by T. R. Harris
“He wouldn’t see it that way, Mr. Tarazi. We don’t go around comparing the value of one life with another, at least not as SEALs. It’s the mission that is most important, and as a mission, we succeeded. John would have been happy just to know that.”
“I’m sure he knows, Chief,” Riyad said. “And I am beyond the power of words to express my gratitude to all of you for what you have done for me.”
“Yeah, well you owe me a beer—a real beer—when we get back to Earth,” Adam said trying to lighten the mood.
“So where are we?’ Sherri asked in a dusty voice. The relief of being away from Elision and on the downhill slide towards safety was having the effect of sapping all her energy. Others may feel ecstatic after such an ordeal; Sherri was having an opposite reaction.
“We’re headed for a spot in the Shield where Ruszel first brought Riyad into the Void. It’s a thinner part, he says, and he’ll get us through—”
“You mean where we found the Klin?” Riyad interrupted, tensing as he spoke.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Klin; when we came through the first time we landed right in the middle of a whole mess of huge Klin spaceships, bigger than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“Where?”
“Here ... in the Void. Like I said, right where we came through.”
Adam slipped out of the booth; they all did. He shook his head. “You’re saying the Klin are here, in the Void?”
“They were. The Klin who made contact with us did say they would be moving soon. But that was only three-four months ago, and with all that’s happened here, who knows?”
Adam ran from the room, and in the process, slammed his head against the top of the doorway as he bounded higher in the light gravity of the Pegasus, set low to accommodate all the aliens they had onboard. He stumbled backwards and was caught by the other Humans directly behind him. It was like a scene out of a Keystone Cops movie.
“Fuck!” he yelled. He recovered, and the four of them rushed down the corridor to the bridge.
“Why didn’t you mention the Klin?” Adam yelled at Ruszel as they entered. The alien was seated at the nav console next to Jym.
“Klin? Oh ... the white creature?” Ruszel blinked his eyes several times, overwhelmed by the intense presence of the Humans all staring at him. “I forgot. He did seem very intimidating, yet did say they would be leaving soon. Is there a problem?”
“You don’t think it’s an incredible coincidence that the Klin and Kracori would be so close to each other, and with the Juireans and Humans on the way?”
Ruszel shook his head. “At the time, I knew nothing of this, and the Kracori were only a rumor within the Nebula.”
“I mean now!”
“Like I said, I forgot.” Ruszel was angry. “Then we can change course and attempt passage at another location.”
“No shit!” Adam didn’t wait for the customary confusion to register on the alien’s face. “Find us another place, and quickly. Kaylor! Turn us to port.”
“Port?”
“Left; turn us left.”
“I’m picking up some huge gravity sources, Adam,” Jym said from his station. “Just coming in range.”
“Don’t tell me ... dead ahead?”
“Ahead certainly,” the small alien said. “Not sure about dead and how it relates.”
Adam stepped to Jym’s station. “Are those readings normal?” he asked, seeing that the brightness of the contacts was particularly strong, especially for semi-stationary objects.
“No,” Jym answered. “That is because they are very large, generating a minor gravity field of their own. And the metallic content of the objects is very high. This is all having an effect—” And then he leaned in closer to his screen. “And they have just activated gravity drives.”
“Course?”
“Calculating,” Jym said, the tension evident in his voice . “Away! Away from us now that Kaylor has made his course correction.”
“So they’re not pursuing?”
“That is correct. They are moving away!”
Adam fell back into the observation chair and breathed a sigh of relief. “Give us maximum speed, Kaylor,” he said softly. “Let’s get as much distance between those contacts and us as possible.”
“We have a little more speed available, Adam. Applying now.”
“New contacts!” Jym screamed a minute later, his voice now as high-pitched as Adam had ever heard it.
Adam didn’t even lift his head out of his cradling hand. “Where, Jym, where?”
“Ahead! Dead … ahead.”
“I could have guessed.”
“Multiple contacts, closing at incredible speed.”
This did get Adam’s attention. He looked over at the screen and saw a whole cloud of contacts coming their way. “Can you measure the gravity signatures?” he asked.
“They are strange, like nothing I have measured before ... except. They match those of the Pegasus, Adam!”
“It’s our fleet!” Sherri cried out from behind Adam.
He slipped out of the chair and leaned in towards Jym’s screen. “Is that true?” he asked the alien.
“I cannot confirm. No transponders are recording. I only have the signatures, and the speed as evidence.”
“Let’s hope they’re ours,” Admiral Tobias said soberly as he entered the pilothouse. “If any of the alien fleets have ships that can go that fast, then we’re all screwed.”
********
“The last one just came through, Admiral.”
Nash was buckled into his command chair on the bridge of The Trident, watching the data stream across the various monitors on the wall before him.
“Good,” he said to Christian Bergmann. “I don’t see the bogies anymore.”
“They’ve moved off, away from our position.”
“No shit? They’re running?”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Admiral,” Bergmann said with a smile. “From the last reading we got, each of those things was over twenty miles in diameter. And sir, they’re disk-shaped.”
Nash immediately recognized the significance of Bergmann’s statement. All disk-shaped spacecraft originated with the Klin. Other races now had similarly-shaped vessels—the Humans included—but that was because they all followed the basic Kiln design.
“What have we stumbled upon, Chris?”
“Probably just what you’re thinking, sir. We’ve often wondered how the Klin could stay hidden from the Juireans for four thousand years. Maybe it’s because they travel in huge mobile fleets, or colonies.”
“And here they are, in the same area as the Kracori.”
“The two of them did just plan and execute the latest attack on the Earth. It makes sense that they would be this tight.”
A monitor on the forward wall of the bridge suddenly flashed to life. On it were several bright dots with tracking lines.
“Looks like our forward units have them back on their screens,” Bergmann said. “They’re huge, but not terribly fast.”
“You know, Chris, if they’re so tight, then it’s a pretty good bet the Klin have let the Kracori know we’re here. That could screw up our plans. Any intel on the Juireans yet?”
“Nothing Admiral. We don’t have assets in that theater.”
“Using our speed advantage, we better get some out there. It’s not a good idea to be the fastest runner on the track, if you’re also blind.”
“I’ll get right on it.”
“And Admiral,” Nash said. “Leave a few units behind to keep this tunnel open. We may need a quick way out if things go to shit.”
“I’m ahead of you on that one, sir. Already in place.”
********
“We cannot outrun them, Pleabaen.” Moisee Linuss reported.
Wesselian Velsum had been afraid of this. The generators on the largest spacecraft ever built were beyond massive, yet they also had that much more bulk to attract. And the gr
avity-wells required were so much deeper than conventional wells that the Colony had to separate at extreme degrees just to keep from having them overlap.
Velsum eyed his executive assistant. “Do you have a track established yet?”
“Yes, they are pursuing, yet presently it is just to match our speed, not to overtake.”
At first Velsum had not believed the data that had come to him not more than two hours before. It was sketchy as to exactly how this information came to light, yet as the burst of information was deciphered it became clear that a fleet of alien vessels was gaining entry to the Void through a hole cut in the Dysion Shield. The only fleet expected in the region that wasn’t already accounted for was that of the Humans, and yet the distance to be traveled over the time allotted made that impossible. And yet the data did not lie, and as the first units of the mystery fleet were analyzed, there was no doubt that it was indeed the Humans.
Velsum’s first responsibility was to the Colony, so he ordered an immediate evacuation of the region. They would move off, away from the breach in the Shield, yet still far enough away from the conflict being waged at the far side of the Void.
Once his ships were on the move, Velsum had a little more time to try and piece together the puzzle and formulate the proper questions.
It was an incontrovertible fact that the Human fleet had been in the vicinity of Earth only a month before. And it was also undeniable that it was now here, in the Silvean Nebula. Considering the distance traveled within that short time, the Humans must be in possession of some radically new propulsion technique.
Once he accepted this as fact, then other scenarios could be postulated.
With vastly superior speed now added to the Human tactical skills and overall talent for war, the fleet now occupying the Void should be able to defeat any force brought against it. And when coupled with the present situation involving the near stalemate battle between the Juireans and the Kracori, this Human fleet may find very little to occupy its time. The clean-up of any surviving units, be they Juirean, Kracori or even the Nebula allies, will not pose much of a challenge to the Humans.
That would leave the bulk of the Human fleet to concentrate on the Klin Colony.
The thought made Velsum cringe. Where only hours before he had been contemplating the realization of the Klin’s ultimate resolution, he now found that his Colony may have only hours left in its lifetime. The Humans hated the Kracori, but they also hated the Klin just as much—if not more.
Yet this new information he had just received through his assistant made little sense. The Klin ships were essentially unarmed; they would make soft targets for the Humans. The Humans were not grouping for an attack. Why were they not?
“Moisee, what is the latest status on the Kracori-Juirean confrontation. Have they engaged?”
Linuss checked his datapad. “Not yet, Pleabaen. It appears they are within twenty hours or so of meeting.”
The Klin Colony would not last twenty hours, Velsum thought, not unless he could keep the Humans from attacking. He had an idea. He pressed a button on his arm comm bracelet.
“Pilot-Guide, I would like a course correction.”
“Of course, Pleabaen,” said the voice through the tiny speaker.
“Have pods Six through Twenty move to sector three. The remaining units will steer for sector eleven.”
“Is not sector eleven Kracori territory?”
“That is correct. Have those pods accelerate at maximum well-depth.”
“I will obey. Is there more?”
“Not at this time.”
Velsum saw Linuss’ look of confusion. “I wish to lead the Humans closer to the current conflict raging,” the Pleabaen explained.
“A distraction?”
“More of an invitation to join the fray. The Humans came here to fight Kracori, not Klin, at least not yet. We will show them a more challenging target. If they are aware of our defenseless status, then they will assume they can always return to us later. And if we can introduce them to the battlefield before the Kracori and Juireans destroy each other, then we may still find a satisfactory outcome for the Klin.”
“Can we not create our own tunnel through the Shield, Pleabaen, just as the Humans did?”
Velsum nodded, acknowledging the value of Linuss’ question. “Please establish a study group to investigate that question. Desperate times may require us to sacrifice part of the Colony to save the rest. Our pods are large and sturdy vessels. Perhaps to have one lead the way may open the Shield for the others. The Humans have proved it is possible to create an artificial pathway. Please expedite the study. We may have only hours to implement a strategy.”
“I will convene the experts immediately.”
“You are commended for your thinking, Moisee.”
“I only hope it works and that we are not too late.”
“The entire Colony shares your wish. Please go now.”
Within his private thoughts, Velsum began to see horrible visions. Not of his Colony being destroyed by the Humans, but of him having to send several of his pods through the Shield to break open a path. He could see the lead ships exploding, victims of the deadly debris field that made up the Shield. How many pods would it take to push through? How many tens of thousands of Klin would have to die—all on his command—to save a few?
He did not have an answer. All he knew was that he would try everything possible to save the Colony, at least all he could. That is, of course, unless the Humans chose to destroy it all within the next few minutes....
********
“Their units are separating, Admiral,” a petty officer first-class called out from the near side of the bridge. “Three quarters are moving away at a ninety-degree vector to the others.”
Admiral Christian Bergmann joined the petty officer at the scanner. He studied the tracks of both sections of the Klin fleet. The larger one was still hugging the edge of the Shield, while the other was heading straight in. Bergmann fingered a dial and the view on the screen expanded. There, at the point that had become known as the McCarthy Coordinates, was the planet Elision. It didn’t take a navigator plotting a course to know that the breakaway section of the Klin fleet was headed there—straight for Elision.
“Mr. Perry, new course.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh-six-five, down four. Confirm.”
“Oh-six-five, down four.”
“Execute.”
“Aye, sir. Oh-six-five, down four, execute.”
Across a million miles of space, the four thousand, nine hundred, forty-eight starships of Task Force Bravo-Victor-Nine—the official designation of the Human vengeance fleet—changed course directly toward the planet Elision. Earlier, the Admiral had dispatched a dozen swift-effect ships to the region of space surrounding the stellar system of the Kracori. Until he had his first reconnaissance reports, he would keep the fleet at normal gravity speed, essentially matching that of the breakaway Klin behemoths.
“Threat report.” Bergmann called out.
“Negative, Admiral,” a voice answered. “We’re alone except for the bogies moving ahead of us.”
“Time to target.”
“Thirty-one hours at present speed,” another voice called out. “Six at flank.”
“Very good. Set condition Yellow. I’ll be in my quarters.”
“The Admiral has left the bridge!”
********
“Shit!” Bergmann said aloud. He had not so much as kicked off his shoes before the threat assessment changed and he was called back to the bridge.
“What do we have?”
“A single craft just reaching the outer marker. Point of origin appears to be from the direction of Elision.”
“A single craft?” Bergmann said. “Get Alpha-Four Squadron to GQ and send them to investigate. One ship shouldn’t cause us much harm. Authorize A-4 to go Rings-Up.”
“Aye, aye.”
Rings-Up was the new call-sign for the squadron of forw
ard units to go full power with their concentrated-array gravity drives. By bringing all focusing rings online, the ships would be capable of velocities ten times or more what other craft could achieve, even in the relative clear space of the Void. Bergmann didn’t want to reveal too much of the fleet’s capabilities until absolutely necessary. Alpha-Four Squadron was only nine ships; they would be able to get in and assess the threat from this new bogie without lighting up too many screens—if any were even focused in this direction.
Whoever’s piloting that craft will soon be in for a rude awakening, Bergmann thought. They’re about to see what a Cain Drive warship is capable of.
********
“They’re not answering!” Jym called out from his station. He was near panic as he watched a series of strong gravity contacts break away from the main fleet and head their way.
“They’re probably in scramble mode,” Admiral Tobias said. “Comm within the fleet, but nothing beyond that. They don’t want a lot of random chatter giving away their position.”
“They will not fire upon us, not until they have us identified, will they?” Ruszel was frightened. His long, pointed ears twitched incessantly, tempting Adam to walk up to him and tie a damn rag around his knobby head.
“They shouldn’t,” Adam said. “All the ships should have the capability of analyzing a gravity signature. Once they do that, then they’ll know we’re one of them. So everyone just stay frosty.”
“Adam Cain, I—”
“Calm ... stay calm!”
“Time to contact, three minutes—no wait!” Jym said. “They have accelerated. Contact in ten seconds!”
So as to not rush headlong into the oncoming fleet, Kaylor had backed off on the speed of the Pegasus. Still, they were traveling faster than most vessels within populated space, yet far below the velocities of the squadron of ships that invisibly streaked by them. Only on the monitors could the paths of the faster-than-light vessels be tracked, but once past, the ships circled back, covering a quarter million miles in the less than ten seconds. And then they slowed, matching the speed of the Pegasus. They were still too far away to be visible in the vastness of space, yet each one was well within the range of flash-cannon or gravity-assisted missiles.