by SF Edwards
“No. They’ve already been informed. You’ll probably see a guild ship arrive to service it in a tridec or two. I’d expect to see a few more transmissions from it before then too.” She patted the young Drashig on the shoulder. “Good catch. You’re too jumpy. With how deep in Confed territory we are there’s no risk of anyone finding us.”
Xoth System, Alpha Station, Captain Delgado’s Office
Captain Delgado’s heart sank when he stared at the probe’s status board. Far too many had been reported as lost or worse, destroyed. Even those that had reached their destinations had sent back no useful data. He sat back at his desk with a heavy heart. I can’t let this project, my dream, fail. Looking back at the board showed only two green probes. That meant that the probes had found something of significance. Captain Delgado had no choice but to hand that data off to Admiral Jackson and his mission planners. They’ll get all the glory for whatever we found there. What I need is a ripe target that I can exploit.
Captain Delgado’s door chimed, pulling him from his brooding. “Enter!”
The door slid away and his aide rushed into the room with a red-secured data tablet in hand. He panted when he reached the captain’s desk. Sweat dripped from his brow like he had run all the way from the probe bay on the opposite end of the deck. “Sir, we found something.”
This piqued Captain Delgado’s interest and he motioned for the tablet. The lieutenant slid the tablet into a slot on the desk and a hologram of a solar system coalesced between them. “I don’t see anything worth noting,” he commented. The system appeared to be nothing special from what he could see.
“Here, sir,” the lieutenant replied and zoomed in on two sections of the solar system. “This came from Probe 1-3-53462.”
Captain Delgado took a moment to analyze the images and to access his network implant to pull up the data on the probe. He frowned when he read the initial reports. “That probe made three initial false drops didn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. It looks like this one was the drop it finally needed.” The young officer pulled up the internal reports the probe transmitted along with its findings. “According to Synthetic Intelligence logs the probe trailed a Confed transport into the system. The transport transmitted no IFF signal.”
Captain Delgado leaned forward, his curiosity and experience urging him to pay attention. “Go on.”
“This was the third such transport it had seen. Each time the processors scanned the jump buoy the ships dropped through to assemble the jump code a little at a time. The thing is it’s not a standard Confed jump buoy.”
“How so?”
“Light code only.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, sir. That’s what led the SI processors to make the false drops before. They were only getting a partial read on the signal each time.”
“And now it’s sure that it has found the right system?”
“Yes, sir. The processors put the probe in an orbit around the jump point in hyperspace for two days after the ship passed through then followed. That combined with these readings, we are sure we’ve found something of importance.”
Captain Delgado considered that. “It was right of you to bring me this data. What is the probe’s current status?”
“It’s in drift mode right now, keeping its power low to avoid detection while it awaits orders.”
Captain Delgado regarded the hologram again. The scan wasn’t the cleanest image. It revealed the gravitational makeup of the star system. It was a single G-type star that was orbited by four planets; two inner rocky worlds with an asteroid belt a little over one AU out and a pair of mid-sized gas giants beyond.
What were of interest were the two areas that the lieutenant expanded. The first was a proto-planetary body of one-quarter Earth’s mass nestled into that asteroid belt. The second, located at thirty-seven degrees above the ecliptic plane and 1.75 AU out, was a significant gravitational anomaly.
“Has the probe got any optical or radar images of these bodies yet?” the captain asked.
“Limited optical data at this time, sir. No radar available. The probe is running silent for now. SIP Three is bidding to have the probe investigate this proto-planetary body. Its relative age doesn’t match with the rest of the system and its cold.”
“It is a curiosity but it might be a planet that was destroyed somehow. We’ve run across enough of those.”
“It’s possible, sir, but it should be investigated.”
“Lieutenant, if we weren’t at war I would agree. But the mission of these probes is not to expand our knowledge of the cosmos. They were sent out to find us one or more of the Confederation’s secret bases so that we might destroy them and end this war.”
The young officer drew back. Captain Delgado could tell that his words were a slap to the face but the young man needed that. He has to remember what’s at stake.
“Yes, sir, but then look at this.” The young officer manipulated the image again, focusing on the gravitational anomaly.
“The probe has no idea what it is. The anomaly has a full Terran mass according to these readings and a surface temperature of 250K. It’s generating its own heat.”
“Interesting. What about these gas giants? Why aren’t the SIPs considering them?”
“The big inner one has far too much radiation. Even at the jump point, the probe could detect lethal levels of radiation coming off of it. No one could place a long-term settlement near it if they wanted to live. The other one has an extensive ring system according to the optical scans with no detectable moons which make it an unlikely candidate too. The protoplanet in the asteroid belt is cold and has no core.”
Captain Delgado considered the readings and his aide’s analysis. “It might be worth investigating. The navigational hazards it represents would be a challenge with the amount of debris around it. No. I think the planet suffered some cataclysmic event in the last millennia.”
“But wouldn’t an academy want that? I mean with that many navigational hazards so close it would be an ideal place to train.”
Captain Delgado considered that but he still didn’t like the idea. A place like that would be a death trap to a rookie pilot. “How much fuel does the probe have onboard?”
The young officer pulled up the probe’s status report. “It has enough to visit the ecliptic plane anomaly and then the protoplanet. Only in that order though.”
“What about the transport it tailed in-system. Where did its ion trail lead?”
The lieutenant’s shoulder dropped. “We have no idea, sir. The trail disappears less than a hundred kilometers from the jump point. The transport must have used its dark-matter drive to travel the rest of the way. The probe won’t be able to get a better track without using its active scanners.”
“No! Don’t do that. We don’t want to reveal it too soon.” Captain Delgado continued to study the image. “If I were to try and hide, I would look where no one expects. Send a signal to the probe. Order it to investigate the gravitational anomaly. If it ends up being nothing, which I doubt, then it can still investigate the protoplanet in the asteroid belt. It should take forty-five days for the probe to get there in thrust drift mode?”
“Yes, sir! I’ll send the orders out immediately,” the officer stated with a salute before leaving the room.
UCSB DATE: 1000.276
Star System: Classified, UCSBA-13, Asteroid Shell Zone 4, Monstero Nach 04
Blazer’s breath echoed through his helmet. Leading his three-ship element, Blazer flew escort around the rearmost of four transports. He watched his sensors, their caravan’s closest approach to the asteroid shell would be soon and the Explosions were sure to attack there.
Seri’s voice crackled over the link, pulling his eyes away from the sensor sphere. “All units, Lead, Element One is dropping back to cover freighter two, Element Two, take lead.”
What?! This wasn’t what we briefed. Why is Seri giving command to Zithe? Is this a test to see how he leads the
team in combat conditions?
“Element Two, Lead. Copy,” Zithe replied. “Element One, descend 1000 metra relative then drop back to cover our freighter. Element Two, move forward.”
It was a good order, allowing Zithe’s unit to take the lead while dropping Seri’s element towards the asteroid shell below them just in case the Explosions hid there.
A ping appeared on Blazer’s sensors.
“Blade Eight, did you see that?” Blazer asked, calling out to Arion as he started an analysis on the momentary blip.
“I saw it,” Arion replied.
“One. Two. How about you?” Blazer asked Gokhead, the third fighter in their element.
“Copy. I am seeing it intermittently,” Gokhead replied.
“Blade Two, Blade Four. Flight Four has an intermittent contact. Transmitting data now,” Blazer called out to Zithe.
“Copy. Contact detected,” Zithe growled--eagerness in his voice.
“Element Three,” Zithe called out, “break off and investigate that ping.”
Blazer grimaced, sending the element away like that was against escort regulations.
A private link opened up in Blazer’s ear. It was Arion. “Isn’t that against SOP, Four?”
“Copy that Eight but Two has the lead. Let’s see what he’s planning.”
“Blade Two, Blade Three. I copy. Element Three is breaking away.”
Blazer watched Gavit, Deniv and Chris’s trainers break off. They twisted around in place about the freighter before igniting their engines again and rocketed off to investigate the contact that had disappeared from Blazer’s sensors.
“Eight, Four. I want you to move forward. Fill the gap between us and Freighter Char.”
A double click over the link was Arion’s only reply before his fighter slid ahead. He took up a position high and behind Freighter Char as Bichard in Blade Nine, broke from Element One. Looks like Seri had the same idea.
“Blade Two, Blade Three. We are at the point of the ping. There’s nothing here,” Gavit reported with confusion in his voice.
That can’t be right; it was more than just a momentary sensor contact we detected. It was an active sensor pulse.
“Blade Four, confirm your coordinates,” Zithe ordered, the link unable to mask the irritation in his voice.
“Confirming coordinates,” Blazer replied and looked over the data again as Gokhead and Bichard sent him their analyses. “Blade Three, Blade Four. Take an active scan. See if there’s anything there that could have reflected a sensor pulse.”
“Copy,” Gavit replied. “Contact made. Missed it in our first sweep. I have a missile with an active seeker just sitting here probably acting as a relay.”
Blazer shuddered at the report. The other team possessed a numerical advantage on them now that Zithe had sent their three best dogfighters to go check out that decoy.
“Element Three, Blade Two. Go for a higher orbit outside the shell and scan for heat sources. They’re probably waiting for us out there. Return to formation once complete.”
“No!” Blazer yelled out, resisting the urge to key the link. Leaving the shell will cost them time if they have to return as they navigate the dense asteroid field.
“Copy Lead,” Gavit grumbled. “We are moving out now.”
“Element Four, increase scanner strength and keep an eye out,” Blazer ordered.
Before either Arion or Gokhead could reply, Bichard called out over the link. His voice stayed calm despite the message. “Lead, Blade Nine. I have three bogies rising from the asteroid shell.” Bichard’s voice sounded unnaturally clear over the link with his natural antenna linked directly to the communication system. “Transmitting coordinates.”
“Element Four break and attack,” Zithe ordered.
“Negative, lead,” Blazer replied, looking at the scanner contacts, something about those contacts told him they were a ruse.
“Say again, Blade Four?”
“Negative. The bogies are too far out and we will leave Freighters Char and Delt unprotected.”
“Follow your orders, Element Four!” Zithe bit back.
“Blade Four, Blade One. Blade Two is in command of this operation. Follow his orders,” Seri called out calmly.
Blazer had to make a decision that would allow him to follow Zithe’s orders yet wouldn’t endanger their overall objective. He decided to go off alone.
“Element Four, Blade Four, assume escort positions around Freighter Delt. I am breaking off to engage bogies.”
Before anyone could reply or argue, Blazer flipped his fighter end for end and vectored it towards his intercept point, gunning the engine. The engines killed his momentum before he rocketed off. Watching his scanners, he hurtled towards the intercept point.
“Blade Four, Blade Lead. What are you doing?”
“Testing a theory,” Blazer replied, praying that Gavit and his element were listening over the link.
“Blade Four, you are proceeding without your wingmen! Explain!” Zithe roared.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Blazer commented to himself, his finger off the link key.
Before Blazer could justify his decision, Gavit’s voice crackled over the link. “Two, this is Three. I am vectoring Blade Seven to join Four. One and I will then exit the shell and take our readings before returning to the convoy.”
Blazer breathed a sigh of relief.
“Negative Three. Keep your flight together. Element Four rendezvous with your element leader.”
Blazer ignored Zithe’s orders and hoped the others would see his mistake and do the same as he bore down on the bogies rising from the asteroid shell behind them. His sensors highlighted the three, a trio of Splicer 1000s. Their IFFs identified them as three of the Explosions. Still, something felt wrong.
“Element Three, get your readings then transition back to cover freighters Char and Delt. Element Four rendezvous with your element leader immediately.”
Realization slammed Blazer back into his seat. Zithe’s planning to use the rear two freighters as bait to draw out the rest of the Explosions!
“Lead, Blade Three. We have confirmation of nine bogies transitioning out of the asteroid shell. Vector will lead them straight to Freighters Char and Delt,” Gavit called out, his breathing heavy.
“Damn!” Blazer bit out. “Three, Four. What’s your status?”
“Moving to intercept and cover Freighter Char. They will exit the field in less than a pulse. We won’t be long after them. Four, what’s your status?”
“I’m coming in high on the three bogies rising from the rear. Element Four, move into low escort position around Freighter Char. Place yourselves between it and the asteroid shell.”
Zithe broke in over the link to give his own orders. Anger laced in his voice. “Element One, drop back and cover Freighter Char.”
“Copy, Lead,” Seri replied calmly. “Nine, with me. We’ll cover Char. Five maintain position on Brave. Keep her safe,” Seri ordered, keeping Bichard with her and leaving Treb to cover the last transport.
Blazer gritted teeth when the nine bogies broke through the asteroid shell a moment later. A hail of missiles and gunfire rained down upon Freighter Char the moment the enemy cleared the rocky debris. Blazer nodded as Arion and Gokhead responded in kind. Vectoring about to avoid the incoming volleys of training rockets and low-yield plasma while, snapping off shots at their attackers. The barrage forced them to break off, however, the blasts intended for the transport crackling their shields, threatening to take them out instead.
Behind the main pack, the trio of fighters that had drawn Blazer away entered his effective weapons envelope. He winced when they changed formation, altering their vectors about to engage him. Decoy or not, I’m committed now and need to limit the damage. I’m prepared to pay the price if it saves the freighters.
Blazer lined up his guns on the leader just as Deniv burst through the asteroid shell with his guns chattering away. Blazer breathed a sigh of relief. The pl
asma rounds found their home an instant later in the spine of the trailing fighter. That fighter’s shield collapsed and the craft shut down, disabled. Caught by surprise, the other two craft broke formation in an effort to save themselves. The leader opened fire on Blazer.
Blazer gasped when the first rounds lit up his shields and pressed down hard on his throttle. The fighter rocketed downwards to avoid the blasts. He pulled back on the stick to keep his reticle on the lead enemy.
Blazer squeezed the trigger. Plasma laser and Electron Particle rounds bridged the darkness in an instant, assaulting the underside of the craft. Blazer cut his throttle and allowed the other fighter to slip past him. Sooner than he would have thought, his target’s shields collapsed and the fighter’s engines cut out.
“Three, Seven. Beat back to the freighters. I have this,” Deniv called out.
“Negative, Seven. We’ll take this one quick then head back to help the others.” Blazer twisted his fighter about and punched his throttle. He fell in behind the last decoy as it raced for the asteroid shell, and jockeyed for position to line up a shot from behind Deniv.
“Four, Eight. We’re getting swarmed back here. Need an assist!” called Arion, distress in his voice.
Blazer cursed himself a fool; checked his sensors. The attackers were all over the other freighters. Blazer checked his fuel; he didn’t have enough to keep running back and forth between targets.
“Copy that Eight. On my way. Seven catch up when you can,” Blazer called out.
Blazer flipped his fighter back over and punched his throttle open. Slamming his thumb down on the afterburner control and rocketing back towards the engagement around the freighters gave him a new perspective on the situation. The scene made Blazer’s stomach twist. Freighter Char had taken a beating and Freighter Delt wasn’t faring much better. Freighters Alph and Brave were almost untouched, Zithe keeping the fighting close to the big freighters instead of chasing the fighters. What is his plan?
Blazer cycled through the targets and tried to determine which one was the highest priority when one of the Explosions pulled away from the rest to begin a run on Freighter Delt. Blazer’s eye twitched. He shifted his vector in kind and set up an intercept course, locking his missiles onto the attacker.