by Worth, Dan
As Steelscale moved closer to the creature to get a better look, the translation pendant that he wore picked up the alien sounds and started to convert them into the K’Soth language. The device began to utter a tinny stream of guttural sounds. Steelscale cradled the pendant in one great clawed hand and looked at it quizzically.
‘He’s praying,’ he said. ‘He’s thanking the gods for their arrival... how is it possible that this device of mine is able to interpret this unfamiliar language?’
‘Because it’s not unfamiliar, I can understand it too,’ said Rekkid. ‘He’s praying to us, no less, and he’s praying to us in the language of the Progenitors.’
The creature gasped as if exhausted by the mere effort of speaking and slumped forward in its restraints. The bird-like chest continued to rise and fall in shallow breaths.
‘Ship,’ said Katherine to the drone. ‘Get a medical team down here as quickly as possible. Tell them that we’ve found a survivor.’
Chapter 20
The Delta Pavonis system had been, until only a few scant weeks ago, a relatively secure system in the Commonwealth’s heart. Now, with the Commonwealth split in two, the inhabitants of these wealthy planets found themselves on the front line of a new war. Nineteen light years from Earth, the Delta Pavonis system had been colonised relatively early on in the history of human interstellar travel. Though the star was older than Earth’s sun, it had long been suspected that it would nurture a system of planets even before direct imaging from powerful telescopes revealed a family of worlds not too dissimilar to that from which humanity had sprung. The colonists who eventually arrived found a system that resembled a snapshot from the Solar System’s future.
New Hatti, the third planet, was a hot, desolate world of shifting sands and scrubby vegetation. Once it had been verdant and earth-like, but the parent star, its ageing core growing heavier with iron, had grown hotter over the last billion years and had gradually turned the continents of New Hatti into vast deserts separated by seas swollen by the melted ice caps. It was a harsh, unforgiving world, but one which held great mineral wealth, and the teeming seas sustained a hardy population in towns and cities that sprawled along the coasts in the higher latitudes. The original population of settlers, drawn mainly from North Africa and the Middle East, had adapted to life in their new home with aplomb, since its environment was almost exactly the same as the one that they had left behind them on Earth, though even they thought twice about venturing into the searing equatorial regions without good cause.
Further out, two gas giants shepherded families of moons that held primitive single celled life-forms, flourishing in the star’s increasing luminescence. The system was also home to a number of commercial shipyards feeding off the bountiful supplies of heavy metals and the abundant manufacturing in the system.
Four light years away to the east lay the densely populated Beta Hydri system, another keystone of the Commonwealth and a wealthy commercial centre centred around the garden world of Emerald and its carefully managed cities of glittering skyscrapers. Now a line had been drawn between the two systems. South of the line lay a great gulf in space, a darkness pierced by only a few scant stars. To either side of this gulf, towered clouds of stars and at its far southern end, the brilliant blue-white sun of Achernar shone like a baleful eye. All systems south of the Delta Pavonis-Beta Hydri line were now considered to be either partially, or wholly within the hands of the enemy.
Now, as the forces still loyal to the Commonwealth prepared for their counter-strike, vast fleets of warships and transports had begun to gather in both systems as Navy and Army assets, previously scattered across the systems newly liberated from the K’Soth Empire, completed their hasty redeployments across hundreds of light years, regrettably leaving those worlds to their fate. Around New Hatti in Delta Pavonis and Emerald in Beta Hydri, huge formations of destroyers, frigates, carriers and other smaller warships jostled for space with lumbering army troop transports swollen with thousands of men, armoured vehicles and assault craft. Each day, more ships arrived, fresh from their abandoned peace keeping duties. The Churchill had arrived in Delta Pavonis three days earlier and had slotted itself into a parking orbit in the busy skies high above New Hatti. The carrier had launched early from her berth in Batavia Port and made her way out of the Solar System, proceeding to Delta Pavonis at best speed completing final not critical repairs whilst on route. Once she had arrived she rendezvoused with the two modified Thea class recon cruisers, the Appleton and the Dulles and the Nahabe gunsphere Shadow in the Void that had left the Solar System several days earlier as an advance guard.
The carrier had arrived early and without incident. However, she was now delayed. The plan had been to take on replacement crew and ships in Delta Pavonis to replace those lost in the battle for Earth as well as extra supplies. In addition, the carrier and its accompanying vessels were to remain in the system until their final orders were received, detailing the target and other specifics of their forthcoming mission. Neither of these had yet materialised. The sudden influx of vessels and personnel into the system was causing delays and a degree of confusion in both securing the necessary crew members and completing the security screening now necessary for all personnel transferring between ships. Plenty of the replacement crew were still waiting in various locations throughout the system to be transferred to the Churchill. In addition, a number of recon flights despatched into enemy territory had failed to return and although this confirmed the presence of the enemy in the locations to which vessels had been dispatched, it failed to give any indications as to the likely strength or composition of the enemy and whether or not the recon flights had been anticipated and ambushed. Finding an enemy that didn’t want to be seen was a problem, especially when they could avoid detection entirely without the Commonwealth being able to use the very technology that they now wished to test. It was a frustrating situation. Cartwright had informed Chen that he was unwilling to send her blindly into a hostile system for fear that she would be flying into a trap. Until a suitable system could be reconnoitred successfully, the Churchill and her small flotilla would have to await their orders.
Meanwhile, Chen grew ever more restless. She was eager to be under way and impatient with the delays. For McManus however, the journey from Earth and the delays in Delta Pavonis had given him a chance to get to know his new ship. He made a point of visiting different areas of the carrier, introducing himself to the crew, casting an eye over their performance, swapping stories and listening to what they had to say. What he saw and heard impressed him. Chen certainly ran a tight ship and her crew were loyal and dedicated. Many had served with her aboard her previous command whilst others had joined her later, but all of the officers and specialists had been hand-picked by her. The Churchill’s crew were a breed apart, used to long missions far away from bases or human worlds. As a unit, they were independent and self reliant, used to solving problems on their own. As people, they had come to rely on one another utterly, even more so than usual for a ship’s crew. As such, it had made the recent losses harder to bear. To some, it had felt like they had lost family, rather than colleagues. Nevertheless, morale remained high and most were eager to take revenge for their fallen comrades. McManus began to feel very much at home. During this period he made himself invaluable to Chen, giving her regular updates from the repair crews and the ship’s engineers, chasing down missing personnel and untangling the mess of transport requirements to get all of the ship’s new complement aboard.
They also learned that Admiral Hawkwood had been placed in overall command of the Commonwealth’s war strategy. Pending further reconnaissance and successful testing of the new weaponry and sensors, he and his staff, together with the Chief of Staff of the Army, were in the process of identifying key systems to be retaken once the opportunity arose. For now, however, the emphasis was to be on the defensive, although word had reached the Commonwealth that the Nahabe had gone to war at last, striking from their secluded systems at
Shaper rallying positions in Hadar and Spica and other as yet unknown systems far beyond the Commonwealth’s southern border. The Shapers had been checked for the moment, giving breathing space to the other races. One thing was certain: that it was bound to be a temporary reprieve.
Chen caught up with McManus on the hangar deck. She found him chatting with a couple of pilots as well as the three deck hands working on their Azrael torpedo bomber. Panels and components from the craft lay neatly on the deck as the men in grease stained coveralls peered inside the weapons bay with the aid of torches. The craft itself looked brand new.
‘So, I finally tracked you down,’ said Chen. ‘How are things down here?’
‘Looks like we have a problem,’ said McManus. ‘This new batch of Azraels we got shipped in to replace the ones you lost have all sorts of mechanical problems. The weapon release clamps on this one are faulty, for example, but the maintenance crews have found something different wrong with just about all of them so far without needing to look very far. They’ll have to be stripped down and inspected, each one of them.’
Chen sighed, wearily.
‘Walk with me a moment, Commander.’
‘Certainly, ma’am,’ said McManus smartly and fell into step with Chen as she started to walk down the length of the deck. He lowered his voice and added. ‘So, I take it that you’re bored out of your mind and came down here for something to do?’
‘Oh yes. Bored and increasingly frustrated. I can’t believe that we’re still stuck here! Time is a precious commodity and something we have little enough of without all this general chaos to deal with.’ She exhaled and ran a hand idly through her hair. ‘I needed a break from stewing in my office or sitting on the bridge checking the time every five minutes until the end of the watch. How are you settling in, by the way?’
‘Aye, pretty well. This ship runs like clockwork, Admiral. You’ve got good people here. These lads on the hangar deck for example, they’ll have those torp. bombers up and running in no time for you. They promised me without me having to even ask. You know, I had planned on playing the old hard arsed XO act to whip a few people into shape, but I don’t think it’s that necessary, just between you and me.’
‘Singh said he’d seen you skulking around the corridors. Lurking in the corners, I think he said.’
‘He did? Aye well, that’s where you usually find the things that others have missed. The little things out of sight that come and bite you in the arse when you least expect it. I have to admit though, I haven’t found much to complain about. I always say that you need to get to know a ship like you’d know your wife... or husband in your case ma’am. You need to know everything about them, all their little quirks and foibles, their likes and dislikes. Thing is, I think I was always better at choosing ships than I was at choosing women... some of the ships were better looking too.’ He shot her a wry grin. Chen raised an amused eyebrow.
‘Well, I’m glad that the Churchill meets your high standards, Commander. Of course, that means it now falls on you to maintain it. Actually, it is good to hear someone coming from outside the ship and poking their nose into every nook and cranny say that they found little to complain about. I like to think I run a tight ship, and Haldane actually did his job well, right up until the point where he tried to blow my head off.’
‘Kind of a negative trait in an XO, I’d say. So, still no word from Command on our mission, I take it?’
‘No, unfortunately. We’ve had yet another message today in the past hour ordering us to stand by and await further instructions pending better intel. I’ll be meeting with the three captains at thirteen hundred hours. We need to go over possible strategies and also any other issues that they might have.’
‘Are you doing this over the comm?’
‘No, I’ve asked all three to meet in person here on the Churchill. Security concerns, first of all, but largely because I think we all need to get together in a room and meet one another, the Nahabe Lord Protector especially. They can be a little... let’s say that they have their own way of doing things and many humans have never even seen one, much less spoken to one. We need to be able to work together effectively as a unit. Personal relationships are a part of that.’
‘Aye, that’s right. They can be a little forbidding inside those suits of theirs. It’s sometimes hard to remember that there’s a being not unlike ourselves inside.’
Captain Alison Trent and Captain James Hardaker greeted Chen on the hangar deck with salutes and warm handshakes. Both of them were slightly younger than Chen. Trent was a serious looking woman with a pale complexion and blonde hair, Hardaker a stocky, barrel-chested man with dark hair cropped close to his skull. Both seemed a little in awe of her at first. Chen noticed that Trent’s eyes kept flicking to the ribbons on her uniform and the woman seemed a little nervous of her. Hardaker kept pressing her with questions about the battle for Earth. She tried to give him modest answers and attempted to put them both at ease with idle chatter as they waited for the Nahabe commander to arrive.
A few minutes later, an odd, angular craft the colour of verdigris landed gently in the middle of the Churchill’s deck and from it, emerged a floating, boxy form. This time, the Lord Protector of the Order of the Void Hunters appeared in what Chen guessed must pass for more casual attire in the Nahabe military. Gone, was the tank-like suit which the creature had previously worn. Instead, the creature piloted a smaller suit little taller than the average human, whose panels were decorated with complex geometric designs inlaid with precious metals, and which failed to sport any obvious weaponry. Indeed, it was a matter of trust as to whether this was the same individual at all.
Chen saw Trent and Hardaker cast sidelong glances at one another as the Lord Protector approached, floating silently towards them. It spoke, using the same deep, synthesised voice as when it and Chen had previously met.
‘Admiral Chen, it is an honour to be welcomed aboard your ship once more. Captain Trent, Captain Hardaker: I am the Lord Protector of the Order of Void Hunters. I look forward to working alongside you both. Together will we hunt Shapers and smoke them out of their hiding places, yes?’
‘Uh yeah, that’s the idea,’ said Hardaker and smiled weakly.
‘Excellent,’ replied the Lord Protector. ‘Admiral Chen?’
‘This way, please,’ Chen said and guided them to the nearest cargo lift.
The meeting took place in the Churchill’s ward room, the three humans and the single Nahabe clustering around one end of the long, dark, polished table. Outside, through the windows, the brilliant blue seas and mottled deserts of New Hatti provided a backdrop to the multitude of warships and transports that hung in orbit above it. The gunsphere Shadow in the Void hung in the centre of the scene, its strange, geodesic shape and dark green colouring contrasting sharply with the grey, functional forms of the human craft around it.
Chen sat at the very end of the table, her hands clasped together in front of her.
‘I know we haven’t received our final orders yet,’ she said. ‘But I thought it would be a good idea if we all met one another and discussed the options open to us. I’ve had a few ideas that I intend put into practice, but I’d appreciate the input of everyone here.’
‘So we still don’t know what system we’ll be heading to?’ said Hardaker.
‘No. Command needs to find us a suitable system that we know has Shapers in it, but which isn’t too far from friendly systems in case we need to make a quick getaway or if we need extraction. The trouble is, is that they’re having to do it without using our brand new sensors. They don’t want to risk losing our only working examples or give the Shapers a hint that we can detect them, before we hit them hard. It’s our only advantage at the moment, so we can’t overplay our hand. As you can appreciate, this is proving a little difficult as the Shapers can’t be detected in hyperspace using the old equipment. It may come down to visual confirmations.’
‘Okay, I see,’ said Hardaker. ‘So, we find a syst
em. What then, ma’am?’
‘Well, that depends,’ Chen turned to the Nahabe commander. ‘Lord Protector, your ship is equipped with what - for want of a better term - might be called a cloaking device, is it not?’
‘Yes, that is correct,’ said the Lord Protector. ‘Our ship has the ability to bend light and other forms of radiation around the limits of its drive envelope. It’s a refinement of warp drive technology that so far, no other races seem to have exploited. I’m afraid that that is one modification that cannot be made to your ships.’
‘That’s fine. What I want to know is: how effective is it against Shapers’ sensors?’
The Lord Protector emitted a sound not unlike a sigh. ‘We have had... varying amounts of success. The Shapers appear to possess highly sensitive sensor equipment, far in advance of our own. In cases where the Shapers were not actively looking for one of our vessels, the cloaking technology did provide a measure of protection and allowed our craft to avoid detection until they got much closer. However, we have theorised that the Shapers’ ships are highly sensitive to changes in space-time and are able to detect the space-time curvature caused by the mass of our ships over great distances. We also possess a measure of drive stealthing technology, and although this is more effective than the illegal device used by the ship belonging to Captain Caleb Isaacs, it is not fool-proof and will not allow us to escape detection at distances under ten million kilometres.’
‘How about if you were to disguise the mass of your ship by moving close to a large body, such as an asteroid?’ said Captain Trent.
‘There is some benefit to such a tactic,’ said the Lord Protector. ‘A dense asteroid field would be particularly effective at masking the mass of our ship, particularly if we allowed the ship to drift, giving it the appearance of just another asteroid. Inserting ourselves into the field without detection would be the problem, of course. We lack the drive cores necessary to use our translation drives, having utilised them in the defence of Earth and thus cannot insert ourselves into the system in such a manner. If I might ask, Admiral Chen, where is all this leading?’