Countdown

by John Walker

  “Of course.” Gabby cleared her throat. “Um… one more thing. The twins are requesting landing clearance.”

  I can’t believe they survived. Rita wondered about those two. They seemed scary enough. I wonder where they were hiding… and what vehicle they found to fly out of there.

  Rita shook her head. “They’re the ones that attempted the coup. Deny them clearance and get us out of here. Break orbit and head for deep space. I’ll give you coordinates shortly.”

  “They…” Gabby’s eyes widened. “Why?”

  “Loch had a falling out with them. He wanted to throw in with the Gold Empire against these aliens invading the border. They felt that was the wrong decision.” Rita shrugged. “What can you do? I barely kept him alive. He has allies down there though so we’re perfectly fine. However, we are in a hurry…”

  “Of course.” Gabby turned to the guards. “Get back to your posts.” She tapped her ear. “Bridge? This is Gabby. Deny access to the twins. If they get too close, open fire.” She waved at Rita to follow her. “I’ll show you to the bridge if you’d like. We can get underway.”

  “Give me just a moment and I’ll meet you up there.” Rita pointed at one of the guards. “Before you rush off, have those quarters prepared. We’ve got a bit of a flight ahead of us so it’s best we get everything ready right now. Thanks, everyone. Let’s make this happen.”

  “Ma’am…” Gabby stepped close again. “It dawns on me… are we going into combat?”

  “Yes, are the repairs done?”

  “We’re good to go there, but… I’ve never been in a real fight. Not a massive battle at least. Are we… well… are we equipped for such a thing? Can we really contribute?”

  Rita smiled, patting her on the shoulder. “I have every confidence that this ship will perform just fine out there. Don’t worry about it, Gabby. Better get to the bridge though. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “Of course, ma’am.” Gabby hurried off as did the guards.

  “There you go,” Rita turned to Zem, “easy enough… right?”

  “You’re lucky they’re idiots.” Zem rolled his eyes.

  “Not idiots. Just inexperienced. Loch’s ego probably wouldn’t let him hire people that were too competent.”

  “Explains you,” Zem quipped.

  “Thanks a lot.” Rita stepped up the ramp of the ship, calling out, “we’re good, folks! You can come out now.”

  Might as well be comfortable through this next part of the trip. Probably be the last time any of us can relax again for a long ass time.

  Chapter 10

  Harcourt had no idea how he became the custodian of Trenik. He’d been of the impression that the ervas would’ve been under the care of some military official, a contingency of guards or something to that effect. After they returned from their mostly unauthorized mission, everyone seemed to consider them a unit.

  I like the guy well enough… but I’m constantly worried. Aboard the Morrigan, they assigned them to communal quarters where they each had a bed and a private restroom. Harcourt found it odd. He had the keys to the door though two guards stood sentinel just outside. Trenik wasn’t allowed out alone of course.

  I’m surprised he’s still willing to help us. At least we’ve shown enough trust not to leave him in a cell. A room like this is vastly superior to the brig. Harcourt reclined on the bed while waiting for his companion to finish cleaning up. They spent the last nine hours in transit and finally arrived at the rendezvous with the Gold Empire fleet.

  They were being given unbridled access to the strange ervas equipment that attached itself to the battleship, a thing that pulled the vessel out of hyperspace. Trenik claimed to have no idea what it was but committed to helping research it. Fortunately for them, they had a real technical officer rather than a rank and file soldier.

  Which meant he’d actually have something useful to offer.

  A knock on the door drew Harcourt’s attention. He sighed before heading over. I wish Lyson was here. I’m tired of talking to all these dignitaries. They’re way too intense for me. He opened up, taking a step back for Captain Markel to enter.

  “Hello, sir,” Harcourt said. “I… didn’t expect you. We were coming to the hangar shortly.”

  “That’s okay,” Noah said. “I thought I’d walk with you. How was your trip? I hope you were comfortable enough.”

  “Sure. Not bad.”

  “Good. I’m sure those scans weren’t of much use? Dorian told me they were pretty basic.”

  “Yeah, we looked at them, but they were kind of pointless.” Harcourt shrugged. “We need to get in there personally to look at it. I can say this, they’re unlike anything I’ve seen before and this has been my life’s work for the last several years. We have nothing in the database that even resembles what they described.”

  “True mystery.” Noah frowned. “What’s our friend have to say about it?”

  “Same thing.” Harcourt looked at the bathroom door. “He was surprised by it. One thing I’ve learned about the ervas though… they’re pretty tight lipped to everyone, even officers. I don’t know… are you aware of all the equipment in your arsenal?”

  “Top secret stuff remains that way unless you happen to be the one testing it,” Noah replied. “But field equipment usually makes the rounds. Best to let commanders know, especially if they can come up with some creative way to use the stuff, you know?”

  “That makes some sense.”

  Trenik came out, pausing when he saw the captain. “Hello, sir.” He inclined his head. “My apologies for taking so long. I was…fatigued. As you can imagine, the last several days have been trying.”

  “Understood.” Noah gestured with his head. “Shall we head out? My first officer will be going with you. She’ll report back to me what you find.” They started down the hall together. The guards fell in behind. “I want to remind you also that we don’t have a lot of time. So please work quickly. We’ll be leaving soon.”

  “Do you have a time frame?” Harcourt asked.

  “Not at this exact moment. But it’ll be soon. We’ve received word of multiple attacks, so we have to take action quick. Especially if we want to end this with the least amount of bloodshed.”

  “I would appreciate that,” Trenik said. “Our people should not suffer for the actions of a few.”

  “No culture should,” Noah agreed. “Anyway, what you’re about to find out could help us out in more ways than one. Do everything you can to identify it, find a way around it, then report back ASAP. We might have to use it in combat.”

  “I know what you are saying,” Trenik replied. “This equipment sounds extremely dangerous… as in it would normally tear a vessel apart. What if you emerged too close to an object? Passing by it in hyperspace may not matter but appearing beside some large object may well obliterate the craft. No, this is not an ethical tool.”

  I’m glad he feels that way, Harcourt thought. It helps his case when trying to prove he’s on our side.

  “That’s how I felt about it,” Noah said. “Though I didn’t know the implications of what it could potentially do beyond the basic understanding.” They arrived at the hangar. Nina Larson stood nearby. Harcourt only just met her when they came aboard earlier. “Nina will escort you the rest of the way. Thank you, guys. I look forward to hearing from you.”

  The captain departed. Nina motioned. “Shall we, gentlemen?” They approached a shuttle. People milled about, working on different fighters and performing other maintenance tasks. The place felt insanely busy though it proved far quieter than Harcourt imagined such an area might.

  “You have just ascended to this rank,” Trenik said, “is that correct, ma’am?”

  “Yes.” Nina nodded.

  “Due to injury?”

  “Our former first officer had to go home,” Nina replied. “Why?”

  “I have also found myself in that position before.” Trenik sighed. “I do not envy you this responsibility given all that
is happening right now.”

  “Uh… I appreciate it.” Nina picked up the pace, moving ahead of them. Harcourt could tell she wasn’t all that comfortable with Trenik. Likely, she saw him as the enemy. She’d only just been elevated from a field pilot. Old habits, and frankly prejudices, didn’t die easily. And she’d lost friends to his people.

  Those feelings are going to be our biggest obstacle when we finish this.

  Both sides had grievances. The ervas didn’t like how humanity used ether, but there was probably some military posturing as well. Their soldiers wanted to prove themselves, to win against a foe they didn’t necessarily understand.

  The human governments wanted to survive and thrive. They had their own problems. Multiple factions vying for power, a conglomerate capitalist group exploiting their differences, and two ideologies that had to find a way to meet halfway. Harcourt didn’t envy the politicians. All that could wait.

  The first step involved winning the battle.

  Nina handed Trenik a tablet as they boarded the shuttle. “Here are the technical readouts we were able to pull from the device so far. These are deep system scans, showing many of the inner workings. Between the two of you, we’re hoping you’ll have an explanation. Or at least the means to counter it.”

  Trenik frowned as he looked over the information. “I am certain a jamming signal will do what you ask. Look at this, Harcourt. This appears to be similar to the research your Whitaker person had been doing to counter us.” They exchanged a look. “You do not think our people stole some of that, do you?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past anyone to get data.” Harcourt shrugged. “We’ll know more when we see it in person I’m sure.”

  Nina added, “Did the captain tell you we’re on a time crunch?”

  “Yeah, what is it?” Harcourt asked. “What’s happening?”

  “When the Confed fleet arrives, we have to move out. So this is more of a distraction than any real information gathering, I’m afraid.” Nina turned to look out the window as they took off.

  “You have wasted a resource,” Trenik said. He handed the tablet to Harcourt. “I should have been involved in more of your conversations. Instead, I have been sidelined. You have the best resource for fighting my people in me. And you are giving me an assignment that does not matter?”

  “So make it matter,” Nina replied. “Prove us wrong and show us that this device thing is of value.” She shrugged. “Or don’t. We have the location of the enemy. We can take it from here with or without your help.”

  Trenik grunted but didn’t reply.

  “You must understand,” Harcourt jumped in, “he can help when we arrive. There’s no reason to destroy the planet. I hope you realize that.”

  “That’s on the Captain,” Nina said. “I’m here to do my job.”

  “Just a soldier,” Trenik sneered. “One that will not be taking responsibility for her part in all this. Is that it?”

  “Listen.” Nina leaned forward. “As far as I’m concerned, your people started this fight. They could’ve tried diplomacy. Told us how better to use ether. But no. They had to attack. Kill innocent people. Start a war. So forgive me if I have little sympathy for the plight of the ervas. They brought this on themselves.”

  She’s got a point.

  Harcourt didn’t say it, but he had to agree. He also understood why Trenik struggled with the situation. The man had friends, probably family back there. They had no idea humanity was on their way either. So getting them to safety wasn’t going to be a priority.

  They didn’t talk again until they docked. Nina escorted them down to a laboratory just off the main hangar. The device took up more than half the room, about half the size of a fighter. It was square with three legs per side, each terminating in sharp points. Panels had been removed but as far as Harcourt could tell, the internals remained intact.

  “This doesn’t look like anything I’ve researched before,” Harcourt said. “It’s definitely a new design. Trenik?”

  “I agree.” Trenik scanned it, peering at the screen for several moments. “This is basically a high-powered transmitter. This…” He pointed at a section in the center, “houses an ether core. That helps power it.” Moving to the other side, he crouched by one of the edges. “These legs are not merely attachments.”

  Harcourt joined him, checking the scan. “They’re an interface.”

  Trenik nodded. “You’ve seen this before in our reflective armor, yes?”

  “Yeah.” Harcourt turned to Nina. “What he’s referring to is a technology in some of their ships. They have armor which, through contact with the hull, can interface with different terminals throughout their vessel. This allows them to reinforce the shields in specific places. Think of it as… configurable emitters. For lack of a better explanation.”

  “I see.” Nina clasped her hands behind her back. “So what was this interfacing with?”

  “The hyperdrive,” Trenik replied. “It receives a signal, sends a message to the drive, shuts it down. Contrary to our initial assessment, it’s a surprisingly safe process because it uses the drive itself to make it happen.” He paused as something popped up on his scanner. “Oh my. Look at this.”

  Harcourt leaned close. There appeared to be some kind of computer onboard with a reasonably sized memory. It buffered the signal sent to it along with an ID signature. “Why would they allow that to happen?” He asked. “What would be the point?”

  “Likely to ensure that the signal it received was authentic,” Trenik replied, “rather than an accident from your own vessel. More to the point, however, this has a designator. I can track this back to the source. Whatever ship or station sent the signal, I can find it. I am not sure what good it would do… but it is an option.”

  “Do it,” Nina said. “I’d love to know.”

  “Are you thinking it might be their homeworld?” Harcourt asked. “Or something else?”

  “It’s all academic anyway,” Nina replied. “But interesting information nonetheless.” She backed away. “This ship is coming with us to the conflict. I’m authorized to leave you here if you want to work on this together. I just have to let the commander of the vessel know. Is that your preference?”

  Harcourt nodded then turned to Trenik. “Right?”

  “Correct. This is a better use of our time than being locked up in a room on your ship.”

  “Just be prepared to talk when we get there,” Nina headed for the door, “to save the people that aren’t fighting.”

  “She is a hard woman,” Trenik said. “I am not entirely sure why she’s so angry. War means death. It’s hardly worthwhile to be so upset.”

  “Humans get bent out of shape when their friends die,” Harcourt replied. “Anyway, let’s focus. This thing might have some more clues. We’d better introduce ourselves around here if we want to get any help with tracing that signal though. And to receive any help with tools that we might need.”

  “Yes. We better hurry too. Once the fighting starts, no one will want to listen to our findings.”

  “Excellent point.” Harcourt turned to one of the guards. “Can you get us the chief engineer? We’d like to introduce ourselves.” He turned back to the device. Now… where do we start? I guess with the computer. Should be similar to the ones we’ve seen before. I might as well dive in.

  ***

  Noah arrived on the bridge as the Confed fleet emerged from hyperspace. They’d rendezvous in less than two hours. Dorian let everyone know they were already plotting the best course to get to their destination. In just two and a half hours, they’d be on their way to what promised to be a final battle with the ervas.

  Several things weighed on his mind as he stared at the viewscreen. He wanted to know if Zem found Rita. No one had heard from Borden’s ship since it left Gallik so they remained a loose end. Then there was the bit about the war dog… Mac… and the relationship they shared though only one of them likely knew it.

  I can’t risk his eff
iciency by bringing it up.

  Noah thought to go down to talk to Mac about the memories while they had downtime. He worried it might bring about a true psychotic episode, not like the one where he took over the ship but something more akin to Caesar, the one that kept people as slaves.

  There will be time later.

  But Noah didn’t believe that. Even if they succeeded in the assault, even if they swept the planet and won the battle, he doubted he and Mac would have another chance to chat meaningfully. This fight would be the last time war dogs were used in battle. The fact so many had been brought out of storage worried him.

  They can’t possibly control all of them.

  Noah wasn’t entirely sure what they were going to do with them all. He only knew that one of the battleship captains had them all ready to deploy. Each vessel had one as well in the same capacity as Mac… to provide tactical analysis and assistance against the ervas.

  All the information they compiled on the aliens had been made available. Shortly after engaging their systems, they’d be fed the data to keep them focused and on task. Rather than allowing them to consider the possibility of violence or some other form of revolt, they needed to have a reason to be on.

  A chance to inflict violence upon an enemy.

  Captain Gaston Ledieu commanded the ship with the war dog contingency. Noah sent him a private text message asking if he had any special orders with the devices. The response came back immediately.

  Which likely meant dropped on the planet’s surface.

  Fully expendable soldiers that could go crazy there and it wouldn’t matter. Noah shook his head. If everyone knew they were former officers, our own… would they be so quick to do this to them? He figured they would. The desire to win the conflict outweighed any sort of moral standard about what most people thought of as equipment.

  Noah wrote back: