by Rod Carstens
Quadrant Four
Headquarters
Combat Information Center
Vesta
Jakob entered the CIC at a run. Paul Bak, the man he was to relieve, was still at his station staring at his displays as he worked the systems trying to refine the information.
“I’m here, Bak. What have we got?”
“Not real sure yet. We’re still trying to get a clear picture, but you can see the dark matter is changing. We just don’t have the position down, and it has not shown a structure yet. When we do see a structure, we should declare a Detect. I didn’t pull that trigger because I’m still not sure of the position and the structure is still fluid.”
“Good. I got it now.”
Bak stood up and let Jakob into the chief’s chair. The CIC was the largest room in the facility except for the hangar bay. It was the reason the fortification existed. This was the heart of the quadrant and the hundreds of weapons and sensors throughout this section of the asteroid belt. Sensors, rail guns, scram cannons, and focused-energy weapons had been installed on individual asteroids in an array that gave the Confederation the ability to use only one or all of them at once depending on the threat axis, distance, and a thousand other factors. It was Jakob’s job to coordinate the systems and weapons and make the recommendations to the officer in charge. He had a feeling that was going to be Commander Tepuruan—he wasn’t about to let a subordinate be in charge of this one.
Jakob looked out over the large amphitheater. His shift of men and women were relieving the night watch. Jakob sat at the top of the amphitheater, with the rest of his shift in over one hundred stations seated below him. Each station controlled a part of the weapons or sensor complex in their sector of the belt. He glanced at the readings that Bak had been working when he walked in. He was right. The dark matter was definitely changing. It had no central point or structure, but something was definitely going on. The readings looked exactly like those recorded at Rift before the Xotoli retreated through the wormhole they had created. The event timeline had been a short one, so things should begin to clarify soon.
Jakob touched the comm button on his desk and announced, “Okay, I want everyone to get a good sitrep from the person you just relieved and then give me a systems check. I want nothing but green. Sensors, I want you to take your own readings just to test the data. Graveyard shift, I want you to stay. We need more than one set of eyes on this one.”
There were a series of “Aye, Chief”s from the men and women on the floor. Jakob glanced up at the 3-D display at the front of the CIC. It showed not only the area of concern but also a series of status readings from weapons systems and sensors. Everything appeared in the green. Bak ran a tight shift and had not left anything to chance. He glanced behind him and saw Bak.
“You staying?”
“You couldn’t get me out of here with a platoon of Marines.”
“Good. I want you to work the problem from the backup station. Like I said, I want more than one set of eyes on this one.”
Bak moved to the backup command station and began to switch on the systems. Commander Tepuruan strode through the rear hatch and took his commander’s chair behind Jakob.
“You keeping the night shift, Chief?”
“Aye, sir. I thought we were going to need all the help we can get.”
“Good idea. You on top of this yet?”
“Just getting up to speed, but it appears there is a definite change in the dark matter at 12309.44983.”
“Okay, let’s for the time being designate that Battle Space Alpha. So we don’t run around here spouting a bunch of numbers. It’s early but why wait. Let’s stay passive with our sensors. I don’t want them to know we’re here yet.”
“Aye, sir.” Jakob pressed the all-hands comm button and announced, “From now on we will refer to this anomaly as Battle Space Alpha. I am now assuming the role of Battle Chief. Make all appropriate adjustments to your readings and label them Battle Space Alpha. The time is 0805 hours. Start the clock on this incident. All sensors remain passive. I repeat, sensors remain passive.”
Once an incident was declared, all the data from all the station would be recorded in a single file under Battle Space Alpha with a time stamp. Jakob glanced up at the main display and the designation now showed up as BSA. It pleased him that his team was on their toes. A flash message appeared on his screen in red letters. It read Exotic Matter Detected.
“Sensors, put your readings on the main display as a visualization,” Jakob ordered.
Jakob glanced up at the display and sure enough, the exotic matter was organizing itself into a rough ring structure. In the right corner were the dark-matter readings.
“Put up our dark-matter readings as a graph and superimpose the data from Rift.”
A graph was displayed in the upper right corner of the screen with their readings superimposed on the data from Rift. One axis was time. Jakob glanced over his shoulder at Tepuruan.
“Sir, we should have a wormhole in about a minute.”
“Very well,” Tepuruan said without taking his eyes off the main display.
Jakob’s stomach tightened with either excitement or fear. It was hard to tell the difference at this point. Jakob watched as the two lines approached a point that was labeled as the event horizon on the graph. The two lines intersected the event horizon, and suddenly there was a distinct ring of exotic matter. The wormhole was formed.
“Sir, we have a wormhole. Do you want to change the status yet?”
“Negative, let’s wait until we have a target to track.”
“Aye, sir.”
The Rift data was for vessels leaving the system, so they had no hard data on how long before Xotoli warships could be expected to emerge from the wormhole. The huge room was silent as every set of eyes stared at the big display. Then it started. One vessel, then another and another, emerged from the wormhole.
“Go right to condition Tracking. Skip Detected. Designate each ship according to when it emerges from the wormhole as BSA One, etc. I need a threat axis as soon as one can be calculated.”
“Aye, sir.”
Jakob relayed the new condition and target designations to the appropriate stations.
“Do you want to send a flash message to fleet headquarters?”
“No, not until we have a good ship count and threat axis.”
Jakob glanced up at the display. They were up to BSA Ten now with no sign of slowing. Ten Xotoli ships already. This time when his stomach tightened it was with fear. Ship identifications began to appear. There were six BSADs, meaning they had been identified as a destroyer-class ship. Three BSACs, meaning three cruiser-sized vessels, and one BSAB—that meant a battleship.
“That is a nice little task force they got going there,” Tepuruan said with a smile on his face. “This is going to get festive.”
Jakob glanced at the commander and said, “Festive, sir?”
Tepuruan just smiled. “I was a harbor master on Rift. My family barely escaped the Rift invasion and my son was born in a shelter during the battle. This is going to be payback for that. I know your history, so you’re not the only one who wants some payback.”
“Heads up! We now have troop carriers entering the system.”
Jakob glanced at the display. They had six destroyers, three cruisers, one battleship, and now there were four symbols with BSAT next to them. Then his sensor station reported, “Sir, the wormhole is closing. The exotic matter is deteriorating and the ring is falling apart.”
Jakob glanced at the display. The sensor station was reading it right. He could see the ring collapsing as the exotic matter disappeared.
“What the hell?” Jakob said out loud.
That wasn’t a big-enough task force to invade a system, yet they had troopships with them, not the huge, cube-shaped ship that had been used at Rift. What the hell were the Xotoli up to? He watched as the task force formed up with the destroyers in the lead, the cruisers in a tight ring around
the troopships, and the battleship bringing up the rear. Now that the task force had formed up, they were moving quickly. He punched their positions into his computer and it predicted the threat axis. It was directly for Vesta. Could they know about the fortifications?
“Sir, the threat axis is directly for us.”
“Put it on the display.”
When Jakob put the visualization on the screen it was a direct line to their command.
“Sir, do they know?”
“Unknown, but now we know what their intentions are. I’m declaring this a Threat Class Alpha event. Compose a message for Fleet Headquarters with the ship numbers and types and the current threat axis.”
“Aye, sir.”
A Threat Class Alpha event meant that the threat was potent and immediate. Everyone would drop anything not having to do with the threat and respond immediately. The CIC suddenly exploded with activity as men and women moved to make all preparations for battle.
“You know, Chief, with all of the embeds I would be surprised if they didn’t know about the asteroid belt being fortified. The construction has been going on since Rift—more than two years now. It’s hard to keep a secret in a harbor with hundreds of ships and materiel moving through it. They may know we’re here but not the full extent of our defenses,” Tepuruan said.
“Sir, this task force is not large enough for the invasion of Earth. What do you think they are doing? I mean, troopships and everything,” Jakob said.
“That is a good question. I hope to get a better idea of our friend’s intentions as soon as possible. I hope he does something to give me an indication but I can’t wait. I’m going to act on the worst-case scenario—that his job is to destroy this command. Which he will not do.”
“Aye, sir,” Jakob replied.
“Sir, the message has been sent.”
A series of secure laser-communications buoys had been established so this type of message could be encrypted and sent line of sight and not broadcast to the whole universe. Jakob did the math—about twenty minutes to Earth. He wondered what would be their reaction to that news.
“Load all weapons, but leave their targeting systems off until I give the word.”
“Aye, sir.”
Jakob got busy informing his various weapons-systems crews the orders and working the data as it came in, trying to understand their intentions. He was afraid the commander was right. It sure looked like they were headed for Vesta.
Chapter 6
Sol System
Earth
City-State of New York
Operations Center of the Secretary General
Monnetal sat there silently for some moments before he said, as the Marines stood around him waiting for his direction, “I want to meet this Netis woman. A lot of your analysis is based on her information, and I need to see her face-to-face.”
“Sir, she is a hybrid. We can’t trust her no matter how many tests she has passed,” Fohlm interjected.
Monnetal looked at Usiche and said, “Have you met with her, Admiral?”
“Yes, sir,” Usiche replied.
“Did you feel in danger?”
“No, sir.”
“And you, Kitmura?”
“Yes, sir. I have had several lengthy briefings with her, and no, I didn’t feel in danger.”
Monnetal turned to Usiche again. “What does our Anjin friend think?”
“Istas trusts her. She is rarely far away from her. She’s afraid Netis may be targeted by other embedded hybrids if word gets out that she is cooperating. She calls her the key to winning this war.”
Monnetal paused before he said, “I happen to agree with her. I will see her as soon as possible. Make it happen, Admiral. As you well know, we don’t have much time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Usiche stood and walked over to a corner so her voice would not disturb the others. “Have Istas bring Netis to the secretary general’s briefing room immediately.”
Here we go, Usiche thought. She agreed with Kitmura and Istas. Netis was the key to beating the Xotoli. She just wasn’t sure how yet. Monnetal busied himself with a dozen other problems he was facing using the secure video back to his office as they waited for Istas and Netis to arrive. Usiche had no idea how this was going to go. All she knew was that Netis held the keys to understanding the Xotoli in a way no one else did. She and Kitmura sat together while Fohlm paced around the room. Finally a Marine stuck his head in the door and said, “Mr. Secretary, they are here.”
Monnetal snapped off his video and spun his chair around to face the door.
“Bring them in,” he said.
“Yes, sir.”
The Marine closed the door then reopened it as Istas led Netis into the room, flanked by the two Marine guards who had been assigned to them as personal bodyguards.
Monnetal stood, extended his hand to Istas, and said, “Nice to see you again, my dear.”
“Thank you, sir, it is always a pleasure,” Istas said.
Then Monnetal turned to Netis. Usiche could see him examine the young woman closely. She was taller than Istas, with athletic good looks and champagne-blonde hair. She looked like many of the young Marines and naval officers.
Istas stood to her right. She had let her hair go back to the original grey. Combed up, it emphasized her huge brown eyes. She wore almost a dozen rings in each ear. Unless you knew Anjin ways, you would not know that each ring stood for a kill on a mission. Usiche had seen a change in her over the last days and weeks. She was no longer disguising herself. She wore a skintight single-piece jumper that showed off her slim, muscular figure. Usiche’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of her. She had not been home in a week and missed her terribly.
“Mr. Secretary, may I introduce you to Lieutenant Mai Netis,” Istas said.
The secretary general held his hand out to Netis.
“Mr. Secretary, you can’t—”
Monnetal’s head snapped to look at Fohlm, and he said, “If you can’t keep your mouth shut, Fohlm, I’m going to have the Marines escort you out of the room.”
Monnetal turned back to Netis and said, “It is nice to meet you. I understand you have been very helpful to Admiral Raurk and Admiral Kitmura.”
Netis looked down at the offered hand, then over at Istas, who nodded. Then she slowly took it.
“It is my honor, sir,” Netis said, clearly flustered by the meeting.
“Why don’t we sit down? I have many questions,” Monnetal said, offering Istas and Netis seats at the table. “First, can you help us identify other embedded hybrids?”
“No, sir. I cannot tell a hybrid from a human. Only when we have our target do we know who will be our partner—or when our blood is up just moments before we fight.”
“Now that we’ve announced that Von Fleet was cooperating with the Xotoli and that Senator Carroll’s wife was a hybrid and was killed when we tried to capture her, what will the embeds do?”
“We were trained for this type of event. Both of my targets were commanders in your military. The loss of either Admiral Raurk or General Sand would be a great blow to your military’s ability to fight. So if we lost our contacts, we were trained to go for the highest-ranking person that we could get close to and kill them.”
“So we should expect attacks on civilian officials?”
“Yes, and given that you think that the Xotoli will be invading Earth, watch for attacks not only on civilian officials and military officers but also command-and-control infrastructure. We were trained to try and cut off the head of the dragon.”
Monnetal exchanged glances with Usiche. “Beef up our security on both principals and command-and-control targets.”
“Yes, sir.”
Monnetal turned back to Netis and said, “What can you tell me about this Xotoli leader? What’s his name?”
“His name is Askars. He is the leader of this generation of warriors. He had big plans to become a legend in his own time,” Netis replied. “My human paren
ts raised me until I was seven. I was then sent to Xotoli parents so they could teach me their ways. I was sent to Askars’s house. I spent years close to him growing up.”
“What is he like, this Askars?”
“He is one of their best warriors physically. He fought in many battles with his generation. Most of the fighting was on raids or to put down rebellions on Xotoli-controlled planets. He distinguished himself in these battles. Then he began to move up the ranks politically. He is very ambitious. Once he became the head of his generation of warriors, he was able to convince the Council of Elders that the humans were the best enemy for his generation. The more powerful your enemy, the greater the victory. The human race rivals the Xotoli in power and sophistication, so he wants to conquer you. If he does, he will go down in history as the greatest of warriors and become the Supreme Elder.”
“Why use hybrids if being a great warrior is so important to them?”
“Xotoli also respect and admire guile in war. Humans and Xotoli are close physically in many ways. We breathe similar mixes of gases. We can eat similar foods, etc. He thought, ‘Why should we lose our best warriors fighting an enemy who can be bred to become fighters for the Xotoli’? This was one of the ideas that made him such a powerful leader in his generation. The Elders thought it was a very clever idea and told him to move forward. That is when they began to kidnap children. They studied the children they captured to understand humans better and experimented on them so they could produce hybrids like me.”
It was difficult to think of this young woman as a hybrid as she sat there quietly explaining her experiences.
“Admiral Raurk tells me that this is a religious war to them. Is that true?”
“Yes, sir. They believe that Engal Nanyokie, their god, has given them all of the resources in the universe. Therefore if others are using those resources they are defiling what is rightfully theirs and they must be destroyed.”
Monnetal sat back in his chair and thought for a moment then said, “Can you help us plan for this war? How do we stop this invasion?”
“You kill Askars,” Netis said simply.
Admiral Raurk, Kitmura, Istas, and Monnetal all exchanged glances. She had said it so simply, as if it were obvious.