by M. D. Cooper
Sera nodded with appreciation. “From the looks of it, they stopped and refueled here too.”
“They’re headed for the same jump point we are,” Cheeky said, her voice low and completely serious. “They’re going to Bollam’s.”
“Punch it, Cheeky! Full burn. We must get there before those AST assholes.”
Cheeky complied and Sabrina prepared for a full antimatter burn around the edge of the New Eden system.
“Not around, Cheeky,” Sera said, her eyes deadly serious. “Go through the system.”
“We’re going to pick up a hell of a fine for this,” Cargo said. “They’re not going to take kindly to us blasting through.”
“And with their current fleet distribution, they won’t do anything to stop us either,” Sera replied.
“You hope,” Cargo said.
Sera did not reply.
“I don’t get it,” Cheeky said as she plotted the new course and spun out the AP nozzle. “I mean, I get that your ship has some cool shit, Tanis, but what could be worth the AST doing this?”
Tanis was poring over the available specs on the dreadnaughts and didn’t reply. The ships were large by ninetieth century standards, each coming in at just over six kilometers long. They sported more rails, beams, and missile launches than she even cared to count.
“Well?” Cheeky asked once Sabrina was boosting on its new trajectory. “What does your ship have that’s so special?”
Tanis looked around the bridge. Cheeky appeared to be almost angry, while Cargo was merely curious. Sera’s expression was more unreadable. Then the captain turned her head toward Cheeky and Cargo without breaking eye contact with Tanis.
“Look up something called The Battle of Victoria. It took place in the Kapteyn’s system before the Intrepid left. Look for speculation on how they defeated the Sirians with minimal losses.”
Tanis let out a long sigh. If Sera was telling her crew what to look for, then she had already found it. The record of the Intrepid’s picotech had persisted these five-thousand years.
Tanis replied.
“Picotech!” Cargo exclaimed, half rising from his chair. “How…what…is it real?”
Tanis didn’t have it in her to lie to Sabrina’s crew—she knew that her resigned expression was already all the confirmation that Sera needed—if she needed any at all.
“It is true,” Tanis replied.
“And you…wait…you!” Cheeky’s voice fell into a shocked hush.
Tanis could tell that she had read something which referenced her as a general and lieutenant governor.
“General Richards, is it?” Cargo asked. “Or should I say governor?”
“How long have you known?” Tanis asked Sera. “This information was not in your databases when I came onboard.”
“I pulled an update when we were in Ayrea,” Sera replied smoothly. “I wanted to know more about your ship and the time you came from.”
Tanis nodded slowly. “Well, now you know.”
She fended off as many questions about the picotech, and her rank as she could. She was surprised that no one was overly upset about her lies and omissions. Even Thompson grunted that he would not have volunteered the information either.
She was saved from further revelations by the first few calls from the system traffic AI regarding their speed, which Tanis responded to, but eventually just logged them with no response. It was clear they were on an outsystem vector, not passing close to any New Eden worlds or stations. No military vessels or drones moved to intercept them, and the traffic AI appeared to content itself with simply adding on fine after fine.
“This’ll bankrupt us,” Cargo muttered at one point.
“No,” Sera disagreed while directing a pointed look at Tanis. “It really won’t.”
Tanis set two countdowns on the main holo. One for the AST dreadnaughts, and one for Sabrina. The dreadnaughts would beat them to the jump point, but the AST vessels were maintaining steady 0.5c. A max speed which was likely enforced by the New Eden space force ships shadowing the foreign military vessels.
Because entry velocity into the dark layer translated into faster travel time, Sabrina would reach Bollam’s World before the AST vessels, even though they entered FTL later.
The trip across the New Eden system took just shy of twenty-three hours, and Tanis watched with concern gnawing at her innards as the eleven AST dreadnaughts winked out of scan visibility.
“There they go,” Sera said. “Now we just have to hope that half the New Eden space force doesn’t decide to find out why we’re in such a hurry.
Sabrina was an hour from the jump point; light-lag to the closest New Eden vessel was fifty-two minutes—with the relativistic adjustments.
On her queue, the comm board lit up with an incoming transmission from a NESF patrol craft.
Tanis played the message aloud.
“Star Freighter Sabrina, this is the Sword of Eden, please declare your intentions. If we didn’t know better, we would think you’re chasing those core-worlder dreadnaughts.”
Cargo let out a laugh. “Calling those AST ships core-worlders as if he isn’t one. When the fringe is nearly a thousand light-years in any direction, you’re core too.”
“What would you like me to say,” Tanis asked Sera.
“You’re asking me?” Sera said with a wink. “You’re the general, what do you think you should say.”
Tanis remained silent for several moments before shaking her head and turning to her console.
“Sword of Eden, this is General Tanis Richards of the ISS Intrepid. This ship is returning me to Bollam’s World and is under my protection. As for what we plan to do with those dreadnaughts, look up the Battle of Victoria and figure it out.”
Cheeky let out a long whistle. “Well, that’ll either get them the hell out of our way—or they’ll blow us to bits.”
“We have thirty-seven minutes to find out,” Sera replied.
“Damn relativistic math,” Sera muttered.
No one spoke on the bridge as they raced closer to the NESF ships still clustered around the jump point. Tanis surmised that they weren’t entirely trusting the AST ships’ word that they were going to Bollam’s World. It was possible, however unlikely, that this was some sort of feint before a full-scale attack.
The earliest time for a reply from the NESF came and went, then sixteen more minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness before a message came in.
The message was short and to the point.
“Star freighter Sabrina, you are cleared to maintain your current course and exit the New Eden system. Fines against your vessel have been lifted.”
“See?” Sera said with a grin as she looked between Cheeky and Cargo. I told you the general would know what to say. And we’re not facing any fines. A good day in my books.”
THE SILENT SYSTEM
STELLAR DATE: 10.25.8927 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Sabrina, Scattered Disk
REGION: Bollam’s World System, Bollam’s World Federation
Cheeky brought Sabrina out of FTL further from the Bollam’s World star than Tanis would have preferred, though she understood the need for caution—not to mention the time it would take to decelerate from 0.79c.
“Well done,” Sera said with a nod. “Pull us up above the stellar disk and start our braking.”
Tanis tapped the system beacon’s passive data stream.
“That’s weird,” she said with a frown. “There’s nothing about the Intrepid on the beacon, just the standard traffic conditions, and system laws and regulations.”
“I don’t think those AST ships are coming here for a vacation,” Sera said. “Someone is trying their best to keep things looking normal.”
“The outer beacon isn’t responding to requests for active data. I’ve sent our packet to the system relay further in; maybe once we’re registered on scan we can get more info,” Tanis said.
“Keep active sensors on full bore,” Sera said to Tanis. “This system is always a hot mess.”
Tanis had noticed Sabrina’s shielding taking repeated impacts from dust. She was impressed at how well the graviton shielding protected the freighter. The Intrepid’s shields would be hard-pressed to keep the ship safe in a system this young and active while traveling at such speeds.
She had spent some time reviewing data entries on Bollam’s World. The star was young, under half a billion years old. The eleven major planets which orbited the star were still young and hot, with the exception of the terraformed worlds in the habitable zone. Records showed that the initial colonists, also victims of Kapteyn’s Streamer, had spent considerable effort cooling those worlds before they could even begin to make them habitable.
The star lay in a region of space with few G or K class stars. Its location, combined with youth, had caused the FGT to pass it by entirely. It was probably the only G-class star within a hundred light-years of Sol which was not prepared for humanity by the FGT, but by the colonists themselves.
Tanis had to admire the tenacity of those original settlers. What they had accomplished was more even impressive than what the Edeners and Victorians had built at The Kap.
She scanned through the data on the planets, taking note of the strange gas giant named Aurora which lay seventh from the star, and the terraforming that was underway on a moon around the sixth planet, a gas giant named Kithari.
“You’re going to want to alter course, Cheeky,” Tanis said as she put the results of the first active scan sweep on the main holo. “There’s a dense molecular cloud ahead, and a small dwarf world seems to have its orbit changed since the last time Sabrina got an update on Bollam’s.”
“I’m going to grab some coffee, anyone want some?” Cargo asked as he rose.
The three women called out in affirmative and the first mate chuckled. “Maybe I’ll just bring the pot.”
“You know, I’m going to go do a quick walk through the ship,” Tanis said while rising from her station. “I’ve slaved scan to your console, Cheeky, and Angela is keeping an eye on it as well.”
“We’ll ping you if you’re needed,” Sera said.
Cargo returned with three cups of coffee. “Gave Tanis hers in the galley.”
“She’s got a lot on her mind.” Sera said with a nod. “Don’t know that I’d want to be in her position right now.”
“What position is that, Captain?” Cargo’s dark eyes stared at Sera intently. “What do you think we are flying into?”
Sera thought about it for a moment before replying.
“Either the Intrepid was smart and started trading its tech for fuel and FTL capability, or they clamed up and got themselves boarded and gutted.”
“Do you think they’d be able to defend themselves?”
“Maybe—Tanis never said how much of that fleet they took with them when they left Kapteyn’s Star—or if they have more of their pico bombs. If they do, then we’re flying into a war-zone.”
“Didn’t we just leave that party?”
“That was just a mixer; the real party’s still to come,” Sera laughed. “But now that you bring it up, I think I should go and see if I can get our general to lay down some specifics on her ship’s defenses.”
Cargo nodded and Sera slipped off the bridge. She found Tanis where she expected, at the forward scan and targeting sensors. Sera wasn’t sure if she should be surprised that Tanis was a general and colony governor, or that she hadn’t suspected her rank was far higher than she let on—she fit in with the crew as well as possible, but there were times when her bearing and poise had hinted at a higher position.
Sera wondered if her own background traits ever slipped through. There were secrets she kept that no one on this ship needed to know. Most of her past was far better off buried and forgotten.
“They still good as new?” Sera asked.
“Seem to be. Though I should have insisted on an external array.”
“You were in a rush—and I appreciate the haste, even though it was unnecessary,” Sera said with a grin.
Tanis turned to Sera, her blue eyes appeared darker and more serious than normal—if that were possible.
“You don’t have to do this. I don’t want to risk you and your crew more than I already have. You could send me in on one of your escape pods. I can figure out a way to get to the Intrepid.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Sera dismissed Tanis’s statement with a wave of her hand. “You helped my crew rescue me when you could have just cut and run. There’s no way I am just going to leave you high and dry.”
Tanis smiled and appeared to relax. “Thank you. I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t opened that container I was in.”
“I can. You would have gotten close and personal with Rebecca and her pointy needles”
“I’m sorry about that; my fault again.”
“Stop saying that.” Sera wasn’t sure what to make of this uncharacteristically self-effacing Tanis. “I’m right as rain and thoroughly enjoyed giving that bitch what she had coming.”
Tanis laughed. “I almost would have liked to have seen that…almost.” Then the general eyed Sera up and down and appeared to consider her words carefully. “We both know that most nano around here isn’t as good as mine. Considering what you likely had to work with—not to mention dealing with your new skin trying to kill you—how did you heal from that torture so fast?”
“I guess I was lucky. Helen found all the right stuff we needed on the station to keep me going,” Sera replied with a shrug, the lie coming easily after so many years—though she could see that Tanis wasn’t buying it.
“You handled the trauma of torture rather well—something I bet that they don’t teach you to in star-freighter captain school,” the general pressed.
“I wouldn’t say ‘rather well’, more like…I didn’t curl up into a fetal position. It’s not my first time being at the receiving end of someone’s ill intentions. I’ve already done all the puking and crying. Now I know how to repress it like a pro.”
Tanis’s skepticism was plainly displayed on her face. “I’ve come clean with you, Sera. Let me know when you are ready to do the same—but don’t give me your coy routine and trite little lies. You are far from who you appear to be. I hope your motives in helping me are as altruistic as you claim.” She paused and drew in a long breath, her eyes narrowing. “Because if you think there is some special advantage you can gain over the Intrepid once we arrive, you will be mistaken.”
Sera’s breath caught in her throat. Tanis’s blunt verbal assault took her completely off guard. For a moment she wondered if Tanis suspected the truth about her.
Sera forced herself to resume breathing evenly. Though Tanis may know she was hiding things, Helen was right, she wouldn’t even come close to the truth if she guessed for a thousand years.
“You’ve got me, Tanis,” Sera said slowly. “I’ve not been completely honest with you, but I’m not yet ready to talk about my past…give me more time.”
Tanis’s look was skeptical, but she didn’t push. “The time is close. When we get to the Intrepid, Bob will discover your truth, I’d rather you share it willingly before he does.”
“Who is Bob?” Sera asked.
Tanis chuckled. “That’s a truth you’ll soon learn on your own.”
Neither woman spoke for a minute, and then Sera asked the question for which she had searched out Tanis in the first place.
“Things are likely to be hairy when we get insystem, how much of that fleet did you bring with you from Kapteyn’s Star?”
“Not as much as I wish we had,” Tanis sighed. “We swapped out the two Neptune class cruisers for the Orkney and the Dresden—two of the new Claymore class battle cruisers. Otherwise, it’s our initial fleet of eight cruisers, some twenty pushers, and a bevy of pinnaces, shuttles, and transports. We do have a lot more fighters than we left Sol with, but I don’t think even our new Arc-5’s are going to be much of a match for modern craft pulling over 500gs. Not to mention that our ES shielding is not nearly as effective as your new grav shields.”
Sera whistled. “Still more than any colony ship I’ve ever heard of, but probably not a match for those AST dreadnaughts.”
“The Intrepid itself is a pretty formidable weapon. Its size also makes it hard to damage—bar the use of fusion bombs,” Tanis replied. “Though we try to keep it out of the thick of battle.”
“What about the pico?” Sera asked, afraid the answer would be no, but just as afraid that it may be yes.
Tanis nodded. “It’s there, we have more RM’s than you’d like to know exist, and they’re all capable of carrying pico warheads.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Sera said with a shudder. She looked into Tanis’s eyes and could tell the general felt the same way. The pico was a weapon of last resort—every other avenue would have to be exhausted first.