The Human Chronicles Saga : Boxset #2 (The Human Chronicles Saga Boxsets)

by T. R. Harris

  “And of course, Fleet Admirals don’t need something as mundane as sleep themselves, now do they?”

  “That luxury went away with the promotion, Admiral, which I imagine applies to lowly ship’s captains as well.”

  “They’ll be time enough to sleep ... when we’re all dead and buried. Until then, I don’t want to miss a thing.”

  Six hours later Fleet Admiral Nash entered the darkened cavern of The Trident’s CIC to find Christian Bergmann hunched over a magnetic-detection monitor, along with a handful of other officers and two chiefs.

  “Fill me in, Admiral,” Nash commanded as a spot was cleared for him at the monitor.

  “Yes, sir. They’re huge magnetic anomalies, twenty or more of them. They’re at the extreme range of our detectors, but they are definitely there.”

  “What could be causing them?”

  Senior Chief Ernesto Salazar was the ship’s foremost expert in advanced monitoring equipment. “Sir, anomalies such as these could be the result of heavy metal concentrations within meteors or asteroids, yet these appear to be uniform in density and strength.”

  “How uniform?”

  “They appear to be identical, sir.”

  “How large are they?”

  “Hard to tell at this range, Admiral. They could be very large and a great distance, or small and closer in. We’ve only just now entered the Void with our drones, and the readings are preliminary.”

  “But you’re convinced they’re not natural occurrences?”

  The Chief looked around at all the eyes cast upon him. “No sir. They have to be artificial.”

  Everyone straightened up from over the monitor and looked to the Fleet Admiral. “So we could have twenty incredibly large and massive man-made objects sitting off at the inner edge of the Shield, far away from any planet or defensive position.”

  “Alien-made, Admiral,” Christian Bergmann corrected. “We know for certain they aren’t man-made.”

  “I stand corrected, Mr. Bergmann, which makes the situation even more worrisome. With the accumulation of opposing forces all about to clash within the Void, the presence of these objects cannot be a coincidence. Have we been detected Chief?”

  Salazar shook his head. “We’re picking up no emissions from the objects, at least none in our direction. Our drones only have them on density meters, which are entirely passive from our side.”

  “And what happens when the bulk of the fleet begins to pass through the tunnel? No doubt we’ll be detectable then.”

  “It will be impossible to hide the gravity signatures of so many ships.” Admiral Bergmann replied.

  Nash sent him a curt nod. “Until we have more intel we have to assume these objects are some secret weapon of the Kracori, something they’ve hidden away in this deserted region of the Void. I can imagine they’ll be pretty surprised to see us pop out right next door.”

  “If we proceed with our timeline, Admiral, then the Kracori—and this possible secret fleet—will have to engage us before the Juireans have had a chance to soften up our targets,” Commander Paul Crossman pointed out. “It could take away our element of surprise and weaken us in comparison to both the Kracori and Juirean fleets. It was never our intention to go up against both fleets with them at full capacity.”

  Nash looked back at the monitor and the faint cluster of white dots at the far edge of the screen. The objects were waiting for something, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t the Human fleet. It was Command’s selection of this far-off location along the Shield that had allowed this chance encounter with the anomalies. The builders of the objects had chosen this location for the same reason as the Humans. It was intentional.

  “I’m delaying the entry, gentlemen,” Nash announced to his assembled staff. “We’ll do our best to keep the tunnel clear and send out an appropriate number of passive drones to investigate the anomalies further.”

  None of the assembled officers and enlisted men raised a protest. They all knew that revealing the fleet before they learned more about the magnetic anomalies could defeat the entire purpose of the rapid arrival at the Shield and the secret entry into Kracori space.

  “Our delay will only be for a day or so. By then the Juireans should be in the Void and their battle with the Kracori will be joined. Also by that time, the intentions of the anomalies should be known, if they are indeed some kind of secret fleet waiting to surprise the Juireans. Chris, pull back the forward units and keep the tunnel clear. When we do enter the Void, it will have to quicker than originally planned.”

  “Will do, sir. I guess it’s fortunate we detected the anomalies before they detected us. Otherwise this operation could have gotten a lot more dangerous.”

  The Klin supervisor looked at the data line once again and shook his head. “I do not see it, Annaliss. Are you sure you are correct?”

  “I believe so. First there was drop in the background radiation, and then a surge of energy.”

  “But it is gone now?”

  “Most of it. I still detect some energy streaks in the region.”

  “Could this be from a comet or other such collision with the Shield?”

  “That is possible; however I would expect some residual traces at the impact zone. Instead I still get this decrease in density, rather than a rippling effect.”

  “I do not wish to bother the Pleabaen and his staff with this, not at this time. There are so many other events about to take place within the Nebula that they would only find this a distraction. Send out a probe or two to the region yet keep their energy signatures to a minimum. It would not serve to be detected, not at this critical time.”

  “I will do as you say, Simiss. Yet this is strange. I will keep you informed of any new developments.”

  Senior Tech Simiss left the monitoring facility and returned to his compartment; he would attempt to get a few hours of rest before the start of the major scanning efforts scheduled for the following day.

  He was sure he had instructed his young associate as to the proper course of action to take regarding the odd readings he had detected. After all, they could not be distracted with every collision occurring along the inner wall of the Shield. If that were the case, then every Klin monitoring tech in the Colony would be so engaged, rather than surveying for the monumental events about to unfold at the other side of Void, events which will provide the Klin with the final resolution to their four-thousand-year-long quest.

  Having reminded himself of the importance to the Klin race of the next few days within the Silvean Nebula, Simiss knew he had effectively destroyed any prospect he’d held for sleep this night. The anticipation would simply not allow it.

  103

  “First contact, my Lord,” Command-Overlord Enulic announced.

  The proclamation wasn’t necessary as Elder Wydor bin Sulic could see the action on the tac screen as well as he. This was just a feeling-out of each other, a testing to see how committed each side was to the fight. The Juireans were fully-committed, Wydor knew. It was the hastily assembled allies of the Kracori who had to prove their will and determination.

  A static defensive line consisting of forty-eight defenders formed up at the edge of the Juddle Nebula. Wydor watched with fascination as his massive fleet of nearly five thousand ships neared the line, expecting that at any moment the ships of the Nebula would turn and run. Yet they didn’t run. Instead, they broke into several attack squadrons of four ships each and shot off to mingle within the clouds of asteroids lingering at the edge of the Nebula.

  Command-Overlord Enulic ordered six hundred of his fleet to follow.

  Over the course of the next few hours, Wydor sat in utter disgust as he watched the hit-and-run strategy of the defenders pick off several of this ships, including a few of the Class-4’s. The rag-tag Nebula units, consisting of Volseen and Tel’oran warships, were slow and lightly armored, yet they knew the battlefield better and were able to dart in and out from behind the huge space rocks with impunity. The Juireans, on the
other hand, had to go carefully through the minefield of deadly debris so as to not draw in any of the larger ones into collisions with their hulls. Even then, a few of the Juirean cruisers were riddled with punctures from the asteroids, knocking out shields and power to their weapons. Once this was done, they became easy targets for the swarming defenders.

  Yet with such overwhelming numbers, the Juireans managed to destroy all forty-eight of the defenders, although it took nearly three hours to do so.

  “This does not bode well,” Wydor commented, more to himself than to the Command-Overlord. “The Nebula defenders seem determined beyond reason.”

  “True. They did little more than sacrifice themselves to our forces. It would have been a better strategy to withdraw and join up with a larger force near the Corridor.”

  Wydor scanned the banner along the left side of the tac screen. “We lost nine ships in the engagement? That is rather high, is it not?”

  “First contact jitters, my Lord. My units will settle down the further we penetrate the Nebula.”

  Wydor shook his head. He was old enough to remember a time when nervous jitters and trepidation were not part of Juirean vocabulary. His race would strut around the galaxy with pride and confidence in every encounter. Now they were inexperienced and unsure of themselves, and with very little time to become battle hardened.

  “Overlord Enulic, we do not have an adequate estimate of the numerical strength of the defenders, so attrition rates of our units will have to be closely monitored. We cannot simply order up reinforcements as once we could.”

  “Understood, my Lord.”

  Wydor could see that his fleet commander was also angry and embarrassed with the performance of his units. Embarrassment was another of those ancient emotions being resurrected from the Juirean past. What have we become? Wydor ruminated. And how will this war salvage what was once great about my race?

  Another defensive force was beginning to form up, bolting in from various directions and attempting to block the fleet’s approach to the Volseen Corridor. Enulic’s forces were a few hours out and it was looking as though this countering movement would be substantially larger, between five hundred to a thousand ships—yet even more were coming. These defenders also appeared to be taking up positions near planets and moons, rather than out in open space, following the strategy of the unfortunate forty-eight. This coming battle would be much harder, Wydor knew. Why was it he had an unfamiliar knot in his stomach? Had the Juireans indeed lost everything that had once made them great? The Council Elder was bound and determined to regain that special quality that had allowed his race to conquer a galaxy, even if it meant taking drastic measures.

  Wydor slipped out of his command chair and moved toward the rear exit of the bridge. “I will be in my quarters, Command-Overlord. Inform me when we are about to engage.” He stepped past the still-visibly upset officer and then stopped and leaned in close so others on the bridge couldn’t hear. “I have trust in you, Enulic,” he said in a harsh whisper. “It is the competency of your minor officers and crews I question. Six hundred against forty-eight; we should not have lost a single ship. The Kracori and their allies could have ten thousand ships at their disposal, so even though we may win the battle, but we could lose the war. We do not have the replacement units, and even now I am having doubts concerning our ability to conduct a follow-up invasion of Earth.”

  “It was one engagement, my Lord,” Enulic snarled, a tone bordering on insubordination. “This is hardly the time to pass judgment on the entire mission.”

  “Calm yourself, Overlord. You are still in command of the fleet—for now. I am merely offering my opinion.”

  “The opinion of the Council Elder is hardly a mere opinion, my Lord. From this moment on I will take a more-active role in the command and control of the next and future engagements. I can assure you we will perform to your satisfaction.”

  “It is not for my satisfaction that we battle, Enulic, or why I offer critique. It is for the good of the Juirean people. Please pass that sentiment along to your commanders. They must be reminded of that for which they fight.” He hesitated momentarily to let Enulic absorb his last comments, and then he concluded. “I will endeavor to remain in the background during the subsequent engagements. I do not wish the fleet to lose confidence in you and then look to me for guidance. That is not my purpose here.” Wydor leaned in even closer, until he was only six inches from Enulic’s rock-hard face. “Get us to Elision, Lord Enulic. Get us to Elision and your name will be remembered forever in the annals Juirean history.”

  “We are on our way, my Lord. Two days from now the fleet will be setting fire to the very rock of Elision. That I promise.”

  104

  The access code and coordinates arrived twenty minutes later in digital form, yet Kaylor was able to detect the subtle bounce-back indicator inserted in the signal. Within seconds, the Kracori knew the location of the Pegasus.

  Kaylor initiated a gravity-well of modest depth and the Pegasus shot off in the direction of Elision eighteen light-years distant.

  Not everyone aboard was fully behind the plan, although none wanted to go up against Sherri and her single-minded determination to do something–anything–to help rescue her fellow Humans. Kaylor and Jym were about seventy-five percent with her, believing that flying their wonder ship directly into the maw of the Kracori homeworld was probably not the best idea. Neither was the more radical part of the plan to rip off the top of the Kracori capital building using the ship’s gravity. But the two aliens were anxious to use their ATD’s to their fullest, and if it weren’t for the tiny metallic implants, they would have never agreed to go along with the Human’s plan.

  Halfway to Elision, the Pegasus picked up her first escorts. Having been forewarned as to the course of the Human ship, Vice-Commander Dor had sent a number of Kracori warships to intercept and monitor the Pegasus. Simply vectoring to an intercept, the much slower Kracori ships were able to close within a reasonable distance before gradually losing ground.

  With the pilothouse full of all the occupants of the small ship, Kaylor waited until there were five Kracori ships on his screens before he cranked up the well intensity and bolted away from the escorts as if they were on chemical drive. A short forty-one seconds later they were off the screens.

  “That should give them something to report back to your Kracori officer,” Kaylor said to Ruszel. “Nothing like an actual demonstration to build anticipation.”

  “Just make sure he doesn’t get too impressed and invites the Kracori Langril to the landing,” Sherri said. “He’ll come with a whole army of escorts and guards. It might be a little difficult to bolt out under those circumstances.”

  Kaylor checked the chronometer. “Now thirty-six minutes out. We will know very soon.”

  “Are we sure that this city of Goruis your Kracori officer has us going to is the capital of Elision?” Trimen asked.

  No one offered an immediate answer; Ruszel eventually filled the silence. “Elision is a mystery to even us in the Nebula. Until thirty days ago, I believed the planet was in the Nebula, yet I would not have staked my life upon it. And now my planet is an ally of the Kracori and preparing to fight both the Juireans and the Humans, from what you tell me. I’m sure that if we had known it would be both of these races, Tel’or would have voted differently.”

  Trimen looked hard at the green-skinned alien. “It is only as a result of the small confines of this ship that you have learned of the Juirean attack on the Nebula, as well as the accelerated timetable for the Human’s attack.”

  “And yet you say the Juirean battle may already be joined, and the Humans will join when they feel it is prudent.”

  Kaylor could see the animosity evident between the Tel’oran and the Formilian. Ruszel was still speaking: “You have questioned my loyalty repeatedly, and I have said I will only do what is best for me. In light of the two major races about to attack the Nebula, I would say the least of my support should be
with the Kracori. There are just too many forces aligning against them. Yet your continued suspicions as to my intentions insult me, Trimen of Formil.”

  Kaylor saw Sherri place a hand on Trimen’s arm. The gesture seemed to immediately calm the Formilian. “Perhaps he’s right,” Sherri said. “He may not be allied with us for the right reasons, but he doesn’t seem to have much of a choice. It’s a pretty good bet that the Kracori are going to lose this war, and by extension, so is the Nebula. There’s nothing wrong with handicapping the outcome.”

  All the aliens in the room turned to her with quizzical looks. “Sorry,” she offered with a smile. “I come from a place on Earth where they race horses—steeds, you call them—and we try to figure the odds that a particular horse is going to win or not. It’s called handicapping.”

  “Yes!” Ruszel said. “That is what I have done. The chances of the Kracori winning are slim, and I would honestly like to live long enough to enjoy the ruiens your colleague has paid me. I have lived a hard life and I believe I deserve it. Betraying you to Kracori would not help me to that goal.”

  Sherri looked at Trimen, still with the wide grin on her face. An eyebrow flicked upwards. Trimen appeared to grit his teeth as he furrowed his own brow. “I concede the logic of your argument, Ruszel. I will now consider you a full member of the team—”

  “I did not say I wanted to be a member of your team, just that I did not want to be treated as a prisoner.”

  “But you can’t exist aboard without responsibilities to the rescue effort. Otherwise you will just be in the way.”

  “Was I in the way when I negotiated our passage to Elision?”

  “Stop it, both of you!” Sherri cried out. “You are like a couple of children arguing over the last piece of candy. As the only Human aboard a Human-owned starship, I’m asserting myself as Captain ... and I order the two of you to get along. We have about thirty minutes before we drop down to the surface of the most dangerous place in the entire galaxy, and the two of you are arguing over bullshit.”