“Yes, sir.”
There was silence for a few seconds, as if Teron had gone. His voice returned. “If the war ends, there’ll be no one we can thank more than you. You’ll already know you won’t get the recognition you deserve.”
“It’s not recognition I was looking for, sir.”
“I know, Captain. I’ll see you for a full debriefing once you return.”
This time Teron didn’t say anything more.
“He’s gone,” said Chainer.
“Sir?” It was McGlashan. She spoke hesitantly, unable to read Duggan’s mood. “We should get away from here. The Ghasts will have definitely got a signal out. There’ll be dozens of their warships inbound.”
“You’re right, Commander. There’s no point in remaining. Lieutenant Breeze, get the fission engines going.”
“Yes, sir. A course for Pioneer.” Duggan detected the smallest suggestion of a question in the man’s words.
“How far away from the Helius Blackstar are we?”
“Just shy of thirteen days, sir.”
“That’s where we’re going.”
The crew exchanged glances, though none of them said anything about this disobeying of a direct order.
“Fission drives at one hundred percent and calculating our course. Thirty seconds.”
“Proceed when ready,” said Duggan. “Remember what you’ve seen here today. The price of peace is a harsh one to pay – on both sides.”
“Never again,” said Chainer.
The giddiness came, brushing up against the edges of nausea. Duggan felt his body tighten, before the sensation eased. The ESS Crimson flew away from the solar system in which the remains of the Ghast planet were left drifting. Some of the fragments were large enough to wreak devastating damage on the nearest planets and perhaps the sun itself. It hardly matters, thought Duggan. There’s nothing left to kill.
“Light-V attained,” said Breeze. “I have full control over our propulsion systems again.”
“Until next time,” said Chainer softly. “I’m not sure I trust this spaceship after what’s happened.”
“I agree with you,” said McGlashan. “If I get the chance, I’m going to see if I can do something to prevent it happening again.” She smiled. “I’m just not quite sure what.”
“We’ve been properly screwed, haven’t we?” said Chainer.
“Yes, Lieutenant. I’m sorry you had to be a part of it. That goes for each of you.”
“I’d have rather been here than somewhere else,” said McGlashan. “Not for the killing, just for being a catalyst.” She looked uncertain. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”
“What happens when we get to the Helius Blackstar?” asked Breeze.
“I don’t know, Lieutenant. We’ve been used as a tool, without our knowledge. I don’t like the dishonesty. Maybe I feel we deserve to be there when they make peace. It’s something we’re owed.”
“Won’t the arrival of the Crimson piss the Ghasts off? They might think we’re rubbing their faces in it.” said Chainer.
“If they respect strength as much as the Space Corps believe they do, the Ghasts will appreciate the Crimson, rather than hate it. Whatever the truth, I’m damned well going to be a witness to the proceedings.”
“They’ll kick you out for this, Captain,” said McGlashan.
“They might. Perhaps it’s my time. If the war ends, they won’t need people like me anymore. There’s still time for this one last adventure.” He grinned. “The bastards won’t grind me down.”
For once, the journey passed quickly, as if the speed of their travel somehow affected their perception of time itself. Duggan kept himself physically busy in the gym and tried not to brood over what had happened. Chainer estimated from his sensor records that there’d been over fifteen billion inhabitants on the Ghast world – the number was so big it felt unreal. Duggan tried to grasp it and picture the enormity of the Confederation’s actions and discovered how futile it was. One phrase returned to him again and again, when he slept and when he was engaged in his daily duties. It was us or them. He often asked himself if there was an alternative. In the end, he gave up thinking about it. He’d been given command of the mission because of one man’s hatred and spite. Duggan couldn’t allow that man to be victorious.
Mid-way through the twelfth day, the four of them were on the bridge, contemplating what was to come.
“What happens when we get there, sir?” asked Chainer. “I don’t think the Space Corps fleet will open their arms and welcome us.”
“They’ll have little choice,” said Duggan. “If the Ghasts get the impression something is wrong, they may try and capitalise on it.”
“By shooting us to pieces?”
“Probably nothing so overt, Lieutenant. If the Confederation doesn’t look united, it may affect the Ghasts’ attitude during the negotiations. They might become stubborn or hold out for an unreasonable settlement.”
“The fleet will pretend to welcome us with open arms,” said McGlashan. “It’s only afterwards we’ll be punished.”
“There’s only one person who’ll be punished,” promised Duggan. “And I won’t go down without a fight.”
“How will the talks happen, sir?” asked Breeze. “Will they meet face-to-face?”
“I doubt it,” said Duggan. “There’s no common language.”
“So how do we speak to each other? Did you say something about us having developed an interpreter?”
“Admiral Teron said we’d figured it out. He was a bit cagey about it.”
“Want me to dig around in the comms for anything new?” asked Chainer. “They’ve pinned a lot on the Crimson – it would make sense for them to have fitted the ship with all the important stuff.”
“Go on, have a look,” said Duggan. “I’m interested.”
Chainer went quiet as the others talked about the potential outcomes.
“I hope something good comes from what’s happened,” said McGlashan. “It would break my heart if we had to destroy more of their worlds.”
“Do I recall you saying it was a price worth paying?” asked Duggan.
“I can’t settle on what I think is right. That either means everything is right or nothing is. Ultimately, I don’t want to die and I don’t want humanity to be wiped out for a war no one understands. If the only alternative to our extinction is theirs, I’d pay the price.”
“I’ve got something, sir,” said Chainer.
“What have you found?”
“New language modules, tucked away amongst a selection of New Earth sub-dialects.”
“Hidden?” asked Duggan.
“I don’t believe so. Probably just shoved in there at the last minute. I’m running a couple of the language modules up onto the bulkhead screen.” The screen in question lit up with rows of characters and symbols. “This is the written version of the language – it looks just like what we saw on the Cadaveron and in the Shatterer battery.”
“It’s definitely the same,” said Duggan.
“There’s an audible version as well,” continued Chainer. There was a series of harsh, barked sounds from the bridge speakers. “I think that’s Ghast for hello.”
“Doesn’t sound very friendly,” said Breeze. “From the tone it sounds more like piss off than hello.”
“It probably needs some fine tuning,” said Duggan drily. “At least we’ll be able to understand any Ghast broadcasts that come our way.”
“We are going to kill you,” mimicked Chainer, trying his best to replicate the roughness of the Ghast speech.
“Give us all of your hi-stim,” said Breeze in a similarly rasping voice.
“Enough,” said Duggan without anger, waving them to silence. “Lieutenant Chainer, I want you to keep those language modules running constantly when we get there. If there’s anything important happening, I’d like to hear about it.”
“Aye, sir.”
“How long, Lieutenant Breeze?”
> “Just less than one hour, sir.”
“Bring us out of lightspeed a little way out. How far from the Blackstar is the planetary system where we found the Crimson?”
“Too far for gravity drive travel.”
“Take us to three hours away from the Blackstar, then. I don’t want anyone to become alarmed by our unexpected arrival. I’d like them to have plenty of warning we’re coming.”
“And for us to have plenty of time to see what’s ahead?” asked McGlashan.
“Exactly right, Commander.”
“I’ve made the adjustments,” said Breeze.
“Fine. Put your feet up while you can, ladies and gentlemen. I’m certain things will be interesting when we get there.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The first impressions were not interesting at all. “There’s nothing here, sir,” said Chainer. “The fars and super-fars are showing a total blank.”
“Can we see the wormhole from here?”
“We’re a long way out, but I should be able to get it up on the screen. Here it comes.”
“Doesn’t look like much,” said Breeze. “Like a black dot on a sheet of black paper.”
“The screens can only go so dark,” said Chainer. “They’re incapable of showing anything darker than zero light. If you watch, I can overlay some movement indicators to show where it is.”
Their destination became visible on the bulkhead screen – it was a circle of pure darkness. A swirl of red, computer-generated specks surrounded it, gradually spiralling inwards.
“How fast at the centre?” asked Duggan. It had been a while since he’d studied the physics of a wormhole.
“It’s not the speed, so much as the weight,” said McGlashan.
“And the overwhelming, crushing force of gravity,” said Chainer. “We’ve got nothing capable of surviving a trip through one. If we managed to overcome that obstacle, the next problem is to have enough power to escape the pull at the far end. We’d then need to figure out where the other end actually is. It’s conceivable a ship could emerge so far distant that even our comms would take weeks, months or years to reach home.”
“Yet the Dreamers got something through,” said Duggan. “One of their ships was intact.”
“The Crimson might stand a chance,” said Breeze, rubbing his chin in thought. “At least as far as the propulsion goes.”
“The gravity engines couldn’t pull us clear of that,” said McGlashan. “Not a hope.”
“No, but if we engaged the fission engines at the exact moment of arrival, I reckon she’d be able to get clear.”
“You’d need to know the precise amount of time you were in the wormhole,” said Chainer. “That would take an immense amount of processing power.”
“We’re carrying the most advanced core in the Confederation. I’m certain the Ghasts have nothing like it,” said Duggan. He saw their faces. “Don’t worry, we’re not planning a trip through the wormhole. It’s time humanity studied them in greater detail, I think. While the Space Corps has unlimited funding, it would be a good idea to learn a few things. The Dreamers came twice, which suggests they didn’t give up after the first attempt.”
“We don’t need any more crap going on,” said Chainer. “The Dreamers can stay exactly where they are, wherever that is.”
“I’m taking us straight towards the wormhole,” said Duggan. “I have no idea where the proposed negotiations are meant to take place. I’ll assume it’s close to the Blackstar, since that’s the place Admiral Teron mentioned. Lieutenant Chainer, continue with an in-depth scan of the area. In particular I’d like you to focus directly ahead to where we’re going.”
“If they’re on the other side of the wormhole, we won’t see anything until we circle around it. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you how these things do crazy tricks with the sensors.”
“That’s fine, Lieutenant. I simply need warning of whatever there is to be seen.”
“I’ll keep on it. At this distance, it takes longer to sweep the area.”
“Is there no comms chatter?” asked McGlashan.
“Again, we’re a bit far out, Commander. Military comms are tightly focused and hard to intercept if you’re not the intended target. I’m not surprised there’s nothing to be heard.”
Duggan frowned at the thought. “Our fission signature should have been easy enough to spot when we arrived. Why haven’t we been contacted?”
“There’s a chance it could have been missed,” said Breeze. “We’re quite a distance. On the other hand, I’d be having stern words with anyone on my team who didn’t notice a ship emerging from Light-V a mere ten million klicks away.”
“Try hailing the Devastator directly,” said Duggan. “Tell them we’ve come for the party.”
“There’s no response, sir. I’ve sent out a request on her direct channel and there’s no answer. I’ve also tried routing through the Juniper and I got the same thing.”
“Try the Hadron Lancer as well,” said Duggan, trying to remember if Teron had mentioned the names of any other vessels due to be in attendance.
“Nothing from the Lancer.”
“Are you sure the Devastator and Lancer are here, sir?” asked McGlashan. “Admiral Teron has told you a whole pack of lies up to now. They may have sent the Archimedes or the Maximilian. Hell, they might have sent a lone Gunner with Admiral Slender himself on the bridge.”
“The skill with telling lies is to keep them as simple as possible,” Duggan replied. “I’m convinced Teron stuck as close to the truth as he was able. I believed him when he said there was a delegation and I believe the Devastator and Lancer are with it.”
“Wherever they are, they’re not answering the telephone,” said Chainer. “That means the only place they could be is across the wormhole from our position.”
“I’m altering course to take us around the other side,” said Duggan. “Keep searching until I tell you otherwise. If there’s an object bigger than a speck of dust, I want to know about it.”
“I’ll have to pause for a moment, sir. I’ve got Admiral Teron here. He’s asking to speak to you.”
“Don’t keep him waiting,” said Duggan.
Teron spoke, his voice fluctuating in volume because of the distance. “Duggan, what the hell are you doing there?” He sounded angry and worried.
“Sir, I figured I should show my face at the negotiations. To let the Ghasts know we mean business.”
“Damnit man, it’s all gone to shit! Get out of there now and come back to Pioneer.” Teron didn’t usually swear. Duggan caught McGlashan’s eye – something serious was wrong.
“Sir, what’s happened?”
“That’s not for you to know. Leave that sector and return at once. That’s a direct order, Captain!”
Duggan took a deep breath. “Sir, please tell me what is wrong. We are armed and ready to assist with any conflict.”
“Whatever it is, you can’t deal with it. We’ve lost communication with our delegation fleet. Ten ships, incommunicado.”
“There’s nothing on our sensors. Have the Ghasts double-crossed us?”
Teron sighed. It wasn’t the sigh of a man who was frustrated – it was the sigh of a man who was neck-deep in quicksand and didn’t know how to get out of it before he was dragged under. Duggan was the man at the edge of the pool, offering a stick to pull him out. Teron took it with both hands. “If it’s the Ghasts, they’re putting on a good show of it. I’ve spoken to their overall fleet commander personally and he has told me they’ve lost track of their ships as well. They sent two Oblivions and eight Cadaverons that we’re aware of.”
“They were really beating their chest,” said Duggan. “Is there any trust remaining?”
“I can’t be certain. We are not on the best of terms, but I don’t think they’re desperate to have another one of their planets destroyed. They’re hoping our dealings are honest.”
“What happens next? Are we sending more spacecraft to thi
s sector?”
“Not a chance, Captain Duggan. We’re going to sit tight, rather than throw more of our dwindling fleet at an unknown threat.”
“What about the Ghasts?”
“They can do whatever they choose. They have more ships than we have, but they lost a number of them when the Crimson destroyed Lioxi. Plus whatever casualties they may or may not have suffered at the Helius Blackstar.”
A name to the place at last, thought Duggan. “We’re going to stick around for a look, sir. The Crimson’s faster than anything else in the fleet and with more weapons than anything this side of the Maximilian. I won’t let a chance at peace fail because we lack intel.”
“I won’t give you another direct order on the issue, Captain Duggan. I can see I’d be wasting my breath. Don’t lose the Crimson, whatever you do. If the Ghasts aren’t playing fair, it’s the only hope we have left.”
“No orders from you and no promises from me, except one, sir,” Duggan replied grimly. “I promise I’ll do my best, nothing more.”
“It had better be enough, Captain. Good luck.”
“He’s gone,” said Chainer.
Duggan blew out and realised he’d been holding so tightly onto the Crimson’s control bars his knuckles were white. “How did he know where we were?”
“The Juniper must have logged my comms request and told someone we were broadcasting from way off our expected location. I’ll have to remember they can do that next time I try routing through the Juniper or one of our monitoring stations.”
“It’s no problem, Lieutenant. I’m glad I got to speak to Admiral Teron.”
“Nothing is ever simple,” said McGlashan.
“Life on the Detriment was a lot more straightforward,” said Chainer. “Even if it felt like a peashooter in comparison to the Crimson.”
“Lieutenant Chainer, resume your efforts in scanning the area. I need to know about anything that shouldn’t be here. We may also be looking for debris.”
Bane of Worlds (Survival Wars Book 2) Page 18