by Dave Bara
“Have you received the packet yet?” I asked her.
“Aye, sir. It’s ready to decrypt and download to your display,” she said.
“Do so, Ensign. And be sure to delete the original packet from your com board once the download is complete.”
“Aye, sir.” We waited in silence for almost three minutes while the packet downloaded to our secure server and decrypted. Once it reached 100 percent, I activated the communiqué from my dashboard without another word. The Admiralty Linkworks logo appeared on the room’s main screen for five seconds before Wesley’s image replaced it, sitting at his desk in his office on High Station with Quantar floating above him through his windows. He started with the usual protocols about secrecy, then turned to the business at hand.
“I have read the full reports of Captain Cochrane and his crew and those of Mr. Harrington and the Special Secretary for Union Relations. I find Captain Cochrane acted in compliance with both military Rules of Engagement and within the codices of the Union Code, especially as it pertains to dealing with ethnic cleansing on a subject world. Although I might differ on some of the specifics of proposals made by Captain Cochrane for the oversight of Sandosa by Chief Merchant Harrington in specific and Pendax in general, I find none of the protested provisions to be of merit at this time. The Union will proceed with the makeover of Sandosa’s culture with Pendax serving as the responsible party and cultural guide. The protested provisions can be reviewed by the council on a six-month basis at the chief merchant’s request.” That last part was a bone, albeit a small one, for Harrington.
Wesley continued. “At the moment of the recording of this communiqué, 1820 hours Quantar local time, I am placing all Union military forces at Defense Condition One. The following orders to Captain Cochrane and Captain Zander apply with immediate effect.”
“One: Captain Cochrane is ordered to take H.M.S. Defiant to the Skondar system, there to assist in the possible search and rescue of H.M.S. Impulse II, commanded by Captain Dobrina Kierkopf. Impulse II has been off-com for nearly forty-eight hours. All efforts to contact her have been to this point unsuccessful. All methods, weapons systems, and upgrades aboard Defiant are available at the captain’s discretion for use in combat, should there be any. Rules of engagement are limited only by conditions on the battlefield, if there is one. Traverse time to Skondar is estimated at 10.7 hours, so go loaded and arrive ready. Feel free to use your new point-to-point jumping technology, Captain.” I nodded at that. “Coordinates to Skondar are embedded in this packet.
“Two: Captain Lucius Zander is ordered to relieve Defiant aboard H.M.S. Vanguard and oversee the initial transition of Sandosa from a paranoid socialist system to a constitutional monarchy style of government with appropriate institutions. However, we recognize that under these current circumstances, Vanguard may be asked to assume the role of a warship at any moment. Therefore, Chief Merchant Harrington of Pendax will coordinate the transition teams with support from Union Navy Wasp frigates and commercial Wasps from his home world. The Special Secretary is to be in charge of oversight of Mr. Harrington and ensure compliance with Union standards and codices in regard to Sandosa.” With that he stopped reading from his prepared script and looked straight into the display.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the entire Union is on high alert for an outbreak of full-scale war. Sandosa was likely the first diversion. Skondar is likely the second. Do your jobs, but be prepared to bug out for the nearest battlefield at any moment. I expect reports as soon as humanly possible.” Then he stood and saluted us. “Wesley out,” he finished with a flourish. No one saluted back.
I stood and faced the room.
“Mr. Harrington, I suggest you pick a flagship from among your Wasp merchant fleet, but be prepared to lose Vanguard and the Navy Wasps at any moment,” I said. He nodded.
“Special Secretary Katara, I suggest you stay on the commercial flagship Wasp until the military situation can be sorted out. You can monitor progress on Sandosa from space for the moment,” I said.
She was ready with a counter. “You know as well as I do that it’s not the same as being on the ground,” she said. I looked at her, then checked the look on my wife’s face. Karina was staying impassive. I turned to Zander.
“Consider Captain Cochrane’s recommendation as an order from me, Princess,” he said. Janaan looked frustrated, but that was that. When there was nothing else, I turned back to Zander.
“Captain Zander, I hereby and gladly relinquish all command and oversight of the Sandosa system and the planet Sandosa to you and H.M.S. Vanguard,” I said. Zander stood.
“Accepted, Captain. Now if you’ll be on your way presently out of my system, I’d like you to go get our girl,” he said.
I smiled and stood. “Acknowledged, Captain,” I said with a salute. “Now get off my ship.”
“Aye,” he said.
With that Harrington and Janaan stood to leave as well, and Karina hugged Janaan. I merely gave her a nod, then watched the three of them leave the briefing room. I turned to my wife, who remained behind to talk with me privately.
“There are some substantial changes to the longscope system, especially weapons. I suggest you get together with Gracel ASAP to go over the upgrades in detail,” I said.
“Aye, sir,” she replied, then snapped off a salute. I saluted back and then took a step closer and put my hands on her waist.
“Karina—”
“There will be time for apologies later, Peter. Right now we both have work to do.” Then she kissed me lightly, just once, and was off. I followed her across the command deck to the bridge and took my captain’s chair.
“Commander Babayan,” I called. She moved quickly to my station.
“Yes, sir?”
“Button down the ship for an interstellar HD jump, XO. You have thirty minutes from the time the umbilical rolls up to get us underway,” I said.
“Underway to where, sir?” she asked.
“At least one AU minimum from any station, rock, or planet in this system, XO. We’re going to use point-to-point jumping. Have Mr. Layton plot the course, get Longer to give you all the sub-light speed he can, then get back to me with a timing estimate.”
“Aye, sir. And then?”
I looked at her.
“Then we jump into the Dragons’ domain,” I said.
She nodded, then started barking orders to George Layton at the helm.
To Skondar
We were in position to use the point-to-point jump drive to Skondar for the first time forty-eight minutes later. Lieutenant Arasan provided the coordinates and fed them through to Layton at the helm. I had no doubt they were accurate and would place us in a prime spot in the Skondar system.
A roughly ten-and-a-half-hour journey awaited us in traverse space, and then it was another hour and a half to Drava, based on Arasan’s calculations. Impulse II’s last reported location was near the mining colony, but ninety minutes was a long time when your friends might be in peril. I intended to get there faster if we could.
Lena Babayan sat down at her station next to me. “Point-to-point jump coordinates loaded into the helm, sir, and verified by the longscope officer,” she said. I looked to Karina, who gave me an affirmative nod. I noted that Gracel was with her at her station, on the bridge for a major event for once. I turned my attention to Duane Longer at Propulsion.
“Mr. Longer, are you in receipt of the proper jump coordinates?” I asked.
“Aye, sir, I am,” he said. “Hyperdimensional drive spooled and ready at your command, sir.” I motioned for Gracel to come over and join me at the Third Officer’s station, usually reserved for George Layton, but he had his hands full at the helm.
Gracel took the seat next to me. “Where will we jump in, Historian?” I asked.
“According to the ansible network, about 1.5 AUs from the gas giant Skondar-5. The min
ing colony is on the third moon of S-5, known as Drava. Estimate eighty-six minutes from the arrival point to reach the Drava colony,” she said.
“Thank you, Historian.” I nodded to Longer again. “You have the wheel, Mr. Longer.”
“Aye, sir,” he responded, then counted down from five, and once more we were in a tiny universe of dense gray barely bigger than our ship, traveling through dimensions unknown.
I checked my watch, then turned to Babayan. “Another ninety minutes max for the main bridge crew, and then I want them all off duty and resting for at least seven and a half hours, XO,” I said.
“Aye, sir,” she acknowledged, then began the process of bringing replacement crew members to the bridge again for transitions.
I spent another thirty minutes in my bridge office before signing off and heading down to my stateroom to kill off the remaining time in traverse space and to rest. Karina joined me a few minutes later, heading straight for the bath. I undressed in silence and went to bed to get some sleep while she soaked quietly in the tub. Some while later as I dozed, I felt her warm and very naked body slide in behind me, nuzzling my back as I lay on my side.
Her body’s warmth against mine drew me back from the brink of oblivion. Once she was sure she had my attention, she started whispering softly in my ear.
“I want you to know that I believe in you, even if I don’t always agree with you. You’re a good husband, a great Lightship captain, and the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Don’t ever for a moment think that I don’t love you just because I disagree with you. I want us both to be safe in whatever lies ahead. As safe as I feel in your arms.”
The next few moments were full of kisses and passionate embraces as I tried to show her just how much I loved her and she did the same for me. When we both settled down again, I held her close as she drifted off, but my mind stayed active, relieved that we were on the same page again but worried about what awaited us at Skondar.
Our alarm went off a full hour before we were due to drop out of traverse space and into the Skondar system. We both prepped for duty, Karina spending most of her time wrangling her unkempt hair that had been unleashed during the night. Once she got everything under control, we both made our way to the bridge with a full fifteen minutes to spare.
The rest of the crew arrived presently, and I checked my watch again: 0640. It was going to be a long day. With five minutes to go, I turned the final process over to Babayan. She had been an excellent choice for XO and made sure everything happened according to schedule. Right on the dot she signaled to Longer, and he made the call. On our main plasma screen the dark gray of traverse space dissipated and normal space returned. An orange-brown gas giant was visible as a coin-sized dot in the upper left of the display.
“Focus and magnify,” I ordered. The screen zoomed in and refocused on S-5. There were two moons visible. I looked for Gracel, but her station was empty, so I changed tacks.
“Longscope officer: system report, please,” I said. Karina stepped out from her station.
“Eight planets, none habitable, but the third moon of S-5 is marginally within habitable ranges. Nicknamed Drava after a river in the Carinthian province of Old Austria on Earth. She’s home to a former Imperial mining colony, though little is known about what was mined there. She’s currently occulted on the far side of S-5 from us, but we have plotted a course which will place us in orbit over her in—” She looked up to check the bridge clock. “—eighty-three minutes.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” I said. “XO, reset the bridge clock for eighty-three minutes.” Then I turned to George Layton. “Lieutenant Commander Layton, get us underway to Drava.”
“Aye, sir,” he said, then ordered Duane Longer to activate the sub-light HD drive. I turned to Karina.
“Send our Union IFF signal toward Drava, Lieutenant. Use the longwave frequencies. Let me know immediately if we get any kind of response,” I ordered.
“Yes, sir,” she said, then pivoted to her station with military precision. Sometimes I forgot how well trained she was. I turned back to George Layton.
“Make sure we intersect with Impulse II’s last known location, Commander. I want us to go straight at her.”
“Aye, sir,” he responded. Now it was my XO’s turn again.
“Commander Babayan, prep all the marines, gunships, and shuttles. I want them on a five-minute turn from the moment I give the order,” I said.
“Yes, sir,” she said, then got on the com. A five-minute turn meant that they had to be ready to be spaceborne five minutes after the issuance of any “go” command from a superior officer. I didn’t know if I’d need them, but I wanted to be prepared in case I did.
I stood then and activated the shipwide com, which set off a brief alarm klaxon. “All hands,” I started, “this is the captain, calling battle stations. From this moment on, we are on combat footing at all times until relieved of such status by me. Personal weapons and sidearms are to be worn at all times. Highest security protocols from this moment forward. Off-duty personnel will proceed to security stations. I repeat, this is the captain, call to battle stations.” With that I disconnected, and the alarm klaxon sounded again. There was a flurry of activity as two guards with coil rifles came in and positioned themselves on either side of the bridge entrance. Unnecessary rooms like the command deck briefing room were shut down and locked. An armory officer came through and delivered personal coil pistols to the entire bridge crew. I went to my office, unlocked my safe with the biometric key code, and pulled out my own personal pistol, securing it to my holster before returning to my captain’s chair.
“Time to Drava, helm?” I asked George Layton, not bothering to look at the bridge clock. I liked keeping my bridge crew involved.
“Seventy-six minutes, Captain,” he replied. I nodded.
Now all we had to do was wait.
“Com officer,” I said to Ensign Lynne Layton when we were fifteen minutes out from Drava. “Any response to our IFF signal?” She shook her head from her station a half deck below me.
“Negative, sir. No response on any standard com channels,” she said.
“Longscope officer?”
Karina turned to me to deliver her report. “Longwave frequencies are clear as well, sir. Nothing to report.” I stepped up to the guardrail, looking down on Ensign Layton.
“What about low-definition bands?” I asked quietly.
“You mean like broadcast radio?” she asked. I nodded. “Give me five minutes to check, sir,” she responded.
“You have two, Ensign.” She nodded affirmative and turned back to her board. Babayan came up next to me.
“If Impulse’s longwave and standard coms are out, what are the chances she could broadcast on a low-band radio wave?” she asked, low enough so that only we could hear.
“Small,” I said. “But it is something we practiced at the Academy.”
“Disaster beacon?” she asked. I nodded.
“When it’s all you have . . .”
“But that would mean she’s disabled at best.”
“Yes, but a signal would at least indicate that she is alive.” Babayan looked at me quizzically. “By ‘she’ I mean Impulse II,” I clarified.
“Noted. I still think that’s a big hope, Captain.” I turned to face her.
“I’m aware of the situation, XO,” I said, then walked a few paces away from her to be alone. If there was nothing on the low-band radio, then it meant one of two things: Impulse II and Dobrina had been destroyed, or they were no longer in the Skondar system. Each had heavy implications.
It was nine minutes from intersect when Ensign Layton nearly jumped out of her chair.
“I’ve got something on the low-band radio, sir. It’s a repeating signal, unclear as to the meaning.”
“Let’s hear it, Ensign,” I said. She switched the audio to t
he main bridge speakers. A series of pops and beeps followed.
“Could that be natural or something coming from the mining colony?” asked Babayan, doing the job of a good XO, always questioning.
“It’s not natural, ma’am,” said Layton with confidence. “But it’s hard to pinpoint. Could be coming from somewhere near the mining colony, but it repeats regularly.”
I listened again, then smiled.
“It’s an SOS in what used to be called Morse code. She’s sending us a signal!” I said.
“It could be from the old colony, sir. Perhaps it’s been repeating for hundreds of years,” warned Babayan, playing devil’s advocate.
“Ensign Layton, respond with the same signal. Match signal strength and frequency.”
“Aye, sir,” she said and carried out my orders. The incoming signal stopped for one cycle, then started repeating again. Everyone on the bridge looked at me.
“Now send our call, LS-474,” I said.
“Sir, I just recorded their signal and broadcasted it back to them. I don’t know how to actually—” I jumped down to her station.
“I’ll do it,” I said, then keyed in Defiant’s call sign using her com board. The transmission from Impulse II stopped again for one full cycle, then resumed. I listened closely.
“LS-452,” I said. “It’s Impulse!” The next few seconds were a flurry of activity as I ran back to my station. I put Karina on locating the signal, but the colony was on the occulted side of Drava, turned away from us so we couldn’t get an exact fix. I ordered the five-minute turn for the Marines, which would put them at launch-go when we were directly over the colony. I ordered all weapons and defense systems to high alert. Then we all saw it.
The colony had come into view on the main display, which automatically magnified and enhanced the image. Next to the colony, stuck on the surface of Drava, was Impulse II.
“She’s been taken to ground, sir,” said Babayan.