by Dave Bara
Serosian sat down and waved his hands across the console, his fingers dipping slightly into the surface like at the main console on the command deck. After a second or two of these motions he nodded to Dobrina.
“Raise your right hand,” she said to me. I was surprised but did as instructed.
“Do you swear on your oath to the Union Navy to never disclose that which I and Historian Serosian are about to reveal to you, under penalty of imprisonment and discharge from the navy?” she said.
Again, I was surprised, but curious. “I do,” I said. She nodded and dropped her hand. I did the same. We both turned to Serosian.
“This HuK has a hyperdimensional drive, but it is ancient technology. We can close on them, but we can’t catch them before they reach the asteroid. We’ll have to fight them off when we get there,” he said.
“Why are they going to the asteroid? What’s so important about this anomaly?” I asked. “Isn’t it possible it could be nothing more than an abandoned Imperial power station from the last war?”
“I’m sorry, Peter, but it’s not that simple,” replied Serosian. He looked up to me, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “This could be a Founder Relic,” he said plainly.
I was surprised by the statement, and I had no idea what he meant by it. “What’s a Founder Relic?” I asked.
Serosian looked to Dobrina, who nodded a final time. I felt as if something very important was about to be revealed to me.
“A Founder Relic is a device or mechanism created by a group we call the Founders, usually left in a time capsule,” he said.
“The Founders?” I said, my curiosity piqued. He continued in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he were giving one of his Lightship Academy lectures.
“The Founders are what we call the original interstellar human civilization that thrived in this part of the galaxy between approximately two hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand years ago,” he said, then let the words sink in. I looked at him for a moment, forming my thoughts.
“Original human civilization? You mean, originating somewhere other than Earth?” I said. The Historian nodded.
“We believe their civilization was based near the binary star Beta Lyrae. It’s a long way from our space, eight hundred eighty-four light-years, but Founder Relics have been found all over the Sol system and in many other systems nearby. Some were thought to be left as ‘gifts’ to us as a successor human civilization. Others are more complex, and their intent is less clear. They may have been stored for safekeeping, or even hidden away during an ancient interstellar war,” he said.
“We, the Historian Order that is, believe Earth was founded and possibly even terraformed as a ‘cradle of life’ in case the parent Founder civilization ever collapsed, which it did. The Union Navy has standing secret orders to investigate any potential Founder Relic discovered in any system. This anomaly certainly qualifies, as does the HD cannon in the cavern on the Levant moon,” he concluded.
“I assumed the weapons we found there were left over from the First Empire,” I said. Serosian shook his head.
“Unlikely. The sophistication evident, the level of precision, is beyond the capabilities of the First Empire. Remember, Peter, we Historians preserved as much of the scientific knowledge of the First Empire as could be gathered before the war ended, preserved it so that it could be reintroduced at the proper time. Believe me, I have seen the best First Empire technology and I’ve seen Founder Relics. That cavern was built by the Founders,” he said.
“But there are records indicating those weapons were active during the Imperial civil war. Salibi told me,” I said. “How could First Empire soldiers have the expertise to operate them?”
“Likely they had help from someone with ancient knowledge,” Serosian said.
“Someone like the Sri?” I asked. He nodded.
“Someone like the Sri,” he agreed. “You learned your lessons well, Peter. Remember, operating machinery is not the same thing as designing and building it. Whatever the case, finding a working Relic outside the Sol system is a rare occurrence. They are highly prized, as they usually contain some form of ancient high technology of the Founders. The Relics are designed to activate like this when they detect a hyperdimensional drive, to attract attention to themselves,” said Serosian.
I was stunned. “So they want to be found? And you’re telling me that this Relic was activated by our entry into the Levant system, and now this HuK has come here to what, collect it?” I said.
Serosian nodded. “Essentially, yes.” Now Dobrina cut in.
“Every command-level officer is trained in the knowledge of Founder Relics and their known history. And every ship captain and XO in the Lightship program was given this training along with standing orders to locate and obtain any Founder Relic discovered in the course of our mission, at any cost,” she said.
“There is more,” said Serosian. “The Historian Order keeps this information understandably close, with only a select few given full knowledge. Your standing, Peter, as both a command officer aboard Impulse and as a potential future leader within the Union demands that you have this knowledge one day.”
“Today is that day,” said Dobrina. “Our mission, above all else, is to obtain that Relic. Do you understand, Commander?” she asked.
“I do,” I replied. “And what of Levant? This places them in great danger, doesn’t it?”
“We will do everything we can to protect Levant, but I make no promises,” said Dobrina. “Our priority is securing the Relic and neutralizing that HuK, in that order.”
“So this Relic is more important than a planet with thirty million people on it?” I asked. Dobrina crossed her arms determinedly.
“I have my orders,” she said, then quickly departed for the command deck. I turned to Serosian.
“One day, soon,” I said, “this will change, and we will protect our friends first, above all else.”
“I hope so, Peter,” said Serosian. It was little comfort.
After half a day of acceleration at HD speeds, we were closing on the HuK. It was clear now we would catch it before it reached the Trojan point asteroid and the Relic. The question was, what would it do? Turn and attack us? Destroy the Relic at all costs? Or something else?
Everyone on the yacht was tense as we all stayed glued to our stations: Serosian at the command console, Marker and Layton at propulsion and navigation respectively, and me at the ’scope station, weapons at the ready. Dobrina hovered over Serosian, who in turn was watching my tactical display on the yacht’s main monitor.
“Three minutes until we reach firing range,” I reported.
“I see it,” replied Serosian, his attention fixed on his console. I wondered what Dobrina could see there as his display was a complete mystery to me, a jumbled mess of lines and dots, colors and textures, like a fluid, moving schematic that never settled on any one configuration. “Power the forward coil cannon, and prep the tactical torpedoes for launch,” he said to me.
“We have torpedoes?” I blurted out, not thinking before I spoke. This got the Historian to glance away from his console to focus on me.
“Check the icon menu on the left,” he said. I did. Sure enough there was an icon for the torpedoes that I could swear wasn’t there before. I gave my mentor a look but said nothing and then quickly brought the system online. I couldn’t make out all the details, but it looked like the torpedoes carried a significant atomic payload.
“What’s the tactical scenario under which we’d use these?” I asked. “The yield seems pretty high.”
“The torpedoes are for long-distance pursuit and disabling of an enemy, not for close tactical exchanges,” explained Serosian, who I could tell was trying hard not to look annoyed at my questions. “I want to have them online in case we need to use them.”
“How close can we get to the asteroid and stil
l use them safely?” asked Dobrina.
“That’s debatable in this circumstance, Captain. We may have already passed the safe-use range, but I want them available for any eventuality,” Serosian replied.
“Then I take it we’ll be using the coil cannon as our main weapon in this engagement?” I said. He looked up to me again before responding.
“Affirmative. However, we may find ourselves outgunned in that department,” he said. That gave me no comfort.
“I thought you said the yacht was more advanced than the HuK?” I said.
“It is more advanced, Peter. However that doesn’t mean we have superior weaponry. These two vessels were built for very different purposes.” I turned back to my board.
“One minute,” I said as we edged ever closer to attack range. We didn’t have to wait nearly that long for the action to begin. “Enemy vessel is breaking course, decelerating and turning to attack,” I reported seconds later.
“Confirmed,” said Serosian. He nodded to Dobrina and she strapped herself into the sole remaining safety couch. “Coil cannon?”
“Ready,” I replied.
“Torpedoes?” I checked my board.
“Armed and hot.”
“Cut the drive, Mr. Marker, switch us to impellers,” he commanded.
“Aye, sir, switching to impellers,” said Marker.
“Mr. Layton, change our vector by point-oh-oh-three-three positive to the ecliptic.”
“Aye, sir, point-oh-oh-three-three positive,” said Layton, then quickly carried out his commands.
“We’ll fly right past her at this speed,” stated Dobrina. “Aren’t we going to change course and try to engage her?”
“No,” said Serosian flatly. “Once we complete our maneuver we’ll have the asteroid to our back.”
“But we’ll be vulnerable to her weapons fire as we pass,” she said. I turned to look at my commander and saw the concern on her face. We exchanged worried glances.
“The Hoagland Field should be enough to protect us from any attack from the HuK,” said the Historian.
“Should?” said Marker from his station.
“Should. Now if all of you don’t mind, I have a battle to fight. I suggest we all check our straps again, get ready, and debate tactics later,” replied Serosian. It was the first time I’d ever detected annoyance in his voice.
“Ten seconds to firing range,” I said.
“And the enemy ship’s firing range?” asked Dobrina.
“Unkno—” I was cut off by the yacht rocking from a coil cannon barrage, knocking the wind from me in midsentence. When I got my breath back the tactical display showed the HuK closing on us, the coil cannon array spinning rapidly about the center cylinder of the craft, looking for all the world like a metallic whirling dervish spewing out green-tinted lances of energy at us. “Inertial dampers are compensating, but we’re taking direct hits to our defense field,” I said, anxiously waiting for the command to strike back. When it didn’t come I grew concerned. The HuK was closing, and pelting us with coil cannon fire as it came. “Sir!” I blurted out in between hits on the field. I could tell the dampeners were weakening. It felt like we were being shaken apart.
“Target the forward cannon!” commanded Dobrina from her safety couch.
“Belay that!” replied Serosian over the din of coil fire erupting off the shields. “Stay the course, and hold your fire. I don’t have time to argue with you, Captain!” he yelled at Dobrina. I watched her clamp her jaw shut and she nodded at me reluctantly as we shook and bounced through the enemy fire. We went on like that for what seemed an eternity, the yacht absorbing volley after volley from the HuK. Sweat was running down my forehead as I looked back to Serosian at the command console, waiting for the order to fight back.
It didn’t come.
Just when it felt like we’d fly apart from the strength of the barrage and our rapid deceleration maneuver we passed by the HuK and the volleys stopped. The enemy would have to recalculate our position and rotate its cannon to get a new fix on us. I watched the tactical as Serosian executed a perfect maneuver, rotating us on a dime, so smooth that I didn’t feel a thing.
“Cut the impellers Mr. Marker!” he demanded. Marker did. Suddenly our forward cannons were in firing position on the HuK and the asteroid was behind us as we hurtled toward it, our momentum carrying us into its minute gravity well.
“Lock the cannons and fire, Mr. Cochrane!” he ordered.
“Aye, sir!” I replied. It took me barely a second to carry out his command. I targeted the stanchion supporting the enemy’s coil cannon array and fired all four of our batteries. Orange fire launched from our triple cannon ports and converged on the enemy, cutting through her weaker rear shields as she tried to turn away from us and recalibrate her attacking vector to place her stronger forward shielding between us. It was a vain attempt. My cannon fire seared a long scrape up the stanchion, slicing across the support and then severing it with a satisfying explosion as displaced energy flowed out into the vacuum of space. The wounded HuK spun like a fish on a hook trying to break free, then quickly accelerated out of our firing range before I could get another fix on her.
“Good shooting, Commander,” said Dobrina.
“I agree,” chimed in Serosian. I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my sleeve.
“I did have ample time to calculate a firing solution,” I deadpanned. Serosian shrugged.
“It was necessary in order to maximize our strategic position, which we have now achieved,” he said.
“Won’t the HuK come back?” I asked.
“Very possibly,” said Serosian. “But she’s been badly hurt. Likely she has some reserve cannon ports on her, and possibly torpedoes. But if she intended to destroy the asteroid she could have used them at any time. My guess is it will watch and wait for another opportunity to attack us. This is not over. However, we are now between the asteroid and the HuK, and that was essential if we are to retrieve the relic,” he said.
“Then let’s get on with it,” Dobrina said, unstrapping from her couch and standing to give instructions, taking over the mission command again. “Mr. Marker, reengage the impellers. Mr. Layton, take us in to the asteroid. Mr. Cochrane, try and pinpoint the location of the . . .” She hesitated. “. . . object. Mr. Serosian, I hope you don’t mind, but I need to have a word with you. Alone.” Serosian nodded agreement. “Carry on,” she finished to the rest of us, then stalked off toward the Historian’s quarters. He reluctantly got up and followed her down the short hall, shutting the door behind him as he entered.
“Wouldn’t want to be in his shoes,” said Layton. I laughed.
“Neither would I.” Then I turned my attention back to my board.
The asteroid itself was a mystery. It had a shape to it almost like a cut diamond, the kind you’d see on an engagement ring, which seemed unnatural. As I scanned it, the mystery only deepened.
The object reflected all of my attempts to probe it right back at me. Frustrated, I switched to a visual display using the yacht’s high-resolution ’scope and adjusted the display to show the asteroid in a north-south orientation. To my great surprise, true “north” on it was in the exact center of the diamond shape’s table, or top. It still looked like an asteroid at this distance, complete with a mottled surface and impact craters, but some of them were in disturbingly geometric patterns. The ratio of the thing—I hesitated now to call it an asteroid, even in my own mind—was almost a perfect three miles tall by one mile across. This confused me, as miles were an old Earth measuring system and not considered as accurate as metrics. If it was artificial, and I was beginning to believe it was, why would an ancient culture of humans use a seemingly arbitrary and archaic system of measurements?
I bounced a low-density radio wave off the object and got back another surprising result. There was a delay in the return, indicating that t
he object was scattering the wave before bouncing the signal back. But that would indicate—
“What have you found, Commander?”
It was Dobrina’s voice and it startled me. She and Serosian had emerged from his cabin, having apparently concluded their discussion, and I’d been so engrossed in my explorations I’d failed to notice their return. I turned to them as she sent Marker and Layton to check on their stations for battle damage, putting them out of hearing range.
“All of my scans appear to be reflecting back, except the radio wave, which seems to indicate—”
“That the object is hollow,” finished Serosian, speaking quietly, leaning forward and looking over my data. “This is common with Founder Relics. They were often disguised within an asteroid-type body by a covering of natural material, rock and dust, to both protect the Relic and act as a shield in case of attack.”
“Attack?” I asked. “Was that common?”
“From what we know of the Founders they had many rivals, and war was as standard for them as it is for modern humans, unfortunately,” Serosian said. He ran his hands over my display, checking the radio wave data. “This object is completely artificial, look at the radio return.” He put the display up on the yacht’s main monitor. It showed highly reflective surfaces, facets and . . . what appeared to be innumerable rooms and connecting corridors.
“This technology is far beyond us, and yet they fell,” I said as I watched the signals echo about the object.
“But they left the Relic for us, their children, to find,” replied Serosian.
“Wait, I’m unclear,” said Dobrina. “Is this asteroid the Relic, or are we searching for something more?”
“The asteroid, or rather the artificial object masquerading as an asteroid, is merely the housing, the protection for the Relic itself, which is no doubt secured inside. The Relics we have found in the past tend to be small in size, so as to be more usable, or rather more accessible to interfacing with our technology,” Serosian said. Dobrina looked back at the display and the cascading radio signals.