Daisy’s own system graphic holo now filled with nested circles. There were seven planets in the system, including the gas giant earlier noted by Louise. Next to planet six were the four neutrino dots, colored blue since wasp ships were no longer viewed as the enemy. Nothing else showed in system. Out at the mag edge were one blue and four green dots, which were Thirteen’s ship and their fleet. She looked up at the wallscreen as imagery solidified.
The images of the three ship captains continued to look out at them from the top of the wallscreen. That imagery of the three ship bridges had been there all during Alcubierre transit. As had the image of her Bridge at the top of the wallscreen on each of the three ships. Constant neutrino com linkage was a wonder she loved. And which every Star Command ship depended on for effective coordination of fleet formations, attack vectors and warnings of enemy ships. Below the women moved the spysat imagery that showed other seal ships moving away from the fragments.
Daisy tapped her control patch to speed up the real-time image flow from the spysat. Ah.
“Captain, the surviving manta ray ships have turned back to the world of Warmth, according to the last transmission from the spysat.”
A loud sigh came from Jacob. “Good. Very good. Let’s see what this system looks like. Commander Branstead, will you do the honors? I believe you have our file data on one of those worlds.”
“I do,” Alicia said. Daisy looked past a somber Richard and over to the Science Deck chief. Who was tapping an armrest control patch, then reaching out to a control pillar in front of seat. “As all can see from the system graphic on the right side of the screen, this system contains seven planets, nearly all belonging to the rocky class.” Daisy watched as the letters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 appeared on the graphic beside the circles of each world. Further out lay a dotted line with the capital letter A. Much further out lay a dotted line marked by the capital letter K. The position of the fleet was marked as lying a bit beyond the K line. “Going inward from our position at 44 AU, the system’s Kuiper cometary belt begins at 37 AU, with an asteroid belt lying at ten AU.” Alicia’s fingers tapped her pillar as she talked. A green glow appeared at each spot she listed. “This star’s habitable zone runs from 0.607 AU out to 1.278 AU. The outermost world seven lies at 1.27 AU. It is a Mars-type world with thin atmosphere and likely contains only ice on the surface.”
“That is correct,” Hunter One said in a flow of wetness and dry earth odors. “Nothing lives there except tiny things you humans call bacteria.”
“To continue,” Alicia said firmly. “The next world in, number six, lies at one AU. Its diameter is three-fourths that of Earth. Atmosphere, based on what I see from the spectrograph of its air, is a rich oxy-nitro mix. Scope images are going up on the left side of the wallscreen.” Daisy saw a globe of green mottled with brown, purple and the blue of oceans. The white dot of a small moon showed to one side. “My screen computes its mass as half that of Earth, which gives it a half gee gravity. The oxy level of 30 percent and intense chlorophyll emissions say this world is a clone of Warmth. Surface temp is jungle warm. Day rotation is 21 hours. It takes 350 days to orbit the star. I assume it is the site of the Swarmer colony.”
“It is,” Hunter one said quickly. “There are twenty-three million Swarmers on this new nest.”
“To continue, next is world five at 0.839 AU,” Alicia said strongly. “Its diameter is ten percent greater than Earth, it has an oxy-nitro atmosphere nearly identical to Earth and its day rotation is 22 hours. Surface temps are pretty hot at the equator, tolerable for people in the upper and lower temperate zones. There is a large moon above it. And the spectro says there is a lot of water on it, as the scope image shows. Gravity is computed at slightly above one gee. Its year is 290 days.”
Daisy saw a new true space image appear next to that of world six. The fifth world had white ice caps at top and bottom, two large blue patches, three expansive brown and green areas that she assumed were continents, and puffy white clouds that half covered the image. Its resemblance to Earth made her ache inside.
“Hunter One, do any of your people live on that world?” Alicia asked.
“No Swarmer lives on that world,” the wasp said. “Its pull-down weightiness exceeds what we find comfortable. No Swarmer could fly on that world. Anyway, there are large land predators there that attacked our survey craft.” The wasp’s pheromones were salty, lemony and touched with cinnamon. “We killed seven of them with our stingers. But they came again at darkness, moving as a group intent on hurting us. So we left. Now, only observing devices fly above that world.”
“Captain,” called Joaquin from Life Support. “Perhaps that world would be a good human colony. As a trade to repay us for allowing wasp settlement of planet three in our Kepler 10 system.”
The brown wings of Hunter One whirred fast enough that he rose above his bench.
“A good idea, chief,” Jacob said. “Commander, what of the other worlds? Any of them habitable?”
“Perhaps,” Alicia said. “World four lies at six-tenths AU. It’s the size of Venus. It has an oxy-nitro atmosphere. Its day appears to be 31 hours. Gravity is three-fourths gee. The year is 210 days. But the atmosphere is dense with a fair amount of carbon dioxide in it. Surface temperatures are computed to be 47 centigrade at the mid-latitudes. Equatorial temps are 70 C and higher. There is water in the atmosphere. Can’t tell if there are any seas or oceans.”
“There are none,” Hunter One said, his antennae flaring forward. “Swarmers have visited that world. We were barely able to fly above its hot surface. The moisture and heat exceed what we find comfortable. But you humans lack our full-body fur. Perhaps you could survive its heat.”
“Maybe,” Alicia said. “World three is two times the size of Earth. It lies at two-tenths AU out from the star, which makes it very hot. Its atmosphere resembles that of Venus, with a very high carbon dioxide content. Its year is just 57 days. In short, it’s a Venus that lies closer to its star than our Mercury.”
“Sounds unpleasant,” Jacob said. “Are the other two like it?”
Alicia shook her head. “No sir. World two is a rocky mass with lots of craters on it, as you can see from the scope image. Size is that of Mercury. It orbits at 0.15 AU out, with a year of 15 days. It does have a thin atmosphere, mostly of nitrogen. No oxygen or methane. Maybe some bacteria might live in the rocks deep below the surface. Nothing animal-like could survive on the surface.”
“That is what our sky flying devices reported,” Hunter One said in a rush of earthen tones.
Daisy sneezed. As did half the Bridge crew. Jacob blew his nose. Alicia took a deep breath.
“World one is the hot Jupiter gas giant,” Alicia continued. “Its air is mostly hydrogen and helium, with some nitrogen. Size is half that of Jupiter but one-third of its mass. Smaller than Saturn. It orbits at 0.08 AU and its year is just 9.4 days. It has no satellites. Like the other hot Jupiters found around other stars, this one is like a giant Hades,” Alicia said.
Daisy agreed. That was one weird planet. Which matched the weirdness of the system’s ecliptic plane. The ecliptic was tilted ninety degrees so every planet was in a polar orbit of the local star.
“We cared not for those three inner worlds,” Hunter One offered in a flow of lemon, mint and wetness. “Only the worlds you call four, five and six are livable. My people enjoy their lives on the sixth world.” The wasp turned in its hover to face Jacob. “Human leader, will you protect our world from destruction by the wet ones, when they follow us to this sky light?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Rebecca sat forward at the question posed by the duplicitous wasp. The issue was something she had spent too much time worrying about. Having left active combat behind in Kepler 22, would they now be ordered into new combat here? She noticed Andrei and all her Bridge people were either leaning forward or looking up intently at the image of Jacob that topped the wallscreen.
The young captain frowned. “Hunter One, why are you
so certain the walking seals will follow us here?”
The red and black-striped body of the giant yellow wasp shifted in mid-air. “It is what we did in following you humans. We saw you as a threat to our larvae on Warmth. Now, these wet ones have killed our larvae in order to plant their own people on our world. We fought them. You humans fought them. The flying nests of humans and the Swarm fled to this sky light.” The creature’s brown wings fluttered too fast for her to see their beating. “Of course the wet ones will follow us here, if only to remove any threat to their younglings. But we have only three fighting nests here. Will you protect our larvae, Matrons, Servants and others who live on Food Enough?”
Jacob’s gray eyes squinted. “I must consult with my fellow captains on that matter,” he said. “But if the decision is made to defend Food Enough, will your fighting nests join with my nests, under my command, as we fight these wet ones?”
Hunter One slowed his wing beating. “They must. When I travel inward to the fabrication globe, I will convince the Hunter in command to send his fighting nests to join yours. Then I will leave on Thirteen’s nest to seek more fighting nests at our nearby colony. We will return here ready to fight to our last wing beat!”
“When will you leave to join Thirteen?” Jacob said.
“Now,” the wasp replied, flying past Jacob as it headed for the exit. “Will your Weapons Servant join me? Will you attach a missile to my air bubble?”
“Yes and yes.” Jacob grimaced. She felt for him. Arriving here to be surprised once more by Hunter One was not a welcome development. She thought the wasp’s attack on Jacob’s Marines and the resulting escape of two seals was grounds for kicking the yellow bugger off the Lepanto, with no help with anything. Then again, it was Jacob who was under orders from the admiral, not she. “XO, contact Chief Bannister. Have him launch a missile from a silo without a warhead. And have him meet Hunter One in the shuttle hangar. Whatever happens here, every ship is going to need more missiles if, when, those shark-head seals show up here.”
“Contacting him, sir.” The Stewart woman tapped on her control pillar and spoke softly into a throat mike.
More missiles would indeed be welcome. But how would this defense demand be sorted out?
Jacob looked forward. He looked directly at the vidcam that conveyed his image to all fleet ships. Dressed in the light brown of NWU Type III Woodland camos, his hat adorned with the eagle of a captain, the man looked military professional. And to be fair, every action of the young academy graduate had met the high standards expected by the Star Navy of its ship captains. Even newly minted ones like Jacob. And herself.
“Captains Sunderland, Swanson and Jefferson, come to my conference room for a meeting on this defense demand,” he said, his deep voice sounding strong. “We will meet in one hour. Be here. I want to have this matter settled before Hunter One leaves this system.”
She gave a nod. “Captain Renselaer, I will be there to represent the Chesapeake.”
Joy Jefferson gave a thumbs-up. “So will I, captain. The Philippine Sea is ready to handle anything.”
“The unknown is routine out here,” Joan Sunderland said, her tone grave yet calm. “The Aldertag is in good order. I’ll be there.”
“Good.” Jacob turned away and began giving orders to his XO and bridge crew.
She stood up and stepped away from her seat. She faced Andrei. “Lieutenant Doshensky, you have Bridge command.”
The man stood up and saluted her. “Bridge command accepted, captain. Fight for us. We’ll support whatever you decide.”
Rebecca turned away and headed for the Bridge exit hatch. She knew her ship crew were loyal. She knew they would accept her decision on future combat. She just did not know her own mind. Should they stay and fight an overwhelming force in order to protect millions of lives on Food Enough? Or should every human ship remain at the magnetosphere edge, turn to a new vector track, and depart for Kepler 10? The wasps were not humans. But they were people. People who were non-combatants, just like the humans on Valhalla. Where lay her duty?
♦ ♦ ♦
Richard waited as the other ship captains walked into the captain’s conference room. The three women moved to sit opposite him on the other side of the oak table. It mattered not to him. To his left sat Stewart, taking care that her back not touch the hard wood back of her chair. Beyond her, sitting next to the captain, was Alicia Branstead, who, he recalled, had been given the ship status change codes that would allow her to give orders to the Lepanto’s AI, in case all Command Deck officers were dead or disabled. He liked the stocky, older woman. Brilliant at what she did, the woman had accepted calmly the co-option of Antonova by Jacob. Ignoring that intrusion into her Science Deck staff, she had focused on creating a wasp-to-English dictionary, which was the basis for all communications with any wasp or wasp ship. His Marines’ capture of pheromone signalers had provided the means for converting English sound into wasp pheromones. Now, Branstead and her people were working overtime to do the same for shark-head color patterns. He looked right as one more person arrived. It was Billy Chang, chief of the Engines Deck. The man sat on Richard’s right. What was he doing here, at a conference of ship captains?
“Welcome, everyone,” Jacob said calmly, his manner confident and perhaps in a bit of a rush. The man tapped his black tablet. “Kenji, bring in the drinks. Everyone’s here.”
“Drinks inbound,” came the upbeat voice of the Mess Hall cook.
The captain looked up. “Melody, project a system graphic holo onto the middle of this table. Add to it scope images of our fleet ships.”
“Projecting, my chess playmate,” the AI said, using a strange familiarity phrasing that Richard found it hard to believe came solely from its human imitation module. “Ship status remains at Alert System Entry.”
Richard welcomed the ship status change. Wearing a vacsuit for hours on end was no fun. He much preferred wearing his new Shinshoni, which Jerry had put into full combat mode. The AI seemed happy with its new quarters. And a happy suit AI meant he could relax, a little. To the extent of wearing camos at this meeting.
“Here’s your drinks!” called Kenji as he walked in holding a big tray loaded down with cans of beer, an ice tea pitcher, juice cans, mineral water and seltzer water, plus a dozen glasses. The native of Japan put the tray down to one side of the several holos, then stood back and faced Jacob.
“Captain? We have steaks, sushi rolls and tacos available for lunch today. Shall I bring in a cart with a selection?”
“No. But keep a selection hot and in a cart for later on,” Jacob said. “Dismissed.”
The petty officer third class saluted. “Will do.” The man turned swiftly and exited through the hallway slidedoor.
Richard grabbed a can of Coors. Jacob poured himself a glass of ice tea. Daisy grabbed a grape juice can, popped its tab and took a long sip. Billy and the women grabbed drinks of their choosing. He sat back, wondering at what surprise would show up at this meeting. It seemed one or more surprises always happened whenever Jacob held a command staff meeting. It was something he had become used to. And it was one reason he was here. The other reason was Jacob’s order for him to show up.
“Well, captains, you heard the big wasp. Should we defend their colony world, or not? Opinions invited.”
“Captain,” Daisy interrupted. “Is it ethical to not defend a colony world?”
Richard felt surprise. The woman was an outstanding pilot and brave to a fault, which was why he had added her to the member rolls of the squad. Ethics did matter. But Marines and officers took orders and did their duty, period. Only when internationally illegal orders were given or a violation of the American Constitution happened were officers expected to challenge orders.
“Sir,” called Alicia. “Duty must be in compliance with ethics. We have fulfilled the admiral’s orders. We delivered Seven’s ship, defended Thirteen’s ship and have sent off Hunter One with the proposals for an armistice and a mutual world ex
change. But now, twenty-three million lives are at risk. Does our duty allow us to ignore the ethics of civilians at risk of death?”
“Those are fair questions,” Jacob said, his face neutral, his voice carrying no hint of approval or disapproval of the question. He looked to his left. “Captains, your thoughts?”
“The Sea is willing to fight any enemy of life and liberty anywhere that enemy appears,” said Jefferson, her straw blond ponytail swinging as she looked to the captain, then around the table. Her deep blue eyes were intense. As she leaned forward on the table, her fists were clenched. Clearly she felt strongly on this issue. “Yes, they are wasps. And we are part of the Star Navy, a human org. But why do we fight anyone? We fight to preserve life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and to protect civilians from evil killers. To me, these walking seals are killers and evil!”
“Thank you, Lieutenant Commander Jefferson. Other thoughts?”
Rebecca Swanson frowned, her black face showing the wrinkles of middle age. The Chicago native looked conflicted. As well she might be. He recalled her ship had lost the most crew in the several battles against the wasps.
“Sir, we could transit to Kepler 10 and seek guidance from Fleet Admiral Renselaer. He has more ships than we do. And now that we know the location of this wasp system, we could return here with him, if that was his order.” She paused, wrapped her hands around a can of beer, and sat up straight, as if she felt the need to appear official. “I doubt the seals will be here anytime soon. The spysat showed them heading in-system, likely to drop down colonists on the world they just took. It could be weeks before they show up here.”
StarFight 3: Battlecry Page 21