Harvest End

by Max Dane

  Finn said, “The next colony is the Bunda colony. Has anyone ever been there before?”

  No one had. “Well, how about the one after that, the Lester Colony?”

  Still no one raised their hand.

  Finn turned to Micha, “I’ve never been there either; I should have.”

  ‘But now it’s too late,’ she thought, ‘That’s what he’s thinking.’

  She tried to change the subject, “Well, we’re half-way there. After the Lester colony, Julian should have enough data to pinpoint the harvester world. I won’t lie, I’m actually getting a little excited at the prospect.”

  “So am I.” It was Alex, walking to the science station, “I think a study of the alien home world will be very interesting.”

  ‘I certainly hope so, Doctor,’ thought Finn, ‘because we’re taking a long time to work this out, and I bet the powers-that-be back home are not planning on waiting for us.’

  Hours passed, and after Julian finished his analysis, they proceeded on to the jump point to the Bunda system. At least the time gave the crew an opportunity to rest and eat, thought Finn. It was a blessing many missions did not allow.

  “Captain, we’ve arrived at the jump to Bunda, the third leg of the journey along Orion’s Arm.”

  “Commander, take us through.”

  Micha nodded affirmative to Finn, and said, “Lieutenant, announce the jump to the crew, Mr. Keating, prepare to jump.”

  “Attention, crew of the Athena Rising, please cease any other activity now; return to your stations, and prepare to jump in two minutes.”

  Keating glanced at Eton, and then Micha, “Commander, the singularity drive is online, and we are ready to jump.”

  “Begin jump sequence, now.”

  “Entering gravimetric differential in three, two, one- ”

  Finn felt the usual sensation of the ground falling away, blackness around the edges of his vision, and the tingly loss of blood to his hands. The disorientation was passing this time, replaced with an unusual rocking feeling. Eton was shouting something. Finn shook his head, trying to clear his vision.

  There was a loud BOOM! And then the rocking feeling again.

  And then another, BOOM!

  Finn came to his senses to hear, “Captain, we’re under attack! Captain!”

  It was Eton.

  BOOM! BOOM! Another hard shove to the right.

  “On screen, now!”

  As the forward screen came into focus, Finn saw at least a dozen dissident attack ships in attack formation around the jump point. “Mr. Keating, take us down and around that lead ship.” Getting no response, Finn looked down to see that Keating lay unconscious, below his station on the floor.

  BOOM! Another missile struck them, driving the nose down.

  Finn shouted over the noise, “Commander, take the helm, now!”

  Micha struggled against the hard rocking of the ship, just making it to the pilot’s chair.

  “Take us down and under, Commander, three quarter speed.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  The Athena dived below the enemy vessels and pushed past them amidst a storm of short-range rockets.

  BOOM! The ship shuddered and tilted to starboard. Finn glanced quickly around the bridge. He didn’t see any warning lights; the Athena was holding together. Micha increased speed as the last ship in the formation began to drop down in front of them. “They’re trying to box us in, Captain.”

  “I see that, Commander; target that last ship and fire the plasma-lance. Let’s ask them to move out of the way.”

  Quickly Micha found the targeting system and highlighted the last ship in the enemy formation. Not familiar with the new design, she couldn’t estimate how much force to use. All she knew about it was that it was the upgraded version of the lasers on all Fleet ships. Julian had really bragged about it. She set the energy level to 100%, and said, “Firing now, Sir.”

  The plasma lance stabbed the enemy ship, splashing across the command and weapons decks. It pierced the ship all the way through, and in Gatling gun style, rapidly cut the vessel in a diagonal slice from top to bottom. In an instant the ship exploded, scattering debris in all directions.

  Finn punched the air, “Yes! Well done, Commander, take us through that hole and punch it up to full speed. Mr. Eton, set course for the jump to the Lester Colony.”

  Finn turned to his side, “Alex, get me a view of the enemy fleet behind us.”

  “Yes, Captain,” he said, desperate to remember the interface controls.

  The Athena streaked through the enemy formation before the dissidents could react to the loss of the last attack ship.

  “They’ve stopped shooting at us,” said Eton.

  “No, Mr. Eton, we’re out of range of those rockets, but I expect they will switch to their lasers any time now,” said Finn. Finally, the main screen reversed to display the view behind them; several enemy ships were turning around in the distance to follow.

  “They weren’t expecting us to punch our way through like that. I need to thank Julian for that laser.” Turning back to his side, “Alex, the enemy fleet, I need a report.”

  “Sorry, Sir, I’m working on it.” Alex was rapidly pulling up the last sensor scan. “It looks like they have eighteen ships, including four capital ships. The rest are a combination of small attack fighters and various support ships. They are following, Captain.”

  Keating moaned and sat up; he was wiping away blood from over his left eye.

  “Mr. Keating, get to sick bay, now,” said Finn.

  “Captain, I’m okay; I think I hit my head, but I can make it.”

  Finn quickly looked him over; he’d seen worse. “Very well, Mr. Keating, take your station.” Micha helped Keating back to his seat and returned to her own station.

  “Alex, I want you back at the science station. Get me a confirmation on the barrier field and the EM transmitters.”

  Micha said, “Captain, they have targeted their lasers on us. Currently, I show eleven, no make that twelve lasers focused on our aft sections right now.”

  Finn knew that laser attacks came in two flavors, the up-close punch like the Athena had delivered, and the long range, sustained burn. Right now the pinpoints that played across the exterior of the ship would be heating up the hull, and any other components in that area. “Commander, watch the temperature readings.”

  “Captain,” it was Alex, “the barrier field is flashing in and out. But the EM transmitters are functioning. I recommend we stay clear of the harvester cloud around the Bunda Colony.”

  Finn nodded at Alex, “Thanks, Alex, see if you can figure out what’s wrong with the barrier field, and get me Julian on the comm.”

  “Mr. Eton, can you get us to the jump without passing near the cloud?”

  “Yes, Sir, but it will increase our time to the jump point; if the dissident ships fly through it they will gain about a third of the distance we’ve put between us.”

  “Proceed, Mr. Eton; how long until we reach the next jump?”

  “At full speed, it will take twenty-two hours.”

  Finn sighed; that was a long time to run under fire. “Micha, how’s the temperature holding?”

  “Captain, we’re heating up back there, but we’re still within tolerance levels.”

  “Very good, Commander; keep monitoring them.”

  “Captain, this is Julian in the science bay. What’s happening?”

  “We are under attack, Doctor. Julian, I need you to take your readings en route. Can you do that?”

  “We can’t stop?”

  “If we stop, Doctor, we will die.”

  “How much time do we have?” said Julian.

  “Twenty-two hours until we reach the jump to the Lester Colony.”

  “I’ll get it done, Finn.”

  “Very good, Doctor, let me know when you’ve finished.”

  Finn sat back in his chair; it was a race now. His ship was faster, but it seemed unlikely the dissident ships would
know to steer around the harvester cloud. By going directly through, they would gain a lot of ground. The laser dots slowly heating up the Athena would become enormous as they closed the distance.

  “Alex, what about the barrier field?”

  “I’m running the diagnostic right now. My best guess is that it was damaged outside, during the firefight back there.” He continued to adjust the console controls, searching for the answer. “Hold on, I think I have it. The top generator is locked in place; it’s jammed on something. We need to get out there and repair it manually.”

  Micha said, “We cannot go outside at top speed. In fact, we’ll need to slow to a minimum of quarter thrust, to even attempt it.”

  Finn turned to look at Alex, “Our speed and the distance between us are what’s keeping us alive. If they get too close, the lasers from those capital ships will burn our ship.”

  Finn studied the ships on the screen; by now they were just pinpoints of light in the distance. He said, “We have to assume they will not avoid the harvester cloud. When the Athena turns they’ll get close enough to hurt us. We have to find a way to protect the ship when we change course. Mr. Eton, time until we reach the cloud?”

  “Three hours, Sir.”

  “We have three hours to think of something. Let’s get to work. Alex, call Julian again, I want a meeting in the wardroom immediately.”

  Micha was the first to arrive. She sat down at the table, just as Julian walked in, “Thanks for coming, Julian, I’m glad you were able to get away from the cloud analysis for a few minutes.”

  Nath walked in behind Julian, “The data collection does not require the director. Julian does not need to be there.”

  “Well, that’s not completely true. I would like to be there in case anything unusual happens. But, I understand; we’re in a bad situation.”

  Julian sat down at the end of the table, Nath at his side, just as Finn and Alex arrived.

  Finn walked quickly to the table, “Doctors, thank you for coming. We don’t have a lot of time, so let me explain.”

  “We were attacked by a small dissident battle group when we arrived. They have nearly twenty ships in pursuit, but only four that matter. The rest have fallen far behind and will not reach us in time to do anything. The four that I am concerned about are capital ships, and they are shooting at us right now.”

  Nath snorted, “This ship is faster. They will not be able to catch us.”

  “True,” said Alex, “but ahead, we must swerve to avoid the harvester cloud. We anticipate the dissident ships will not swerve. We believe they will fly straight through, closing the distance between us to a lethal range.”

  “Why must we swerve?” said Nath.

  “The barrier field was damaged in the first assault; to repair it would require that we slow down. This would also close the distance between us and the lasers focused on our aft right now.”

  Nath smiled, “Ah, the dilemma is revealed. What do you propose we do, Captain?”

  Finn thought Nath looked a little too pleased to see the pressure they were under. EM emitters or no, he was still a wild card.

  “Why are they here, Nath?”

  “What?”

  Finn was angry, “You heard me, Dr. Nath, why would dissident ships be defending the Bunda System? It was no coincidence that we were attacked; they were guarding the jump point!” Finn slammed his fist on the table.

  Nath recoiled, red faced and hostile, “Why would I know why they guarded this system? There is nothing here of value.”

  “Perhaps, and yet they were willing to die to protect it. What is it that they value so much, here at Bunda?” said Finn.

  “I do not know, Captain Holt, I am not in the military. I am a scientist; why would I know such things?” Nath was clearly angry, but he might have been telling the truth. Finn couldn’t tell.

  Julian said, “Well, the immediate question is how do we protect the ship from laser fire when they close the distance at the cloud.”

  Alex rubbed his chin, “What if we release water from the ship, venting it behind?”

  “That’s an interesting idea, Doctor, but it would take a lot of water to pull it off,” said Micha.

  “Is there anything that we could fabricate a bomb from,” asked Julian, “maybe a mine left floating behind, something that we could detonate from a distance?”

  “That was my idea too,” said Finn, “But we have to assume their sensors are as good as ours. They would almost certainly see it long before they got within range.”

  “Why not use the singularity drive?” said Nath.

  Micha said, “We’re not anywhere near a jump point.”

  “Of course, I understand that. It is a trick that dissident fighters sometimes use to combat stronger League vessels. By running the singularity drive, one can warp the space around the ship just enough to bend the laser light. It will not prevent a direct hit, but it should bend the light enough to reduce a lethal blow to only a glancing blow.”

  Finn paused, remembering the pirate ships he fought with the Ajax. There were several occasions when they had scored direct hits, only to watch the pirates pass on as though unaffected. If this were true, it would explain a lot. “Julian, does that sound plausible to you?”

  “Well, it’s kind of a low-tech solution, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a standard maneuver, but it does make sense. I believe I have time to run a couple of simulations.”

  “Do it, Doctor.”

  Finn stood up, “Thank you, Dr. Nath, I appreciate your help.”

  Nath nodded and looked away.

  “Alex and Micha, come with me to the bridge.”

  Walking through the ship, Finn said, “Nath is lying; I think he knows why those ships are here. I agree that there’s nothing of value in Bunda. I think the answer lies in the next system, Deneb.”

  “The Lester Colony is there,” said Alex, “but why would the dissidents care? It’s always been a peaceful planet, with barely any resources.”

  “I don’t think they care about the Lester Colony, I think they’re protecting a dissident colony.”

  “But, Finn, I’ve been to the Deneb system. There’s not much there, some gas giants and the moon the colony is on.”

  “Those ships didn’t just appear, and they didn’t come from the jump point leading to New Dublin. So where then, Doctor, did they come from?”

  “Another jump?” asked Alex, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

  Finn stopped walking and turned to Alex, “Another jump.”

  Micha said, “But there are no other jumps in Orion’s Arm. They end after the last system, Deneb.”

  Finn smiled, “Yes, that’s what they say on the maps, isn’t it.”

  “You think there’s an unmarked jump somewhere in Deneb, and it leads to dissident worlds.”

  Finn started walking, the door opened, and they stepped out onto the bridge.

  “There’s no other answer, Micha. The only question is where?”

  Alex walked over to the science station, “Normally, they’re impossible to find without gravitic sensor arrays.”

  Finn sat down, “Micha, keep pushing Julian for those simulations; we need to know as soon as possible if Nath’s trick will really work.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Finn sat back in his chair and checked his monitor for any changes in the pursuit. The enemy ships were still back there, and the hull temperature was still rising from their lasers. If Nath’s trick wasn’t going to work, he would turn the ship around and fight the capital ships head on. With luck, he could probably take two before falling into range of their rockets. It would be the last two that would be hard.

  The next hour passed, and then another. Finn began to sweat; the point of the detour around the cloud was approaching fast.

  “Get me Julian on the comm.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “Julian, we’re out of time. I need to know what happened in your simulations?”

  “We believe there’
s an eighty-seven percent chance that the singularity drive will be able to reduce the effect of the enemy lasers enough for us to survive.”

  “Only eighty-seven percent?”

  “I’m sorry, Captain. We ran the scenario a dozen times. All I can say is that we survived more often than not.”

  “Thank you, Julian, that will be all.”

  He turned to Micha, “Our odds are better using Nath’s idea than if we turn and fight.”

  She nodded, “Let’s do it, Captain.”

  Resolved, Finn said, “Okay, everyone, here’s the plan. We will begin the detour around the cloud; Mr. Eton, you will read off the distance between us and the enemy ships. Alex, once they have closed to within striking range, you will activate the singularity drive. In the meantime, Mr. Keating, you are going to push this ship as hard as she can take. We must recover the buffer between us.”

  He added, “Oh, and Commander, keep me informed of the damage to the ship.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Is everyone ready?” asked Finn. The bridge crew nodded their assent. “Very well then, Mr. Keating, count us down to the turn.”

  Keating watched his console, “Turning in three, two, one.” The Athena pitched hard to port as they changed course to avoid the undulating cloud rising up from the colony.

  Eton said, “Enemy ships closing, approaching striking distance.”

  Keating added, “Speed increased to one hundred and ten percent of norm, and holding.”

  “The temperature is rising, but still within the ship’s tolerance,” said Micha.

  It was starting well, but Finn was guessing it would get much hotter very quickly. Those big capital ships were coming straight at them. Having turned to avoid the cloud, the Athena was now running almost perpendicular to the attack ships, giving them a perfect target. ‘Nath’s plan had better work,’ he thought.