by D. J. Holmes
Before James could reply something caught his uncle’s attention. He held his hand up and looked away from the screen. Before he turned around James heard a number of strong expletives.
“Someone has leaked the video of you two onto the datanet. I’m going to have to go. Do not, and I mean do not, make any other communications with Earth. Don’t stop until you meet up with Rear Admiral Jensen.
As James sat in the command chair officially overseeing Drake’s departure from the Sol system, his mind was elsewhere. Even as Drake accelerated away from Earth she was still updating her data banks with the latest holo news broadcasts. On his personal terminal James was able to watch the news break in London and then spread across the world and the solar system. The Royal Princess of Great Britain had been involved in an affair. Clips from their secret meeting were played and replayed. He was quickly identified as the son of the infamous late Duke of Beaufort, then as the Commander who had discovered the Void. He was the Princess’s secret lover.
James’ breath caught in his throat as the BBC interrupted their coverage of the story for some breaking news. The Princess herself had contacted the BBC to make a statement. The feed switched to a picture of the Princess standing beside a BBC reporter. The audio soon followed.
“It is with great disgust that I wish to acknowledge that the leaked images of myself and Commander Somerville are real. I have no regrets over my actions. I am happy to confirm that James and I have been pursuing a relationship for the last three and a half years. You all know of James and his father. Well, when my father found out he banned our relationship; he didn’t want to be touched with James’ disgrace. Many of you will know that true love cannot simply be switched off, even if a King orders it. It is our hope that one day my father will give his blessing so that James and I no longer have to meet in secret. But, let me repeat my disgust. My love life is not a thing of entertainment and James is not some low life. He is a well-respected, successful Commander in the RSN. Our relationship should not be a thing of entertainment.”
As Drake slowly slid away from Earth James longed to reverse course and return. He wanted to stand beside Christine and declare their love to the world. He wanted to stand up to her father as she had just publically done. Yet he knew he had a duty to his country, to his crew and to Christine. The next few months might determine the future of Britain’s colonial ambitions, his Princess’ kingdom. And, if he was honest, he was not sure if Christine’s course of action had been the wisest. Her father would never forget this. The leak of the video was bad enough; Christine’s public appearance would mean that this news story would go on for weeks.
A gasp from the bridge brought him back to reality. Gupta’s mouth was hanging open and she was staring at her Commander. Sighing James tried to put Earth and Christine out of his mind. It would take Drake three and a half weeks to reach Britannia and he needed to be one hundred percent focused for the sake of his crew. Yet he couldn’t. Christine was his life, his future. Despite everything his uncle had said he opened up a data file and began to compose a statement. In it he spoke of his love for Christine and his commitment to their future even if they didn’t win her father’s approval. After rereading it several times James was finally happy. He hoped Christine would appreciate his words.
So as to avoid his uncle’s wrath he waited until Drake was about to jump out of the Sol system, then he beamed the statement to one of the main British news outlets back in London. Now he could focus on the upcoming mission. He would deal with whatever consequences came his way for standing by Christine later.
Chapter 11 – Boarders Away
The Royal Space Marines had won little glory for themselves during humanity’s expansion into the stars. With few wars of expansion there was no need for an army that could be landed on a hostile planet and begin offensive operations. However, as we all know, at the end of the First Interstellar Expansion Era this was to change.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD
28th February 2465, HMS Drake, the Void
Becket felt Drake shudder as she exited shift space. Quickly, she charged her opponent, ducking under his guard in the hope the slight shift in the inertial compensators would throw him off. She had no such luck. For the hundredth time since Drake had left Earth one of Jones’ men dodged her attack, kicked her legs out from under her and dumped her onto the floor. Groaning she rolled over and extended her hand to her opponent to get helped back up.
Her bruises had been multiplying since Britannia. Initially the marines had gone easy on her but as they approached the Void they had stepped it up. She felt reasonably confident about having to command the Chinese destroyer, if they captured the bridge intact. If there was some battle damage she thought she could probably make do. However, her training with the marines and Mr. Jones had shown her that her combat skills left a lot to be desired. Back at the lunar academy she had excelled in the hand-to-hand combat training. Yet she could barely land a punch against these men.
Their gun skills also far surpassed her. Her father had enjoyed hunting and had taken her and her brothers on hunting trips to Canada and so she had been no stranger to a gun. Yet the marines were a whole different kettle of fish. Their speed, accuracy and precision were almost inhuman. She knew that the Special Forces’ marines were selected from the regular RSM for their excellence. She had heard that they underwent some kind of genetic and biomechanical alterations as well. The marines themselves were very tight lipped about it but seeing what they could do up close startled her. If it came to a gunfight, she would be staying behind them until the bad guys had gone down.
Her training had gone well though she thought. She had picked up some good tips from the marines and the hours and hours she had spent sparring with them were having an effect. Though she had to admit she was still quietly scared about what lay before her. Going EVA was almost every spacer’s worst nightmare. Going EVA without a tether back to the ship had been unthinkable. At least until Mr. Jones and Major Johnston had their say. No doubt if they made it to the Chinese destroyer a firefight would break out. A plasma rifle firefight in the small confines of a ship’s corridors was not something to be entered into lightly. Yet Becket knew that if she made it that far, she would be relieved. The thought of going EVA from one ship to another had been giving her nightmares since they left Earth.
*
Aboard the battlecruiser Valkyrie, Rear Admiral Jensen watched her fleet appear out of shift space around her flagship. She had spent the last year patrolling the approaches to Britannia; finally she was doing something proactive. Valkyrie was one of the newest RSN battlecruisers. Whereas the other powers had opted for battleships, the RSN had instead brought out an updated battlecruiser class. Valkyrie boasted a twenty missile salvo, three more than any Chinese battlecruiser. She was also equipped with two of the new flak guns, giving her a much greater defensive punch than anything but a battleship. With luck, Admiral Somerville would be able to get her two sister ships to the Void before they had to engage the Chinese battleship. If they could, Jensen was sure that the battle would show the wisdom of the British construction program.
She had jumped her fleet to within two light days of the Excalibur system, what had until recently been designated V2. Once she was satisfied the cruisers and destroyers had formed a tight defensive sphere and the frigates and corvettes were covering them in an outer cone she sent the signal to Drake.
Minutes later, after charging her jump drive capacitors, the small survey ship disappeared off the plot. Seven other ships quickly followed her. Apart from Drake, they were all off to try and find the Chinese shift passage into the Void. For now though, Rear Admiral Jensen and Valkyrie, along with the seven other cruisers, five destroyers and twelve frigates and corvettes under her command, had nothing to do but wait while others went into harm’s way.
*
It only took Drake milliseconds to complete her jump further into the Excalibur system. The shifting of the internal compensators t
o accommodate the entrance and then immediate exit from shift space left everyone on board feeling slightly nauseous. The plan was for Drake to accelerate to 0.1c and then slowly coast into the system. Once the holo-display updated, showing no signs of enemy ships within the system, James gave the go ahead.
When Drake reached 0.1c her engines were shut down and a spread of twenty recon drones were shot into the system to search for the Chinese ship. This was double Drake’s usual compliment but she had been loaded with spares for this mission.
As James watched them head off, he secretly thought they would not find anything. It had been over two months since Drake had first encountered the Chinese destroyer. He would be amazed if it was still in the system. On the other hand, if it was there it meant the crew must be getting very weary from their monotonous task. Traveling back and forth along the same track with all the main systems shut down for months could destroy a crew’s morale and alertness. If they were there, they would be ripe for the taking.
Two hours passed before something happened. First the bridge erupted into a hive of activity and then the message was sent to the marines. Sub Lieutenant Becket jumped as the holo-display she had been staring at began to flash red. She, along with the other marines had been going over the mission one more time in the main debriefing room. The signal meant the Chinese destroyer had been located. A count down soon appeared on the holo-display. It would take Drake another three hours to get behind the Chinese ship and begin a slow deceleration burn. The plan called for Drake to close in from behind the Chinese destroyer, flying right down her engine exhaust plume. That would be where her sensors were the weakest. With luck, Drake would be able to get within a few light seconds of the destroyer. Then it was over to Mr. Jones and Becket.
The flashing light was the signal for Becket, along with the other marines to leave the debriefing room and head for the cargo bay that was set up for them. Three hours was still a long time to wait but they all wanted to get into their EVA suits as soon as possible. Her heart was already racing. Up until now she hadn’t really thought she would have to go through with what basically boiled down to being fired from a cannon from one ship to another. The mission had always seemed like a distant dream rather than something that could become reality. Now that it was at hand, she had to admit her fear was increasing. No one had ever tried going EVA from one ship to another untethered, let alone across a distance of two light seconds. If she missed the Chinese destroyer, she would likely float off into space forever. At least she only had oxygen for six hours, so forever wouldn’t be too long.
After getting into their suits, there was nothing to do but sit and wait. Jones came around and gave everyone a pep talk but Becket was hardly listening. She was using her suit’s miniature holo-display to review the Chinese destroyer’s flight characteristics.
Half an hour before it was time to launch everyone was loaded into the five specially built air cannons. The twelve Special Forces marines were tethered into groups of three to be fired towards their target. Becket was to go with Mr. Jones in the fifth tube. As they were about to be tethered another figure in an EVA suit appeared. A small cheer erupted across the COM channel from the other marines followed by Major Johnston’s voice.
“I thought you boys could use an extra pair of hands, no sense in spending all this time training you up and then seeing it all go to waste when you mess up.”
After they had been tethered together Jones activated the private channel for their small group. “Are you sure you want to do this Major, I know you have a wife back on Earth?”
“It’s for her I’m doing this,” he replied after a moment’s pause. “If the Chinese think they can start something against us I want to finish it quickly, before they take it to Earth or our other colonies.”
Becket was embarrassed to be intruding on such a personal conversation between her superiors but she had little choice. She was also slightly ashamed; her thoughts had been all about her own survival and the potential promotion for taking part. She had forgotten that there was a wider world out there beyond herself and Drake. No doubt many of the men and women on the mission with her had families they wanted to get back to. This wasn’t just an adventure for them. They were risking their lives for something they believed in, they wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Thinking about the wider implications of the outbreak of hostilities distracted Becket as everyone waited for the mission to commence. She was startled out of her thoughts five minutes before launch as the cargo bay doors opened. This was the most dangerous part of the mission for Drake. With her cargo bay doors open her radar-absorbing tech would be useless. If the Chinese destroyer sent out even a low powered radar sweep Drake would light up like a Christmas tree.
As the countdown reached thirty seconds, Becket found herself crossing her fingers and closing her eyes. Mr. Jones would be controlling the small maneuvering thrusters that would direct their tethered trio once they got closer to the Chinese ship. All she had to do was remain tethered to Jones and Johnston until they got there.
A large hissing noise followed by a very slight sense of acceleration was the only sign that they had been shot from their air cannon. The Chief Engineer had complained for days when he had first been instructed to fit them into the cargo bay. He had been especially vocal about having to tear up most of the nano-carbon floor to fit them into place. Becket tried to replay the argument she had seen between the Chief and Mr. Jones. She was searching for anything to distract her from the weightless sensation of floating through space.
Eventually she worked up the courage to open her eyes. Immediately she was overwhelmed by a sense of vertigo. Everything around her was dark and she couldn’t get any sense of which way was up or down. They had been fired feet first out of Drake and so she looked back to try and see if she could see the ship. Clearly, she had waited too long to open her eyes for they had moved well beyond where she could see Drake, even with the enhanced vision of the EVA suit. Slowly, Becket began to control herself as her training kicked in. It was not unknown for people to go into shock and panic when in an EVA situation. With deep breaths she calmed down and began to look around her more carefully. With no close point of reference, it seemed as if she was just floating stationary in space. She couldn’t feel the velocity she knew she had been fired out of the ship with and she couldn’t see anything around her zipping past to give the appearance of movement. Still, as Mr. Jones and Major Johnston appeared to be satisfied with how things were going she assumed they were heading towards their target. Looking around, Becket had to admit the stars in this part of space were beautiful. The Void was close to the Galileo Nebula and a faint red tinge could be seen in part of the starscape. As she continued to look around her Mr. Jones brought up a counter on everyone’s EVA suit. It was tracking their progress from Drake in kilometers and giving an ETA for when they would reach the destroyer.
When the countdown hit zero and they were just one thousand meters away from the Chinese ship Jones fired their deceleration thrusters. They contained just enough force to reduce their approach velocity to a few meters per second. Becket braced herself as her EVA boots hit the deck of the frigate with a loud thud. She was sure that someone would have heard her landing but Jones had assured all of them that nothing, except setting off a large explosion, would alert anyone to their presence. As she realized they had made it relief washed over her. They had actually done it! It was a first in human history. All her fears suddenly turned into a giddy elation at having survived but as the rest of the marines began to move around the hull Becket tried to focus on their mission.
As she looked around the strange hull of the Chinese ship she made a mental note to herself. When she got back to Drake she would send a request to the Admiralty to look into placing sensors that could detect EVA suits along the hull of RSN ships. Having been out here herself she knew she would always be paranoid that an intruder could be walking around Drake’s hull unnoticed.
Major Johnston was
the first to spot the thickened armor section that identified where an access panel into the destroyer’s hull was. Keying his COM unit he signaled to the rest of the Special Forces squad. Within a minute they had their equipment set up.
The marines had brought a plasma-cutting tool specially adapted to cut through valstronium armor. Normally the valstronium armor would flow around itself, filling any gaps created by the cutting process. This cutter inserted a titanium alloy strut into hole being cut that held back the valstronium. Once the cutting tool was set up it got to work automatically.
Samuel was already beginning to relax. In many ways the hardest part of the mission was over. EVA boarding missions had been dismissed as too chancy to attempt. Yet here they were. Now that they had made it onto the hull of the destroyer, things were starting to feel familiar again. Soon they would be past the hull and into the ship. Then Jones and his fellow marines could do what they did best; close quarters combat. Their intel suggested that the destroyer’s crew numbered about two hundred. With luck most of them would be naval crew members and not the Chinese equivalent to the marines. If there were any soldiers aboard things would certainly be getting interesting.