The Battle of Sauron

by John F. Carr

  Cat’s Eye, the largest planet in the system, should not exist where it is. Less than one-point-five AUs from Byers’ Star it is well inside the Terrestrial Planet Zone and should have had all of its hydrogen blown away long before it could achieve a mass of one-point-three times that of Jupiter. Somehow it did achieve that mass and it almost made the system a binary star. Even now, it is unusually hot, with an effective temperature of over six-hundred-and-fifty degrees Celsius.

  The gravitational contraction of the interior, combined with the breakdown of the exceptionally high levels of natural radioactives at the core, has generated the heat we see leaking out from the roiling, glowing cloud-tops. With that heat output, the planet can be considered a borderline “Brown Dwarf,” not quite hot enough to ignite hydrogen, or even deuterium, to start its nuclear fires burning. The moon Haven is another rank improbability. Were it not for Cat’s Eye, Haven would be almost as cold as Mars, the fourth planet of the Sol system, and as dead as Hel, the fifth planet of Haven System. Averaging one-point-four AU distance from Byers Star, Haven is well outside the narrow band that forms the ecosphere of a G-class dwarf.

  At that distance it gets only fifty-five percent of the amount of sunlight that falls on the Earth. What keeps Haven from freezing solid is Cat’s Eye. First, the gas giant/brown dwarf emits and reflects enough energy to provide Haven with between four and five percent additional heat input above that received from Byers’ Star. Second, the tidal stress on Haven adds another few percent to the interior, keeping the oceans liquid all the way up to the polar caps, and even causing the ground itself to be somewhat warmer than would otherwise be the case. Not, as you well know, warm enough to warm your bottom, or even to melt snow, but, in a refined instrumental sense, warmer.

  The tidal stress has caused Haven’s core to remain more molten than expected, and has fostered extensive vulcanism and mountain building. One result is a plethora of geysers, warm springs, and geothermal power sources. The vulcanism may even contribute to warming the planet by replenishing the several “greenhouse” gases found in the atmosphere.

  Unlike Earth, Haven has a relatively low density. It has been speculated that the moon just formed in a metal-and-water poor portion of the proto-stellar disk and was later captured. This explains the lack of heavy ores or radioactives and the relative dryness of the planet.

  The Haven System is relatively young, not over three billion years old. Cat’s Eye undoubtedly shone much brighter in the recent past, and has still not had time to radiate away all of its formation heat. The wide range of sophisticated life forms on Haven points to a much warmer time and a complex ecology much winnowed by the encroaching cold. No coal or oil has been found, so the planet was never jungle-warm. But some low-grade peat deposits indicate that the northern plains of the main continent were once much warmer and wetter. Parts of the tundra and semi-arid steppe may even have been shallow marsh with tall reeds and tides which reached miles inland across the flat plain. Bones unearthed at the shimmer stone mines are those of Giant Muskylopes and Dire Lion, long extinct progenitors of the standard Muskylope and Cliff Lion.

  Haven’s rotation is unusual, since it is locked tidally with the Cat’s Eye, but in the synchronized pattern of Mercury rather than always presenting the same face as does Earth’s Moon. The planet is somewhat smaller than Earth, and has a much thinner atmosphere. Due to its proximity to the Cat’s Eye there is great seismic activity. During the period of formation the tidal forces resulted in unusual patterns of vulcanism. Haven is a jumble of high mountains and deep rift valleys. Most of the mountains are high rocky peaks similar to the Andes mountains in South America on Earth.

  The only temperate area is in the equatorial zone, which climactically resembles northern Scotland. Due to the thin atmosphere the only nearly comfortable area of Haven is a single deep rift valley in the equatorial area. The valley is locally called Shangri-La after a similar place in a novel of the 20th Century.

  Like all life discovered so far, the indigenous plants and animals of Haven have biochemistries similar to those of Earth, but evolution has produced some unusual proteins. Needless to say, life native to Haven is extremely hardy, and proved quite dangerous to the early settlers, as indicated by names such as “shark’s fin,” “hangman’s bush,” “land gator,” “dragon” and “wireweed.” Efforts to reseed Haven with Earth plants and animals have been only partly successful.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Diettinger mulled over Survey’s report on the Haven System. In many ways, it seemed ideal for their needs, having been abandoned by the Empire and was five Jumps away from the nearest habitable world. This could not have worked out better if I had planned it myself, he decided.

  Diettinger called Medical Ranker Vanor. “Have your crew decant the hibersleep capsules.”

  “All of them, First Rank?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where are we?”

  “Haven, an abandoned Imperial world. It’s primitive, but it’s going to be our new home.”

  Two standard hours later, Althene was by his side.

  “Summon Weapons and Engineering to the bridge, Diettinger ordered. “Wardroom meeting of all command rankers in ten minutes.”

  Second Rank Adame began calling the various personnel at their cabins.

  “Positional fix,” he said to the Navigation ranker beyond Second Rank’s duty station.

  Navigation shook his head. “Nothing yet, Dicta—Sorry, nothing yet, First Rank. Very low energy emission signals from the system overall. Looks like a real backwater.”

  Diettinger frowned. Good and not good. A place to repair and refit the Fomoria would have been ideal, but would likely be heavily defended as well. And they had no strength to secure such a place. The next best thing would have been an area in which they could hide, and this system seemed to fit the bill nicely. But after their escape from three squadrons of Imperial heavy fighters, that would mean two pieces of extreme good fortune in a relatively short time.

  Diettinger might believe in luck, but he did not trust that much of it at one time.

  The hatch behind him opened, and Engineering stepped through. The Weapons officer accompanying him had a bioplast over his upper arm—not serious. Few injuries that did not kill a Sauron outright were.

  “Status,” Diettinger said to the Weapons ranker.

  “Point defense systems at thirty percent. Main armament intact, auto-mechanisms down. Repair estimate of thirty hours with materials and crew on hand.”

  Diettinger almost smiled. He did not expect fighter craft in this place, wherever it was; their ninety-five-percent consumption of Jump Core power was the maximum possible without guaranteed engine meltdown. It had certainly carried them far away from the front lines and many an Alderson tramline. So point defense didn’t really matter. But the main armament could shoot, if not yet aim. He had expected the news from Weapons to be far more depressing. On that account, Engineering did not disappoint him.

  “Jump-Core failure. Total. Maneuvering fuel down to twenty percent from a hull breach, four maneuvering engines down, one beyond repair.” That left Fomoria with two currently operational, out of six. “Internal systems now running on cells. Cells damaged. Forty-percent destroyed, twenty-percent damaged, forty-percent operative.”

  “You have discretion on manpower and materials necessary for repairs,” Diettinger told Engineering. He turned to Weapons. “Dismantle half of the remaining point defense systems and pack them for transport. All repair is to be directed toward returning the main armament to ready status. Rig all ordnance for planetary bombardment. Calibrate beam stations for precision surface interaction ops.”

  Weapons barely raised an eyebrow as he saluted and turned to follow Engineering out the hatch.

  Diettinger turned back to Second Rank. She was frowning in obvious puzzlement.

  “Haven: information on current political, military and trade status, Second.”

  “No interplanetary traffic or communic
ations, First Rank. An automated refueling station in orbit around an inner gas giant. Source of all non-automated signals and emissions is one of the same gas giant’s moons. Haven is only the settled body. An old CoDominium relocation colony, Imperial since the Earth Exodus. We’re really on the fringes, sir. Files show no Imperial presence in this area of the Sector for almost a decade.”

  Diettinger scowled. That makes three pieces of luck, he thought. Well, perhaps he was garnering some of the lost good fortune of all the billions of members of the Race left behind, on and above Sauron. The scowl became a rueful smile. Now he was really becoming superstitious.

  He consulted the chronometer implanted in his skull: two minutes to the wardroom meeting. Diettinger turned back to Second Rank.

  “When Engineering has maneuvering up to nominal, make for the automated refueling station. Approach from Haven’s blind side. Avoid at all costs any detection or other satellites. Inform me when on final approach to the station.”

  Diettinger hurried through the hatch and down the hall. He was experiencing emotions rare among Saurons. Excitement. Anticipation. Out of sight of his fellow Soldiers, he actually grinned.

  He was starting to feel lucky.

  The End

  About the Author

  JOHN F. CARR is the author of seven novels, including three Lord Kalvan novels, and has edited over twenty-five anthologies and short story collections. Along with Jerry Pournelle, he edited and wrote the introductions to five previous War World collections. For more information visit John’s website at www.hostigos.com

  DON HAWTHORNE has published a number of short stories featuring Galen Diettinger and the Saurons in previous War World anthologies. His work has also appeared in the There Will Be War series and other anthologies. He is an avid wargamer and former editor of the Avalon Hill The General Magazine.