevin called from his position at the tactical console. “The space doors are opening.”

  Sarah watched as first one, then another and another destroyer emerged from the asteroid. She didn’t know what was happening. They were close enough to Hope V that its weapons could have disabled or destroyed them. Why the destroyers?

  “We’re getting a COM message,” Alexandra said. “It’s just a docking bay number.”

  Sarah didn’t move, she was watching the destroyers. There were four of them. She was about to turn Destiny around and run when the first destroyer disappeared.

  “It went into subspace,” Hannah called. She was a slave from Berius who was manning Destiny’s sensors.

  “It’s headed for Hope I,” Kevin informed everyone a moment later, once the destroyer’s estimated trajectory came up. “There go the others,” he added as the rest of the destroyers disappeared.

  Sarah let out a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders. They weren’t going to attack her. They were going to bring a message to each of the other stations. That meant Simmons was going to act. Though Sarah wasn’t sure if the Director had accepted her plan. There’s only one way to find out, she told herself. With a thought, she moved Destiny towards the space doors that were still open, waiting for her.

  Once they were inside the asteroid, she carefully maneuvered Destiny to her assigned docking berth. Then she removed her interface helmet and stood up. “Let’s go,” she said to everyone. Taking the lead, she left the bridge and walked through the frigate to the docking hatch. When it opened at her command, she wasn’t surprised to find armed soldiers awaiting her.

  Simmons was there as well. “Your people are to hand over their weapons,” she called out. “We will return them eventually, but for now, we don’t trust your people enough to let them run around armed.”

  As she spoke, several soldiers moved forward. “Let them take your weapons,” Sarah called out hastily.

  Once they were disarmed, Sarah led her crew out of Destiny. In the back of her mind she could feel the shame Kevin was experiencing. It must seem to him like every Hope Fiver was looking at him in judgement. “We did what we thought was right,” Sarah said as soon as she was standing in front of Director Simmons. “If we hadn’t left, we wouldn’t know about Klixar and Earth.”

  “The ends don’t justify the means,” Simmons said sternly. “But for now, your running away is a matter we can deal with at another time. I want you and Kevin to come with me. I already have scientists working on your idea. Though I suspect it will take a lot of input from you and Alexandra in order to make a suitable virus. The rest of your crew can go and relax. It will take three days for the fleet to gather. If they like, they can get nanites and a neural implant.”

  “So you are going to try our plan?” Sarah asked, surprised and excited at the same time.

  “Unless something better occurs to me, it seems you have left me no choice,” Simmons responded.

  Despite the tension of the situation, Sarah broke into a smile. She had been expecting to have to fight Simmons tooth and nail to persuade the Director to follow her plan. Now, already, they were on the same wavelength. “Then lead on, Alexandra and I will be happy to help as much as we can.” Pulling out a datachip from a pocket, she handed it to Simmons. “We have started reconfiguring the virus. Your scientists may want to start with what we have already done. This datachip also has all the tactical files Alexandra has on Elder fleet maneuvers. Your strategists should review these before they make their final plans for attacking Earth.”

  “Thank you,” Simmons said. She turned and handed the datachip to a subordinate. “Now let’s get to work, there is no time to waste.”

  As Sarah followed the Director beyond the docking bay, they passed a number of technicians heading the other way. Moments later, Alexandra contacted her. “There are Hope Fivers trying to enter me,” she said.

  “What do they want?” Sarah asked.

  “They say they want to analyze my systems and see if there is any way they can better p
repare Destiny for the upcoming battle,” Alexandra answered.

  “Let them on board,” Sarah said. “Just don’t let them touch anything important or make any changes I wouldn’t approve of.”

  “Yes Captain,” Alexandra responded.

  *

  Two days later Sarah sat back from the computer terminal she had been working at. “It’s done,” she said as she held back a yawn. “At least I think it is.” She looked over to Kevin to tell him the good news, but he was fast asleep in his chair.

  “Let me see,” the lead scientist Simmons had assigned to the project said as she moved over and looked at Sarah’s terminal.

  “You’re right, it’s ready,” Alexandra said. “I have finished analyzing the final changes you made. It should do exactly what Divar wanted. All we need now is the command codes of the Admiral who commands the battleship at Earth.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” Sarah replied, then she let out a loud yawn. She had barely slept four hours since arriving at Hope V. The rest of the destroyers from the other asteroids were expected any moment now. Divar had already returned from Earth. Klixar was there. The virus had to be ready to go almost right away. There was no time to spare.