Battlespace (The Stars Aflame Book 1) Page 5

  “Why not? We don’t know anything about it, we don’t know what they want, but we know they have a penchant for the elimination of sentient life. Right now, that’s humanity, but for all we know, it’s nothing personal. We’re just the next ones on the firing line.” He looked up at her, and said, “There are deeper caverns, ones that I wasn’t able to get to. At least, not yet. We were bringing new equipment in to excavate, but I’m sure that a creative group of people such as yourselves would be more than up to the task of improvising something even better.”

  “Perhaps,” Novak said.

  “He might be right, ma’am,” Patel replied. “I’ve heard stranger theories, and we’ve got to exploit any potential source of information we can find.”

  “I just don’t like the idea of sitting around down here, not under any circumstances,” she replied.

  “I don’t like it myself, but…,” Patel was interrupted by an alert siren, and Novak’s heart seemed to stop as he turned to a console, quickly calling up the sensor data. “I’ve got a target, distance forty thousand miles, closing.”

  “What is it, an escape pod?” Novak asked. “One of ours?”

  “Yes to both questions, Lieutenant. We’ve sent them the distress pulse, and it looks as though they’re taking the bait. Do you want me to try and open communications with them?”

  “No!” Belinsky replied. “If we do that, the alien ship is bound to find us. It could wipe this asteroid out of space with a single shot.” Turning to Novak, he said, “It doesn’t matter about us, Lieutenant, but this might be the last resting place of a lost sentient race, the last evidence of their existence. We have a responsibility to them, to keep their memory alive.”

  “It wouldn’t help anyway, ma’am,” Patel said. “They know what they need to know.” He looked at another console, then added, “My God.”

  “What?”

  “The alien ship is powering up. Heat signatures from its weapon systems, and it’s moving towards the pod. It must have seen them.” Novak moved to the sensor screen, watching with grim fascination as the gargantuan starship slid through space, gliding into attack range of the helpless escape pod. She willed the pilot of the pod to run, hide in the asteroids, find some way to get out of range, but was helpless to intervene. All she could do was watch as the alien ship drew closer, second after second, until finally, the inevitable happened.

  “Energy spike,” Patel said, his voice dull. “Laser pulse. Power readings off the chart.” He looked down at the deck, and added, “Direct hit. No survivors.”

  “Status of the enemy ship?”

  “Heading our way.”

  “No!” Belinsky protested, as Novak walked over to the cockpit, throwing controls.

  “I’m shutting down all power systems. We wait.”

  Nodding, Patel reached for the sensor controls, deactivating even the passive sensors. The lights faded out, the whine of the lifesystem fading away, and the three of them waited in the darkness for what seemed an endless eternity, not knowing whether they would be blotted out by the alien ship at any moment. Finally, Patel looked at his watch, the illuminated display casting a strange light in the room.

  “What do you think?” Novak asked.

  “Should be well clear by now. Shall I check?”

  “Minimum power on the sensors,” she replied, and Patel turned back to his controls, bringing the passive sensor away back up. They waited for an agonizing minute as the system booted, data streaming in once again, and Novak sighed with relief as she saw the alien ship back in its original place, keeping station on the far side of the planet.

  “Just sitting there,” Patel said. “I wonder why?”

  “We’ll worry about that later. The first thing we need to do is conduct a sweep of the interior of the asteroid.” Belinsky smiled, and added, “The last equipment they shipped in was some deep probes. We get them dug in, and…”

  “Professor, more of our people have just died,” Patel said. “Show some damned respect.”

  “If I’m right, Chief, that thing out there has wiped out at least one race already. If you don’t want humanity to join them, then we’ve got work to do, and we don’t have time for sentiment.”

  Novak nodded, and said, “He’s right, Chief. If there’s an answer here, we’ve got to find it, while we still have time to make use of it. I don’t want some archaeologist poking through Ceres in a million years, wondering what happened to humanity.” Turning to Belinsky, she added, “We’re all yours, Professor. Where do you want us?”

  Chapter 5

  The hatch swung open, and a tall, impeccably-dressed woman stepped onto the deck, wrinkling her nose at the smell, a grey-haired man in perfectly-arranged dress uniform following. He looked around, then turned back to the pilot, before Scott stepped forward.

  “He was following orders. My orders. Docking Bay One was needed for other purposes, so I had you routed down to Twelve. Sorry about the smell, but we’re still de-clogging the waste pipes. I’m assured that it should be cleaned out of the air before we depart. I can probably find you some nose plugs if it is a problem.” With a smile, he added, “Captain Michael Scott, commanding Leonidas.”

  “Ambassador Irene Bouchard,” she replied. “And my military aide, Lieutenant Ivanov.”

  “A pleasure to have you both on board,” he lied. “We should be getting under way shortly.”

  “I presume you have the guest quarters prepared,” Ivanov said.

  Cracking a smile, Scott replied, “What guest quarters? This is a warship, Lieutenant, not a cruise liner. You’re lucky we’re running light on crewmen at the moment. I’ve freed up a couple of officers’ quarters for you. Both of them have probably been cleaned…”

  “Probably?” Ivanov asked.

  “Lieutenant, I don’t know what sort of protocol they employ in whatever bureaucratic warren you’ve hidden in, but on this ship you will address senior officers with the respect accorded to their rank, or I might just be tempted to recommend that your services are employed helping the Waste Reclamation teams. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” he said, sullenly.

  “I hope so, Lieutenant. I damned well hope so.” Looking past them, he saw a dozen cases in the shuttle, and asked, “How much baggage did they let you take with you?”

  “Is that going to be a problem?” Bouchard asked.

  “No, but I can’t spare anyone to help you up with it. Your military aide is going to have some fun in the next half hour or so. I suggest that you get your bags up to your quarters, Lieutenant. You’re both up on Deck Three. The room listing will be posted in the database by now. The Ambassador and I have important matters to discuss.”

  “Captain, as military aide…”

  “Your responsibility, Lieutenant, is to follow both my orders and those of Captain Scott,” Bouchard replied. “I’m quite confident that I will be able to comprehend his briefing without your expert help. Be a dear and get the equipment up to my quarters? Then perhaps you can find something else to do, especially if the Captain is as short-handed as he said.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Ivanov said, turning back to the shuttle as Scott walked for the nearest elevator, Bouchard behind them. Scott barely managed to suppress his laughter, failing altogether as the doors slammed shut.

  “I’m going to have to revise my opinion of you, aren’t I,” he replied.

  Raising an eyebrow, she replied, “That depends just how bad it was. Frankly, I wish I could have found a way to leave him behind, but Pavel is maddeningly punctual. I shouldn’t complain. He’s actually a rather efficient assistant, even if he does perhaps have a slightly exaggerated belief in his importance.”

  Reaching for the controls, Scott said, “Will my quarters do? The briefing room is a little large for a two-person meeting.”

  “Well now, Captain, I suppose my reputation can stand it if yours can.”

  Scott laughed, freer this time, and said, “Around here, with this crew, I don’t think I
have much of a reputation to lose.” He looked at Bouchard, continuing, “They didn’t tell me who they were sending, so you’ve got me at a complete disadvantage.”

  “You want my resume?” she replied, eyes twinkling. “Why not. I’ve been working in the Ministry of State since graduation. Degree in political science, of course, though I got part way through a course in astrophysics before work got too busy. I was a candidate for the Senate last time out, and I think this is someone’s idea of a consolation prize. Though I was on the committee that updated the First Contact protocols, twenty years back.”

  “I’m sorry you lost,” he said.

  “Me too, but that’s water under the bridge right now. I’m rather more familiar with your record, especially your television appearances. Getting you for this mission was a surprisingly astute move, even just as a public relations stunt.”

  Frowning, he replied, “Then you don’t think…”

  “I don’t know. Nobody’s ever dealt with anything like this before. I haven’t got the first idea how you’ll react in a completely unprecedented situation, though I’m glad the Navy had the sense to at least find a combat-trained commander to send on this mission.” The elevator slid to a stop, and she added, “She looks powerful.”

  “She’s a tough ship. There are bigger ones in the fleet, of course, but she’s a compromise between speed, armor and armament that’s hard to beat. I’d rather be on this ship than a battleship. Did Admiral Singh have a chance to brief you about our mission?”

  “Exhaustively, as well as the terms you demanded in exchange for your appointment.”

  Nodding, Scott led the way down the corridor, and said, “Then you understand the limits of your authority. As long as you accept that the mission is my responsibility and that we do things my way, we’re going to get along just fine.” He stopped at the first door, tapped a control, and stepped inside, grimacing as he realized that he hadn’t had a chance to unpack, his lone holdall left in the middle of the room.

  “I see you prefer a minimalist approach,” she said, following him inside.

  Sitting on the nearest chair, he replied, “Spacers always travel light. You never know when you’re going to have to pack everything off and head out to the next assignment. For that matter, you don’t know when everything you own might be wiped off the map. Space is dangerous enough without people out there actively trying to kill you. I learned that the hard way, more than once.”

  “Most of the luggage was sent for analysis. I couldn’t quite get anyone to understand that this wasn’t a research expedition, and given everything else I had to deal with before I left, it was just easier to take it along for the ride. I hope you can find somewhere to put it.”

  “There’s probably a spare room on the lower decks that I can outfit as a laboratory, but I don’t have anyone qualified to run it, unless one of my officers won the Nobel Prize and didn’t bother mentioning it.” Gesturing for her to take a seat, he opened a cupboard, smiling as he pulled out a dusty bottle and a pair of tumblers. “Still here after all these years. Amazing.”

  “Vodka? Is that permitted?”

  “You think I’d set foot on this ship sober?” He replied with a smile. “Something of a service tradition to toast a ship on its first mission.” Pouring two glasses, he said, “You haven’t yet answered my question.”

  “And what question would that be?”

  “Whether we’re going to get along.”

  “I’m an experienced negotiator, Captain. Evading questions is something of a habit.” She reached for her drink, and said, “I have some idea what we’re up against. I’ve seen the same reports that you have, and I suspect we’ve both come to the same conclusions. That humanity faces the greatest threat to its existence for centuries, and that we’re going to struggle to meet that with anything like our full strength in time.” Taking a sip, she added, “This isn’t bad.”

  “Don’t look so shocked. I’ve actually got reasonable taste in liquor.” Taking a sip of his own, he replied, “Then you understand my position.”

  “I think that there is still a chance that this can be resolved without a fight. Not necessarily a good one, I admit, but I can think of a thousand ways that we could have blundered into a war without realizing it. Chi Draconis is, was, a relatively new outpost. It’s always possible that we’ve intruded on somebody else’s territory. Hell, there are enough rogue operators out in the dark that some idiot might have fired first, got us tangled up into a war we don’t want.”

  “I’ll concede your points.”

  “All I’m saying is that we give peace a chance, one chance, before we commit to war. That we at least try and open communications with them.” Looking around the room, she continued, “This is a tough ship, and it certainly has an impressive service record, but do you think that we can beat off a threat of this magnitude?”

  “The Navy will die trying, Ambassador. Though I think we’d all rather live through this.” He paused, then said, “My mission, as I understand it, is threefold. To gather intelligence and information, which certainly doesn’t conflict with your instructions, to buy time for the battle fleet to be brought back to full strength, and if possible, to bring this conflict to an end. Admiral Singh didn’t actually say it, but I have a feeling she expects me to pull a rabbit out of a hat.”

  “As you did in the Three Weeks War.”

  “Now that was entirely different,” he replied, frowning. “That was just a group of hot-headed radicals with more money than sense who were able to strap some weapons onto a bunch of obsolete transports.”

  “Ten of them, specifically, not to mention their rather impressive orbital defences. Which you dealt with using just three ships of this class. You had everything cleared up before the reinforcement formation could even arrive.” She smirked, and said, “Something that probably didn’t endear you to the Admiral who had hoped to make his reputation out there.”

  “I had a job to do, and I did it. Any other competent commander would have done the same.”

  “I’m far less certain of that than you are, but have it your way.” She paused, then said, “I take it that you’re going to give me that chance?”

  “If I can,” he replied. “I’m not going to promise anything.” Taking another sip, he continued, “If I get a chance to take a kill-shot as soon as we arrive at Ross 248, I’m going to take it. I won’t have any other choice. And I’m not going to put this ship and its crew at hazard. I think we both know that the odds of your peace talks working are marginal at best.”

  “Of course, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make the attempt.” She looked into his eyes, smiled again, and said, “You’re lucky they sent me along for the ride. There are a lot of people who, in my position, would be making all sorts of demands right now.”

  “That wouldn’t be a problem. I already made sure that the brig was operational.” They both laughed again, and he said, “I’m actually sorry I diverted you away from Docking One now.”

  “I’m not. The look on Ivanov’s face was more than worth it. Incidentally, if you can make use of him, then feel free to borrow him.”

  Raising his hands, Scott replied, “Hey, you’re not getting off the hook that easily. He’s your problem, not mine.”

  She sighed, then said, “He is efficient, as I said. A little too in love with both himself and the rulebook for my liking. He was planning on resigning soon, transferring to the Ministry full-time, but given the current crisis, he might have changed his mind.”

  “He does look a little old to be a Lieutenant.”

  “Promotions are scarce in peacetime. Though I know he had hoped to be assigned to a combat ship. I guess he just didn’t have the star-hours logged.” Finishing her drink, she said, “Much as I’d love to have another, I think I’d better wait until the victory party.”

  “Yeah, I think I agree with you on that one.” Scott’s communicator chirped, and he tapped a control, saying, “Captain here.”

  “
Rochford, sir, on the bridge. I’ve sorted out that personnel matter you wanted me to work on, and Ensign Chen will be reporting on board with the final batch of crewmen in about half an hour. He seemed pretty pleased, actually. We’ll be getting the last supplies at the same time, and Lieutenant Santoro confirms that we’ll be ready to go when they’re aboard.”

  “Good work, Clyde. You might as well go ahead and get a course set for Ross 248. We’ll be breaking orbit at the first opportunity. No sense hanging around any longer.” He paused, then said, “Not to be pessimistic, but pass the word to all hands to make sure that their insurance is up to date. I don’t want somebody’s family missing out because a crewman didn’t fill out the paperwork.”

  “I’ll pass the word, sir. I’ve already had them compile any last messages, as well. Fleet Headquarters is going to hold onto them. Just in case.”

  “Have you done yours?”

  “No point. The only person who’s going to miss me is the manager of my local bar, and I made arrangements to clear my tab with her if the worst happens.”

  “Whatever you say. I’ll be up presently, certainly before departure. Scott out.”

  “Has he always been like that?”

  “Never married, no kids, no family back home. He’s always been a loner. He’d tell you he prefers it that way, but I don’t buy it.”

  “And what about Captain Scott?”

  “I’ve come close a couple of times,” he replied with a smile. “You?”

  “Just like you, I guess. Married to my career. No regrets, though.”

  Looking at her, he said, “I hope not. You realize that the odds of us coming back are pretty poor. Our main goal is to buy time for the rest of the fleet to assemble, and if that means I have to order us to ram the enemy at full speed, I’ll do it.”

  “I volunteered for this assignment, Captain.”

  “Mike, when we’re alone.”

  She nodded, then said, “Irene, then. I knew the risks, going in. I also know that if we fail, humanity’s finished.” She looked at the image of Earth on the wall, the same holoimage that every spacer had, and said, “None of them know it yet. The news blackout was still holding when I left. I wouldn’t like to be around when it breaks.”