Void Dragon

by William Kephart

  "We are here primarily to generate data. Once the Void Dragon class goes into mass production crews must be trained and quickly. The immersion engineers need something to model the simulations on. From what I've seen so far this ship handles quite a bit differently from what our people are used to. It's going to be a steep learning curve.

  "High Command is behind us, but cautious. They need proof of Song and Bruzio's claims. Real proof, not simulation. I'm here to deliver, and you all will help me by not screwing up. My orders will be followed with impeccable dedication and exactitude. Fail, and we're doomed. No pressure, of course.

  "I have business elsewhere; I'm sure all of you can find something to do in the mean time."

  She turned on her heel and marched out without acknowledging anyone.

  There wasn't much to say after that so they trickled out one by one.

  On the way out Nima caught Wen's eye and whispered, "I saw you in the simulator. Not what I would've done."

  She stiffened. A reply died in her throat as she watched him walk off. Damn him! I have enough stress already.

  ***

  The next forty eight hours set a hectic pace for everyone. They filled out requisitions for supplies, went over duty rosters, assigned quarters, and performed basic system checks, all under the watchful eyes of carefully selected and politically appointed Ren guards.

  Tian and Bruzio were all too happy to focus on the ship, ignoring all else, and Wen didn’t have much business with them. This was common. Typically, the engineering section would be situated in the stern of the ship, and most of the crew not assigned to engineering would never interact with them directly. It suited them fine. The Mei techs liked to work alone, and resented excessive Ren oversight.

  Mei had an easier time bearing the conditions of sometimes variable temperature and pressure near the vital systems, and had more experience in tight spaces. A few of them had significant theoretical knowledge as well, not unlike Professor Bruzio. The constant monitoring necessary to keep things in hand necessitated longer shifts and irregular hours.

  On a larger dreadnought the engineering staff had its own quarters and mess, but the Void Dragon was a different animal and space was at a premium. The Captain was able to maintain her own private quarters and dining room but for everyone else the accommodations would be communal. Wen worried about it. With the marine detachment the ship would be majority Mei. That never happened on ships of the line.

  The command staff was smaller, and with not a Mei among them. Wen saw little of Xinren and Nima, thank goodness. She assumed they were busy sorting out their junior staff. The astrogation and gunnery stations on the bridge both required a full complement of junior officers. They probably have their pick of the best talent the Academy has produced in the last few years. It will be a sharp bridge, no doubt.

  Wen was supervising the loading of some last minute freight when the intercom announced ships in proximity. She had grown used to such interruptions and was losing her subtle dread of them.

  "Wolf Five has shifted in and is preparing for rendezvous."

  This was it then, the Void Dragon's own squadron; she would be underway and engaged in active operations in a matter of hours.

  She checked the roster. Hm, four dreadnoughts, kind of unlucky, she thought. Though, it would be five with her ship and the new Mark IVs were pretty rare. We'll see.

  Most of the crew was aboard and as anxious to finally go as Wen was.

  "Captain Wen, Commodore Jiang requests an audience."

  "I'll take it in my office," Wen said, with only a hint of trepidation.

  Jiang was well known, one of the few squadron commanders with a reputation for victory. Her successful combat record was popular reading, though those reports rarely mentioned that her victories came from carefully selected battles and cunning traps. Meeting the Enemy on their own terms was still out of the question. Wen repaired to her quarters and switched on the monitor.

  "Good morning, Captain, I should like to congratulate you on your new position and new command."

  "You have my thanks, Commodore. I look forward to working with you," Wen said.

  "And I, you. Captain, I shall be frank. This is your first command; under the best of circumstances that can be stressful and confusing. It must be particularly so considering the experimental nature of this project. I've been briefed on the theoretical capabilities of this new ship."

  "It does seem too good to be true doesn't it?"

  "I'm reserving judgment for now. Some of it does seem too good to be true, yes. Though I have every confidence in Admiral Song as an engineer, he's not a careful man. Allocating this level of developmental resources based on the theories of one Mei scientist..."

  "I thought I heard Bruzio say the core alone cost as much as a dreadnought."

  "And the research was well more than that, I'm told. Anyway, what I mean to say is I'm cautious, but optimistic. The potential here is great, which means we must be exceedingly careful, lest we waste it."

  Jiang's manner became more personal than their last encounter, "You see, I know what it's like to be thrust into your first command on short notice. It happened to me after Harbin; your mother saved my life that day you know."

  "My mother saved a lot of people that day," Wen said evenly. People never wasted an opportunity to remind her. She didn't like being reminded and it must have shown on her face.

  "An unpleasant memory for me as well, Captain. Your mother was a hero."

  "I suppose she was, thank you, Commodore," Wen said with gratitude she didn't particularly feel.

  "I see you've poached Nima and Xinren from the Liangshan," Jiang said. "They're first rate men; the Void Dragon is in good hands. I know you'll do us all proud. And don't worry about Nima. He's a snake; I should know, but with proper handling more dangerous to the Enemy than us.

  "I'll be in overall command but I want you to know that you can rely on me and I'll do my best to address your concerns. This technology could be revolutionary, but it will be meaningless if we lose it before we can determine its full potential. That's all I came to say."

  "I appreciate it, Commodore."

  "I'll see you in the black, Captain, Jiang out."

  That could have gone better, but it also could have gone much worse, Wen thought.

  ***

  Finally, after what seemed like an endless series of last minute checks, Wen came aboard to stay. Previously dormant systems were now active and brightly lit, as if the ship itself was coming alive. Personnel drifted from instrument to instrument, making slight adjustments, conscious of the fact that the Captain would be present shortly.

  Xinren made the final announcement, "Captain, all systems are ready to go. We're prepared to move out by your leave. If you would, Commodore Jiang would like to make it official on the command deck."

  "Thank you, Commander, I'll be there presently."

  Captain Wen fastened her formal jacket, exited her office, and braved the illuminated path leading to the bridge. The passageways were silver-white with plenty of head clearance, designed with Ren physiology in mind. The crew was ready for her, standing tall, and saluted smartly as she passed.

  Silence fell as she entered the bridge. Major Zhamisce called out, "Officer on deck," and the whole of the command staff snapped to attention. Zhamisce was there with a security detail of marines in their finest dress uniforms, gray jackets with red-trimmed cuffs and collars, their flechette guns at rest.

  "Captain, the formal transfer of command is ready to be carried out on screen; we're prepared to begin on your mark," Nima said.

  "Very well, Commander, let's begin," Wen said.

  Xinren pushed a few buttons and Commodore Jiang appeared on screen. Behind Jiang was the command staff of her flagship, the dreadnought Liangshan. She addressed all present:

  "Today is a day that will be long-remembered in the annals of our great Gongyue Government. Today is the day the ingenuity of our two great peoples came together, and launche
d a ship with the designs of both, a ship that will change the course of this war and assure the eternal glory of our union to all posterity.

  "The process that made this project possible was not easy or convenient; no great matters ever are. But when our two peoples were threatened with extermination and expropriation from our planets by an unknown and merciless Enemy, they made a critical error. Today is the day that they learn that our collective will to resist, to go on existing, to survive, to thrive, was stronger than their aggression and greed.

  "This ship is a message. It says that no people still willing and able to adapt can be defeated. This is our adaptation. This is our will to pass our planets to our children. This is our firm resolve that they shall never take them from us.

  "Captain Wen, by the right of the Extra Earth Gongyue treaty, by the will of the Central Committee of the Gongyue Systems Republic, I do formally transfer the frigate, designation Gongyue Systems Ship Void Dragon, first of her class, with all her crew, to your command. May your victories be endless. Jiang out."

  "The Liangshan is transmitting deployment orders, Captain. Wolf Five is prepared to receive us on the right wing of their formation and from there to shift out," Nima said.

  "Very well. Mr. Nima, take us out slow and steady. Once we're clear of the facility bring us about and merge with Wolf Five," Wen said, easing into the Captain's chair.

  Chapter 4

  The succeeding weeks moved slowly as they conducted tests to determine whether the Void Dragon's capabilities really did function as advertised. Commodore Jiang was a meticulous taskmaster and always found something for them to do.

  The first priority was stress-testing the new core in deep space conditions. Jiang would order them to greenshift out, scout a system, and return, even timed them at it. Wen didn’t mind the repetitive drills too much; she was conning a ship for real!

  They found the Void Dragon could indeed shift much more frequently than a dreadnought, with or without the shields up and the energy sinks full. Astrogational accuracy was good, too. Wen found Nima didn't have much time to trouble her as he was too busy falling in love with the way the ship handled. She could sympathize, as much as it pained her to admit it.

  Theoretically, they could shift within spitting distance of an Enemy dreadnought, locked and loaded. The significance wasn't lost on her. Total surprise. They could attack in an instant and slip away just as quickly.

  The process was not without drawbacks, however, as shifting too frequently put a lot of strain on the central computer, including a few close calls with temporary overloads and crashes. Tian was confident that she could find a way to mitigate this, though not all were convinced. The issue made Commodore Jiang somewhat cold towards the prospect of testing a shift in actual combat, at least to start.

  In contrast, the main gun consistently performed to specs, better even. The quantum energy sinks and custom high-density ammunition enabled Xinren and his gunnery staff to produce kinetic yields at seventy guangbai. With five times the rate of fire of a dreadnought, they would be a threat to anything in space.

  Wen was glad for the improvements. She had been concerned with the Void Dragon's shield penetration capability in stimulation. It looked like she wouldn't have anything to worry about on that end. The shields weren't particularly impressive, though, and with less margin for error as the forward arc was tighter. She'd have to be very careful about exposing herself in combat. Those mistakes in simulation would not happen again.

  They also managed to test ground troop deployments. The technology was still too new to risk on an inhabited world, especially a hostile one, but the Gongyue Government had several undeveloped planets, mostly future terraforming candidates and colonies that didn't pan out.

  Nima practiced shifting the ship close to asteroids for a while, and eventually Jiang felt he was precise enough for a planetary test.

  "Make sure you take your shields down before you shift planetside," she said. "The mass would make the Void Dragon sink like a stone. I want a through test of your secondary propulsion systems. Remember, flying in an atmosphere is nothing like space."

  Wen had no trouble. She'd been an interceptor pilot back in her early days fresh out of the Academy, even took out three separate Enemy landing craft in low orbit over some irrelevant colony, stalling the invasion for months. Got a commendation for it, too.

  The Void Dragon wasn't an interceptor, though. Small for a spacegoing vessel, she was still a hundred meter long hunk of metal that wasn't pulling off anything elegant or acrobatic in any kind of gravity.

  The marines didn't mind; their powered combat suits allowed them to deploy at altitudes high or low. Major Zhamisce and his unit performed simulated combat drops in as many different circumstances of temperature, gravity, and pressure as they could find, though the suits had to be specifically prepped for each environment.

  Every drop was basically the same. The marines disembarked in a hurry from specially designed exit ports that were supposed to give them some temporary cover, cleared training drones from the designated battle-space, and rendezvoused for pickup.

  Wen knew what they were doing. This was training for lightning raids on Enemy planets. She had to admit there was a lot of potential there, but wasn't over-eager to risk her shiny new ship against Enemy plasma flak.

  The marine honor guard didn't linger on the bridge after the transfer ceremony; they retired to a small hanger where they kept their suits and a few scaled-down low-orbit interceptors that could be used as scouts for planetside missions. Wen was fond of those interceptors, but she stayed well clear of Mei country.

  The marines had been mostly well-behaved and contented themselves with performing the necessary maintenance on their equipment and doing whatever it was Mei did in their free time. The upkeep on the suits was involved enough to keep them busy most of the time, especially in the few days before and after a drill.

  They kept irregular hours and tended to avoid the mess hall when the command staff was present. Captain Wen silently thanked Zhamisce for making her job easier, though she worried about the long term feasibility of her command if it required unofficial segregation to maintain the peace.

  Wen had her own problems. She never imagined this was what a captain's life was like. It seemed nothing was ever done except by her leave. Every little thing required her approval. Could these people just do their damn jobs and stop pestering me?

  It got worse after they ran out of things to test and settled into routine patrols. Life was slow, and action rare.

  Still, Commodore Jiang hunted the enemy, dogging their patrols, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Anxiety gripped the ship. Once the preliminary trials finished the crew knew they were looking for a fight. The air was tense as the moment of decision approached.

  They came close a few times, but for one reason or another Jiang backed off. Her caution rankled Wen at times, but she knew why it had to be that way. There was only one Void Dragon to risk.

  Wen was in her office going over reports from some planetary drill or other, apparently dust particles were bad for the propulsion systems. What a surprise. You would think a spaceworthy vessel would have been sealed tight, but the dust got in anyway. A problem for Tian, let her deal with it.

  Her screen got an alert. What the devil do they want this time? She tapped the 'acknowledge' button automatically.

  "Mr. Nima?" she asked shortly.

  "Captain, we have a problem that demands your attention," he said.

  Don't you always? "What kind of problem?" she asked.

  "It would seem that there is an issue in the mess hall," Nima replied.

  "Explain." She was relieved it wasn't Enemy contact, though she couldn't deny a part of her was disappointed.

  "It appears that our two troops of Mei don't get along with one another. Major Zhamisce would likely be a better choice to get control of the situation, but the duty officer down there is one of us so he asked for you instead. I can still send the Ma
jor if you prefer."

  "No. That won't be necessary. I'll deal with it."

  "Very good, Captain. I wish you luck. Many of those troopers barely speak Gongyue Standard you know."

  "That will be all, Mr. Nima. Wen out." Smug bastard. As if I can't handle a few rowdy enlisted on my own ship. She got up and made for the mess hall.

  Wen could feel her anger rising as the sound of shouting became clearer, "Chandra Jen!" a loud voice said, followed by something she couldn't make out. She entered and saw that the voice belonged to a Mei woman. The Mei was short and well built, with rolled up sleeves showing arms decorated with tattoos in an odd linear script, some long forgotten old-world language, at least forgotten among the Ren.

  She was shouting at a group of Mei technicians huddled around Lieutenant Tian, who was gabbing back in some Mei dialect Wen had never heard of. Tian glanced plaintively in the Captain's direction, whose patience had just run out.

  "Just what the HELL is going on here?" Wen yelled over the marine, and all fell silent.

  Though her frame was much lighter, Wen towered above the trooper and everyone else but Tian. The shouting Mei woman deflated under Wen's gaze. As rambunctious as marines tended to be, they knew there were lines, and shouting at a captain was definitely beyond the pale, so the marine just looked down and shut her mouth.

  One of her compatriots, with a little better command of Gongyue Standard, came forward, tentatively, and offered an explanation, "Captain, I dunno what happen, I only get here a little before you. The engineers don't talk like regular Mei. Many can't. When a Mei talk like a Ren at another Mei it's insult. It says, 'I better than you.' I don't think Yimran understand that the engineers really can't understand her. So, it's uh...big misunderstanding," he said.

  "Thank you, trooper. How many of you can speak Gongyue Standard?"

  "Uh, most of us can talk it okay, at least enough for orders. Big words and writing is more trouble. Corporal Yimran is an uh...exception."

  "Then I want you to translate this for those who don't understand. Listen up, all of you. We have important things to do and I don't have time to deal with nonsense like this. I'm going to give you all one chance to straighten up, just one.