Shroud of Eden (Panhelion Chronicles Book 1)

by Marlin Desault

  Scott perked up at her words, and the clear implication that she’d join in his plan. “You’ll have a demonstration of its power in the coming battle with the Khepri. I‘ve no doubt you’ll be quite convinced.”

  She studied the men sitting next to Scott. “Tiago? Tanner? May I have your personal assurance that you are freely participating in this, no backing out?”

  Da Silva locked his gaze with hers. “Emeka, you have my word.”

  “And mine,” Tanner echoed.

  “All right, gentlemen.” She exhaled as if blowing out a candle. “You have my word as well. If Rigus confirms his neutrality, and if Prometheus lives up to its reputation, me and my ship are at your command, and good riddance to Camus and his New Imperium.”

  Rally Point Bravo, Star Cluster Coma Berenices

  -

  Aurora

  ~~~

  “I don’t recognize these stars,” Ariela whispered in Scott’s ear. She sat close to him in Aurora’s small observation lounge.

  “You’ve never seen them before. They’re not visible inside the small universe of your ken. This is the light in the vast cosmos outside your sheltered space.”

  “But there are so many, and there....” She pointed while resting her head on his shoulder. “I see a dim, white swath of stars across the heavens.”

  “Yes, the Milky Way.” He stroked her soft, auburn hair and patiently continued his explanation. “Our galaxy seen edge on.”

  She tipped back her head and gazed into his eyes. “Why would you call it milky?”

  “From Earth, we can’t see most of the individual stars. Rather, our ancestors likened it to a streak of milk, the milk from animals. It’s not like the milk you make from plants.”

  “It paints a wonderful scene. You are blessed to have such beauty in your heavens.” She twisted a bit, pressing ever closer against him.

  He slid his arm behind her back. “I know where I can find some refreshment. In the galley they keep a Traminer... a type of wine. I’m told it’s quite good.”

  “Join me?” she offered.

  “It contains a bit of alcohol.” He stole a quick glance to check her reaction.

  “You’ve told me before about your aversion, but you never told me why.”

  “A weakness, a flaw.”

  “A weakness? I find that hard to believe.” Her posture perked up, her curiosity all too obvious.

  “There’s not much to tell. I suffered a depression that lead to addiction when I suffered a loss of... someone dear to me. I was forced to confront some poor decisions I’d made.”

  She reached out and gently squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry. I remember you mentioned a woman.”

  “That was part of it.” He averted his eyes back to the starry vista. “At the same time my career went into reverse. Some bad luck, an injustice I couldn’t cope with, and it all lead me to drink even more to smother the anger. It didn’t change until a friend stepped in and helped me understand what I had to do to get on with my life. You know him.”

  She leaned back. “It was Blyds, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, he helped me understand how the first drink destroyed my resistance, and the second encouraged more—many more.”

  She cocked her head in the way a lark might in search for a seed. “And the woman?”

  “Another story for another time.” He gave her a reassuring hug. “I promise when all this is over, I’ll answer all your questions.”

  “Again, I’m sorry.” She swiveled toward him. “Now that you’ve told me, I’ll pass on the wine as well.”

  “You don’t have to. I’m comfortable in the presence of alcohol. I just can’t join you.”

  “I’ll pass anyway.” She turned her head and gazed starward. “You’re thinking about tomorrow, about the battle.”

  “Put those worries out of your mind. I’m confident we’ll come through. My concern is for you.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Why would you worry about me?”

  “You’ve never seen combat. Your Tradition has protected you from that kind of calamity.”

  She folded her hands in her lap. “When I helped set the trap for your warriors on Niobe’s moon, I agonized over the thought of putting another person’s life in jeopardy.”

  He laid his hand on hers. “Tomorrow, I want you with me on the combat deck.”

  “What’s the combat deck?”

  “It’s the most heavily armored part of the ship. I’ll direct the battle from there. Do you think you can handle that?”

  “If I’m going to make Earth my new home, I might as well share the experience with you.” Her eyebrows arched, as if she had a worrisome thought. “Your confidence comforts me.”

  “I’m confident that Prometheus will see us through. For that gift, we have your people to thank. And I know the ability of the captains who have joined us. Lastly, our ships have encountered the Khepri on two occasions, and now we have a better understanding of their limitations.”

  He put his finger to her lips. “No more talk of tomorrow. I only want to talk of our life together. You’ll be a great distance from your home and friends.”

  She paused for a long moment. “With you, I know I’ll be happy. But tell me more about the animals.”

  “The animals? Some say they have no souls. Others consider them close friends and treat them as human. They come in many sizes, some quite large. You’ve read of horses and such?”

  “Yes, of cows and big cats. From what I read, they make odd noises. Have you ever heard them?”

  “I’ve never seen them in the wild, only in zoological gardens. They mostly ate and slept. Some people on Earth keep personal animals, small ones.”

  “I think it would be fun to hold them, stroke them.”

  “The small ones, of course.” Scott grinned as he pictured Ariela holding a purring cat.

  She tilted her head. “Life on Earth sounds exciting. I look forward to the experience.”

  Her words and half-closed eyes stirred a latent bliss in him, a feeling he had nearly forgotten. The interior light grew dim, and the air chilled as the ship transitioned to evening watch. They gazed at the stars with no words passing between them for many minutes.

  Then she stirred in his arms. “Scott, I want to be with you tonight, to be reassured.”

  His pulse quickened, and his ardor welled in his breast like a free flowing spring. “Then we will be together tonight.”

  He composed himself and rose from the lounge. With both her hands in his, he drew her close to his chest. The soft fragrance of her hair and her doe-eyed gaze sparked a passion deep in his soul. In an instant, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. The warmth of her breath brushed against his cheek.

  With her arm on his, they faced down to where his cabin beckoned. Semidarkness veiled the two as they made the short walk down the companionway to where his cabin beckoned.

  Rally Point Bravo, Star Cluster Coma Berenices

  -

  Aurora

  ~~~

  The next morning, Ariela dozed in the afterglow of the evening while Scott prepared to conference with the captains of the expeditionary fleet, to decide on a strategy to engage and defeat the Khepri.

  He arrived early at an already full wardroom. The assembled group rose and clapped when he appeared in the portal.

  One friendly face seized his attention. “Blyds.”

  Gatura rose, made his way around the table and clamped Scott in a bear hug. “Scott, first we kick some Khepri butt. Then we go home to fix that bastard Camus, to make up for that kangaroo court-martial he convened a few years ago.”

  Scott withdrew from the hug. “I got over that a long time ago, but thank God you talked sense into me when I damn near drank myself into Dante’s third circle of hell.”

  Blyds dropped his arms and stepped back, grinning. “Yeah, you were one sorry sight, my friend. You don’t know how many times Admiral Delmar hassled me to stay on your case until you sobered up for
good. Even if he didn’t say anything to you about it, he honestly hoped you’d kick the buzz-juice. Told me if I you straightened out he’d give you a ship to command. We both cheered when you threw off the monkey and cleaned up your act. You’re one determined guy when you want to be.”

  “Thanks, Blyds. I don’t have words to tell you how much I appreciate what you did for me, but enough of this sentimental bull. We’ve got a battle to win.” Scott took the only empty chair at the table, which happened to be at the head position.

  Poland Tanner rose and cleared his throat. “Scott, we conferenced before you got here. Everyone had a chance to speak their mind, and we’re agreed. We want you to assume overall command of this crazy fleet of renegades, both for the battle with the Khepri and for when we go home to take on the New Imperium.”

  He went slack-jawed. “Why me? Any one of the captains at this table could lead this fleet, and Emeka actually fought the Khepri. She’s an obvious choice for command.”

  Emeka placed one palm on the table and covered it with the other, then angled toward Scott. “Thanks for the mention, but I voted for you for two reasons. You know more about Prometheus than any of us, and we’re counting on that to decide the outcome when we go against the Khepri. When we get back home we have to take on Camus, and you know more about his battle strategy than any of us. You’re the one officer here who can bring this play to a successful conclusion.” She rocked her chair back and crossed her arms over her chest.

  Warm blood flushed his face. “If your decision’s unanimous, I accept.”

  A muted applause filled the room, and one by one, each officer approached and congratulated him.

  “One more thing.” Tanner stood and put two admiral’s shoulder boards on the table in front of Scott. “We also want you to wear these. They’re the Panhelion insignia, not the Imperium versions that some of us were issued when we left Earth.”

  Everyone at the table was dressed in their old silver and blue uniform with the insignia of the Panhelion military, not the dark, gray New Imperium uniform they had worn the day before.

  Scott pushed the shoulder boards back across the table. “Don’t take offense. I appreciate the gesture, but I’ll wear my old Panhelion uniform and captain’s insignia. Since the Panhelion no longer exits, there can’t be any complaints.”

  Tanner returned to his seat.

  Tiago rapped his spoon against his cup in a request for silence. “Captain, we have serious business to discuss. I suggest we get on with your plan to defeat the Khepri.”

  Every head pivoted round to face Scott, and the chatter in the room ceased.

  He folded his hands on the table and eyed the officers around him. “Very well, here’s my plan. Speak up if you have any objections or suggestions. First, Emeka, what was the shape and disposition of the Khepri formation when you fought them?”

  She stood and with a laser pen drew on the wall display. “They formed two circles, a large one composed of five ships and a smaller, concentric one composed of three ships. The smaller circle sailed slightly behind the larger one. One thing caught my eye: they placed one ship in the very center.”

  When she finished, Tiago spoke. “Sounds a lot like our typical attack formation except the center group isn’t forward of the outer ships, it’s aft, a reverse phalanx if you will.”

  Hands down on the table, Scott outlined his strategy. “Their formation makes sense given they were only dealing with the Vesper. That arrangement allows them to concentrate their firepower on one ship. Our phalanx is organized to attack fleets, not single ships. Against our four-ship fleet, they may use a different formation.”

  Tiago rubbed the sides of his face. “With our phalanx we can split up enemy formations and move in to destroy small groups. They may try this same strategy against our four cruisers.”

  Tanner cocked his head to the side. “Based on Emeka’s experience, they do have a sense of tactics.”

  Scott sat quietly for several minutes. “Agreed. Poland, we go on the assumption they will position their ships as they did before. If they don’t, we’ll have to adjust on the fly. Here’s what I propose: we form up similar to the Khepri, but with a slight difference. Aurora will take the forward point of a modified Panhelion phalanx.” He extended both hands, one in front of the other, to show the relative ship positions. “Targelion, Vesper, and Plexaure will maneuver into a circle with Aurora as the center. The three of you will remain approximately the same distance from each other.”

  “What about me?” Klaas leaned over the table toward Scott. “I’m not going to be left out of this.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll see action.” He put his fist on the table with his finger pointing toward Klaas. “I want you to take Pegasus out to the CB2 system where Demos first engaged the Khepri. Since you have the fastest ship, you’ll scout their position. You are not to engage them. Your light weapons are no match for their firepower.” He steeled his gaze. “Do you understand?”

  The Dutchman, red-faced, lowered his head at the veiled admonishment. “I understand, Captain.”

  “Good. For the rest of you.... Tiago, you’ll take the peak of the triangle above the Aurora. Emeka, you stay to low starboard, and Rigus, you’ll be low port side. You three will protect against any attack on our flanks.

  “Klaas, when you make contact, report back everything you find—location, strength, formation. You will then turn tail and beeline back to the fleet. I want you to lead them to us.”

  Rigus Bauer broke his silence. “Intel says their weapon range is greater than ours, by between five and seven percent.”

  “Is that right, Emeka?” Scott asked.

  “Yes, during the first attack, Vesper’s magnetic shields and sacrificial outer skin held off a breach of our number one hull for three to four minutes. Their energy beam finally burned through and we had to run for it.”

  Rigus shook his head at her description. “Scott, you actually want to attack them head on?”

  Scott bristled. “We’ll put those three minutes to good use. If we sail full speed at them while they’re chasing Pegasus, our closing rate will be great enough to put them in range of our weapons before they can react.”

  “God, that’s risky,” Emeka grumbled. “How do you know how fast they can react?”

  “We don’t, so we must make it as difficult for them as possible. We’ll run radio silent, except for Klaas. All our communications before and during the engagement will be by line of sight laser transmission. With luck, they won’t know they’re sailing into an ambush.”

  Scott paused for any objections, then continued. “Our three outer ships will sail in rapid rotation around Aurora’s centerline as we press the attack. The rotating ships will present accelerating targets and make them harder to hit. Emeka said it took three to four minutes for them to penetrate Vesper’s hull.”

  Rigus interlaced his fingers and put them to his chin. “If their fire control systems are any good, the little bit of acceleration won’t buy us much time—a fraction of a second more, at most.”

  The room went quiet.

  Tiago broke the awkward silence with his sonorous voice. “Well, mi amigos, in for a penny, in for a pound.”

  Emeka and Tanner managed to keep a straight face for a minute, then burst out laughing at an English proverb spoken by a captain of Portuguese ancestry.

  “Then it’s settled,” Scott pronounced. “How about you, Rigus? You’ve been rather quiet. You think this’ll work?”

  For a few moments, Bauer chewed on his lip in silence. “If they do have a ten percent range advantage over our beam weapons, we’re going to have to get damn close to them and real fast.”

  The room went tomb silent for several minutes.

  Scott rose from his chair. “Well then, I suggest we take to our ships, and God speed.”

  The assembled officers pushed their chairs back, and chatted with one another as they made their way out.

  Scott pulled Klaas aside. “Klaas, don’t fa
il me. Our success depends on your speed. Bring them to us as fast as possible, nothing more, got it? We’ll do the rest.”

  With a brief nod, Klaas acknowledged the order and joined the others as they filed out of the wardroom.

  Two hours later, with her three hadron engines penciling thin lines of plasma, tiny Pegasus streaked away from the four drifting strike cruisers.

  On the combat deck, Scott sat in his battle pod, and Ariela sat in hers next to him. The displays gave views of the weapons deck, and overlooked Aurora’s Combat Information Center, where Tanner sat in his battle pod. “Tanner, tell the others to move into position.”

  The day-watch settled into their action stations throughout Aurora.

  The remaining ships called in their ready status over the fleet-net.

  Pegasus

  ~~~

  The little corvette sped toward the last reported position of the Khepri fleet. Klaas’ information was months old, but his instincts and a measure of luck, he was certain, would guide him to the CB2 aliens. In addition, he had the skills of Bob Rausch, his second-in-command, to monitor the radio interceptors scanning the Khepri frequencies.

  Klaas liked Rausch, and befriended the maverick as a kindred spirit when he learned Rausch had earned the nickname Banzai Bob, by flying small twin-engine ore boats on missions to smuggle rare elements from the refineries on Luna to the Luna-Earth transshipment stations. Rausch’s daring flights through the lunar mountain ranges to escape excise patrols were the stuff of legend among the lunar settlements. His smuggling career came to an abrupt end when he crashed his catboat in a winding valley of the Montes Rook mountain range.

  His larger-than-life stature among the Lunarians grew when they learned that, trapped in the wreckage and suffering the intense pain of a dislocated shoulder, he managed to jerry-rig a carbon-dioxide scrubber and survive long enough to be rescued by a prospecting party. The accident convinced him he’d had enough of the smuggler’s life, and six months later, he joined the Panhelion Space Forces, but the nickname Banzai Bob followed him. In the military, he garnered more notice as an aggressive corvette pilot in simulated battle, but his daring stunts were too impetuous for the top brass, and he never advanced above the rank of lieutenant.