“I think I’ve picked up a reading from the pyramid, sir.”
“A distress signal?”
“I don’t think so. They’re sending a regular high-speed pulse into space using a method that isn’t suitable for carrying complex data.”
“Talk sense, man!” said Duggan, impatient for Chainer to get to the point.
“I thought I was, sir,” said Chainer. He saw Duggan’s face and quickly continued. “This is more like a network handshake than a bunch of aliens having a chat.”
“It’s an automated check-in?”
“I think so. They’re sending the signal approximately a hundred times per second. It’s changing slightly each time.”
“Coordinates!” said McGlashan.
“Could be, Commander. The signal is going to the same receptor each time, to let the recipient know exactly where this particular pyramid is at that moment in time.”
“Was there such a signal coming from the pyramid we found on Trasgor?”
“No, sir.”
“Why did you describe the signal as being like a network handshake?”
“I’ve done this job for a long time. That’s what the signal is, sir.”
“If there was no signal from Trasgor, might that imply whatever network this pyramid on Kidor is part of, it wasn’t completed until recently?”
“That would be the obvious conclusion, though it wouldn’t explain what the purpose of the network is,” Chainer replied.
Duggan knew exactly why the Dreamers might want to build a network of linked power sources. The primary purpose of these artefacts wasn’t to generate oxygen at all.
“Can you trace the signal?” he asked.
“If you want me to,” he said. “It’s going a long way into space, but we’ve got a lot of decent kit onboard so it shouldn’t take long to pinpoint the destination.”
“I’m going to wait right here at your shoulder, Lieutenant, so please be quick.”
“Here we go. The recipient is located on a previously-mapped planet in the Garon sector. At lightspeed, it shouldn’t take us too long to reach it.”
“Want me to set a course?” asked Breeze, guessing Duggan’s likely orders.
“Shortly, Lieutenant. There’s a small amount of business still to conclude here.” He turned his attention back to Chainer. “What’s the name of this planet, out of interest?”
“Tybalt, sir. It’s called Tybalt.”
Duggan nodded once, wondering if fate was playing tricks on him. The planet shared a name with the Anderlecht cruiser he’d captained many years ago, before an explosion in one of the missile tubes had killed the son of the Space Corps’ head man. Duggan had spent many years shaking off the effects of that particular accident.
“I will not be guided by superstition,” he said, more to himself than anyone else. He noticed Commander McGlashan staring at him, as if she was concerned about what his reaction might be. “Fire the nuke,” he said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
IT DIDN’T TAKE long to destroy the pyramid. The close-range detonation of a two gigaton nuclear warhead shut down its shield immediately. After that, a barrage of Lambdas ensured the pyramid would never function as a power source again. There were gauss emplacements set in a perimeter and Duggan ordered these to be destroyed as well. He was aware it was a waste of ammunition, but the destruction gave him a feeling of satisfaction.
“Let Admiral Teron know where we’re going,” said Duggan, looking at the still-glowing ruins of the pyramid.
“You can let him know yourself, sir. He’s on the comms.”
“That’s nicely-timed,” said Duggan.
“Captain Duggan, since I’m talking to you I assume you haven’t left Kidor yet?” Teron sounded stressed in a way that was rarely apparent in his voice.
“Yes, sir. We’ve had one clean kill and also destroyed the pyramid the Dreamers left behind.”
“Time is running out. Where is the mothership?”
“I don’t think it’s coming, sir. However, we’ve located signs of Dreamer activity on a planet called Tybalt. We were about to make best speed towards it.”
“Tybalt, you say? Give me a moment to look at the charts.” The line went silent, before a muffled curse was heard from the other end. “You need to get there as soon as possible. Leave without delay. How long will it take you?”
Duggan raised an eyebrow in the direction of Lieutenant Breeze.
“Twenty-one hours, sir,” said Breeze loudly.
“I’ve already arranged reinforcements, though I didn’t know where to send them until now. You’ll be joined at Tybalt by everything we can muster, but I must warn you it’ll be longer than twenty-one hours until they arrive. If you’re still alive, you’ll be in charge, Captain Duggan.”
“What’s wrong, sir?” asked Duggan.
Teron sighed wearily, giving an indication of the burden he was carrying. “The Tillos base picked up a signal a few hours ago on a wavelength they don’t normally monitor. They had no idea what it was and it didn’t last long enough for them to trace its precise origin. They were, however, able to narrow it down to an area of the Garon sector in which Tybalt happens to be located. The woman who detected this signal passed details of the event up the chain of command until someone with enough authority cross-checked it against a database of what we’ve learned about the Dreamer communications. Do you need me to spell out the rest for you?”
“No sir. The Dreamers have pinged Atlantis and we have to assume they’re making preparations to destroy it.”
“This is it, John. If they aren’t stopped, we’re going to lose another planet. We may have been wrong to think they were coming directly to Atlantis. They must have a weapon situated on Tybalt. Find it and destroy it.”
“They still know where our planet is, sir.”
“We can only deal with what is in front of us. Destroy that weapon first. If there’s anything left of the Crimson, get it to Atlantis in case they decide to perform the task from close range.”
“Yes sir. If that’s all, I’ll give the order for our departure towards Tybalt.”
“Please do,” said Teron. The faint hum of the comms connection ended.
Duggan smiled grimly at Breeze. “You heard the Admiral.”
Breeze disengaged the stealth modules and a short while later, the ESS Crimson burst into lightspeed. Duggan didn’t bother to take his seat for the transition, so full of nervous energy was he.
“Our victory against the cruiser didn’t count for anything,” he said.
“Since when did war go smoothly?” asked McGlashan.
“I shouldn’t lose sight of that, should I?” he responded.
“Why all this messing around with pyramids?” asked Chainer. “If they’ve got Planet Breakers, why do they need to bother with what appears to be a network of power sources across half of the sector?”
“Travel time,” said Duggan, mentally slotting the pieces into place. “This must be what they do when they come to conquer somewhere new. I’m certain that each pyramid feeds into a central weapon system, which they can use to take out any of their enemies from afar. Why bother spending time travelling from place to place when you can set something like this up? Once the weapons network is in place, they can use it to control a huge area of space.”
“It must be a damned huge area, if they could take out Vempor,” said Breeze. “The Ghast home world was an enormous distance away.”
“It makes you wonder how far away the Dreamers live,” said McGlashan. “Presumably they have established these weapon arrays elsewhere, yet were unable to use them to target planets in the Confederation and Ghast sectors.”
“What was the name of the second Ghast planet with a pyramid on it?” asked Chainer. “Sinnar, was it?”
“That’s the one,” Duggan told him.
“Why haven’t they destroyed Sinnar in the same way they destroyed Vempor?”
“I don’t know, Lieutenant. Perhaps the weapon array t
akes time to charge up before each use. Also, Gol-Tur told me the Ghasts had shielded their pyramid. Maybe the one on Sinnar is better shielded than the one on Vempor.”
“Why didn’t the Ghasts simply destroy their pyramids if they present such a risk?” asked Breeze. “Or bury them a long way down?”
“I don’t have answers,” said Duggan. “And the Ghasts have been less than forthcoming.”
“Look where that’s got them,” said Chainer.
“They’re entitled to secrets, whether or not we agree with their choice to keep things hidden from us,” said Duggan.
McGlashan looked angry. “There’s nothing good that can come from this, only more death and misery for everyone in the Confederation. Even if we manage to drive our enemies away this time, they’ll return, better-armed and with greater numbers than anything we can stand against.”
“Are you up for the fight, Commander?”
“Damn right I am, sir. That doesn’t mean I want it to happen, though.”
“None of us want it. The end of the road gets further away with every step we take. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop putting one foot before the other.”
“Nor me,” she replied. “I’m going to do everything I can to send them running. And then I’m going to chase after them, killing every one of them I find until they have no hope of threatening us again.” The anger in her face was clearly visible.
“Hold those thoughts and they’ll serve you well should you ever lose hope,” said Duggan.
“And be thankful we’re in the only Space Corps warship that has any chance of forcing a victory,” said Breeze. “Think of the poor people who can’t do anything other than look into the skies every morning and ask themselves if today is the day they’re going to die, without an opportunity to prevent it.”
The conversation ended, amicably as it always did. The crew were too experienced to allow even the most heated of arguments to descend into unpleasantness. Duggan rarely had to step in and warn any of them to watch their tongues. It helped that they were friends when off duty, not that they’d seen much in the way of shore leave recently.
When his break was due, Duggan sat in the mess room with a tray of steak and fries in front of him.
“You’re always in that seat.”
Duggan looked up at the voice, unsurprised to see McGlashan there. “I’m a man of habit.”
She sat opposite and gave him a wide smile. “It’s not even the closest seat to the doorway or the replicator.”
“It’s roughly eight paces from each,” he said.
“You’ve counted?”
“Maybe.”
“What’s important about the number eight?” she persisted. “I’m determined to learn exactly what makes you tick.” There was a serious question underlying the light tone of her voice.
“If the room were full of soldiers, this seat would be close enough for me to be part of the group, yet not so close that they’d think I was trying to be their friend.”
“How do you feel about me sitting so close?”
“Pleased.”
“That’s it? Pleased?”
He laughed. “We’re on duty. You need to stop asking me to reveal too much of myself. The ship’s captain must remain aloof. I believe I read that in a handbook somewhere.”
“Is that a direct order? Sir?”
“You can ask me whatever you want,” he said.
“Why are you in such a good mood?”
“Am I?” he asked. “I suppose I do feel less burdened than usual.”
“Yet here we are, facing the greatest danger we have ever faced. Our lives are at risk and so much at stake!”
“I know that,” he said. “It’s the same as it ever was, except this time it’s a bit worse.”
“A bit worse?”
“A lot worse,” he conceded. “However, for once in my life I have the answers to the questions. Ever since we were sent to find the Crimson, we’ve had vital information withheld from us. Now, here we are, flying out to meet the latest threat to humanity’s existence and I feel I’ve got the answers.”
“Which are?”
“Murderous aliens are coming to kill us, while we try to defeat them using a warship cobbled together from bits and pieces of the technology they left behind on one of their previous visits. It’s like it’s come full circle.”
“Not yet, it hasn’t. Once we’ve beaten them, then it’ll be a full circle. Until they decide to send fifty motherships through the wormhole.”
“I thought I was meant to be the cynical one,” he countered.
“You’ve got me there.”
They remained for a few minutes, until Duggan discovered that his tray of food was finished. He stood, just as McGlashan did the same. They headed into the corridor leading towards the bridge. Before he could stop himself, Duggan put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her mouth, wondering why he hadn’t done it sooner.
“You could get fired for doing that on duty,” she said quietly, smiling up at him.
“I didn’t want to die with the chance missed.”
“I won’t tell.”
They returned to the bridge. If either Chainer or Breeze noticed a change, neither of them let on.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“WE SHOULD BREAK out of lightspeed in ten minutes,” announced Lieutenant Breeze.
“Tell me about the solar system,” said Duggan. He’d already looked, but wanted a recap.
“It’s unusual in that there are only two planets orbiting an otherwise-unremarkable sun,” said Chainer. “Neither planet has a moon.”
“Presumably moons get in the way of firing whatever weapon they’ve chosen to install there,” said Breeze.
“The planet Tybalt has a comparatively fast rotation about its axis and in turn it completes a full orbit of its sun in fewer than one hundred days,” Chainer added.
“All of which provides the likely reason for the continued existence of the Ghast planet Sinnar,” said Duggan. They’d spent the last few hours talking about it.
“Yes, sir. Their opportunity to fire will be limited by the position of the sun and the rotation of the planet. We don’t have enough data to predict when they will be able to fire at Sinnar, assuming that is their intention.”
“And we believe this limitation makes it highly likely the Dreamers will attempt to establish at least one additional weapon array.”
“At least one,” said Breeze. “More likely two or three more, depending on what factors are important to them.”
“I wonder how much of the universe they conquered before they turned their attention towards us,” said McGlashan. “They might fill a thousand planets.”
“There’s no point thinking about it,” said Breeze. “When you’re talking about infinity, there’s always going to be someone bigger and stronger than you.”
“The trick to survival is escaping their notice,” Chainer added.
The conversation had drifted from its course, but Duggan couldn’t stop himself from making a comment. “That sounds too fatalist for my liking. We’ve proven time and again that we can alter our future. I will never believe I can’t change what’s to come.”
“Perhaps we should delay this conversation until we’re in a position to let it run its course,” said McGlashan.
“That would probably be for the best, since we’ve just arrived,” said Breeze mildly.
The words galvanised them into action. Without taking stock of their surroundings, Duggan fed maximum power to the Crimson’s engines, until the ship was travelling at full speed. “Activate stealth as soon as you’re able,” he said.
A short while later the engines dropped to fifty percent, but since they’d achieved a velocity of nineteen hundred kilometres per second there was nothing in the vacuum to slow them down. With the Crimson hidden by its concealing shroud of technology, Duggan diverted his attention to the remaining priorities.
“What’s out here? Give me the details.”
>
Chainer had begun his area scan the moment they’d exited lightspeed. “Nothing close by, sir. We’re two hours away from Tybalt. I’m getting you a picture on the main screen.”
A grainy image of the planet appeared – greys and browns streaked with bands of black.
“Can you see anything on the fars?”
“The first sweep has found nothing. It doesn’t matter, since we know there’s something here, don’t we?”
“That we do, Lieutenant. I’m going to take us directly towards the surface. If you don’t find what we’re looking for I’ll take us around in a high orbit once we get closer.”
“I’ve detected a surface object, sir. Another pyramid.”
Duggan felt strangely disappointed. “Are you sure? Part of me was hoping to see something a bit more…”
“Exciting?” asked McGlashan.
“Interesting, would be more accurate.”
“You’ve seen one pyramid, you’ve seen them all,” said Breeze.
“Commander McGlashan, can you help me out on the sensors?” asked Chainer. “I’ve got a priority communication from Admiral Teron.”
“Bring him through, Lieutenant,” said Duggan.
Teron dispensed with the niceties. “I’m glad you’ve arrived. We’re running out of time. There’s to be no playing about, Captain Duggan. I want you to operate the Planet Breaker as soon as you’re in range of Tybalt. That is a direct order and I want to be sure you understand it.”
“I understand, sir. We’re approaching the planet now. Once the Planet Breaker becomes available, we will use it at once.”
“Good,” said Teron, the relief palpable in his voice, as if he’d handed over a great responsibility. “I hope you know I don’t give this order lightly. This is the part of my job I find most difficult to come to terms with.”
“There’s probably no other way, sir. Even if there was an alternative, there might be additional risks.”
“It gives you the greatest chance of returning home, John.”
“That was never the fear, sir. I have a hunch the mothership is elsewhere, so we’ll have that to come.”
“I had hopes it would be destroyed in the shattering of Tybalt. Don’t wait around to see if it shows up – if the mothership isn’t close by, your orders stand.”
Fires of Oblivion (Survival Wars Book 4) Page 21