Battlespace (The Stars Aflame Book 1) Page 8

  “Almost there,” Belinsky added, switching to the last panel. “Almost there.”

  “Hurry, Professor, hurry,” Novak urged, silently willing the sensor upload to work faster, the data to stream more rapidly into the suit computers. Finally, after what seemed like an endless wait, Belinsky tossed his hand sensor away, then turned to the shaft, and she bounded back towards the surface, grateful for the microgravity that allowed them almost to fly through the tunnels. On the way down, they’d taken care to analyze every wall, gather all the data they could, but now there was no time for anything other than flight, any remaining secrets destined to be lost forever, no possible chance remaining to find them.

  She reached for her thruster controls, keeping herself in the air for longer with precise bursts of gas, pulsed into the ground. Belinsky followed, slowly falling behind, and she waved him on, urging him to greater speed. They had eleven minutes to go before Patel’s countdown completed, and the shuttle was forced to depart. Eleven minutes to navigate the maze of the tunnels that had taken them more than an hour to descend.

  Her heads-up display flickered into life, guiding her along the passages, taking one turn or another through the tangled, twisted network of catacombs, periodically winking red as she began to take the incorrect path. Belinsky was catching up now, using his thrusters more generously, firing one pulse after another in a desperate bid to keep up.

  Nine minutes to go. And according to the navigation computer, they’d be a few seconds late, unless they could make up the time. She reached for her wrist control, tapping a button to override the proximity warning sensors. Now the thrusters would work more reliably, the suit no longer caring about the risk of slamming into the wall, sending her dangerously close to jagged outcrops of rock in a bid to shave a second at each corner. Her feet barely touched the ground now, her thrusters doing the work for her, and Belinsky was beginning to creep ahead.

  “Watch it, Professor,” she warned. “We don’t have unlimited fuel to play with.” Almost on cue, a warning light winked on, her thrusters half expended. Seven minutes remained, and at least now the computers were predicting that they had a chance of making it to their destination in time. Just a chance, but they had to take it. Belinsky was ignoring her advice, and after a brief pause, so did she. They had to risk running out of fuel. Caution was a luxury they couldn’t afford.

  The two of them slid down the long galleries as they approached the surface, the pictograms staring at them from the wall, tantalizing with the information stored within. They’d missed them during the descent, too much information to absorb, too little time to record it all. They looked a lot like the images she’d seen down in the vault, and could potentially be messages holding even more information, data that they’d now never have a chance to read. The last records of a dead race, lost forever. If Belinsky’s theory was correct, the alien ship now closing on them had destroyed the civilization that had once lived here, all but wiping it from the galaxy. Now it would complete that ancient task.

  “Lieutenant, where are you?” Patel asked, his voice crackling through her helmet speakers. “Enemy ship is still bearing down on us. I’ve been trying to contact that cruiser, but there’s some sort of interference. I can’t get through. If you can hear me, come in, please!”

  “We’re coming, Chief,” she replied. “We’re coming.”

  The two of them sped through the caverns, the chambers widening now, the suits doing the bulk of the work to hurl them towards their goal. First one turn, then another, more warning lights winking on as their suits started to run dry, less than a tenth of their starting fuel remaining.

  “Four minutes,” Belinsky said. “Can we do it?”

  “Do we have a choice?” she replied, as they turned the final corner. Now it was a long, straight run, and she could see stars at the far end of the tunnel, the surface beckoning them up ahead. Her thrusters finally died, and she had to revert to pushing herself with long leaps, her muscles stiff with the exertion required to work the clumsy suit. They bounded over rocks, leaving the final imprints that would ever be made in the ground, finally racing to the surface with less than a minute to go.

  The shuttle was waiting for them, outer airlock open, a suited figure waiting at the threshold, waving his hands towards them. It had to be Patel, pushing her orders to the limit. As the final seconds slipped away, the two of them sprinted clumsily towards the waiting hatch, Belinsky finding a trace of thruster fuel to make it first, crashing into Patel and sending the two of them tumbling into the airlock. Novak was a second slower, swinging nimbly inside and working the controls, closing the outer door and beginning the pressurization sequence.

  Cunningham wasn’t going to wait for it to finish. He didn’t dare. As the hiss of incoming atmosphere flooded into the chamber, the engines roared, the shuttle kicked clear of the surface and beginning its long journey to the friendly ship that was up ahead. Even before the pressurization sequence was complete, Novak was pulling off her suit, ripping her helmet away and dropping it to the floor, racing into the cabin the instant the inner door opened.

  “Report, Ensign,” she said, sliding into the co-pilot’s couch, Patel and Belinsky still struggling to untangle themselves behind her. “How are we doing?”

  “Lift-off was seven seconds behind schedule,” he replied. “I’m having to push the shuttle hard to try and make it up.” Reaching for a control, he brought up a tactical view, and said, “The enemy ship will be in firing range of the asteroid in less than two minutes. I’m going to keep us in the shadow of the rock as long as I can, try and keep off their sensors. If they realize we’ve left…”

  “Then we’re dead,” she said. Turning to the communicator, she snatched a microphone with one hand, the other playing with the frequencies, trying to cut through the endless roar of static that burst from the speakers as she activated the system. “Shuttle, ah, Three-One-Niner calling incoming cruiser. Calling incoming cruiser. Do you read me? Do you read me?”

  “Not going to do any good,” Cunningham said. “Not until we get closer.”

  “Chief, see if you can feed more power to the communications system,” she said, turning back to the cabin for a second. “And everyone strap in back there, good and tight. This is going to be a pretty damned wild ride.” Throwing a control, she continued, “Shuttle Three-One-Niner to incoming cruiser. Come in, please. Come in, please.”

  “I hope they appreciate your good manners, Lieutenant,” Patel said, hunched over the engineering station at the rear of the cabin. “I’ve given you all the power I dare.”

  “Enemy ship is charging weapons,” Vidmar added, peering at the sensor display. “Target coming up. Estimated thirty seconds to firing.”

  “We’re coming out of the shadow now,” Cunningham said. “Running at full power.” Patting the console, he added, “Come on, baby, give me everything you’ve got.”

  “Shuttle Three-One-Niner to incoming cruiser,” Novak said. “Come in, please!”

  “Leonidas to Shuttle Three-One-Niner, identify yourself,” the speaker crackled, sending a smile across Novak’s face.

  “This is Lieutenant Novak, late of Vanguard, with five others on a civilian shuttle. We’re on an intercept course, and request docking priority.” Glancing at the impatient Belinsky, she added, “I also need a data link with your main computer, and all of the processing power you can possibly spare. No time to explain now. I’ll give you the details when we land.”

  There was a brief pause, and a different, deeper voice replied, “This is Captain Scott. We’ll give you everything we can spare, and I’ll be looking forward to that explanation when you land. Leonidas out.”

  “Get working, Professor. And work fast.”

  Nodding, Belinsky replied, “I’ll do what I can.”

  “Energy spike!” Vidmar yelled, and all eyes turned to the viewscreen, watching in sick horror as the alien ship ripped into the asteroid, firing bolt after bolt of laser energy into it, gigawatts of power pu
mped into the surface. Vast chunks of debris were ripped free, given sufficient force to easily attain escape velocity, but the alien vessel continued to fire, long after any potential hiding place had been destroyed, again and again, as though trying to demonstrate the futility of opposing their towering will.

  The asteroid could finally take no more, and cracked into a thousand pieces, tumbling through space, a cloud of slowly expanding debris that erased the last remains of the nameless race that had once lived here. A tear slid from Novak’s eye as she watched, knowing that any secrets that remained in that vault would now be lost forever, and the memory of those who had created it would fall with it.

  In a million years, would some alien eye be looking on the lost memories of humanity with the same reverence, wondering what might have been?

  “We’ve got a clear run to Leonidas,” Cunningham said, breaking the silence. “Docking in two and a half minutes.” He paused, then said, “Though I think we might be jumping from the frying pan to the fire. If I’m reading this right, Leonidas is going to get close enough to come within firing range itself, four minutes later.” Turning to Novak, he added, “We could try and run for another rock.”

  Shaking her head, she replied, “That ship has been good enough to come all this way to find us. I’m not going to be churlish and ignore that invitation. Besides, if that commander is who I think it is, then I’m going to guess that he knows what he is doing.” Turning to Belinsky, she added, “That had better be worth the price we paid, Professor.”

  “It is,” he said. “It is. I’ve cracked the omnilingual…”

  “Already?”

  “Thank the people who wrote it. They went out of their way to make it as simple as possible. I could probably have managed it with the shuttle’s computer, but Leonidas has a very impressive mainframe, and Captain Scott is being extremely generous with processing power. I’m already working on the first of the sequences, one of the shorter ones.”

  “Any idea what it might be?” Patel asked.

  “Not until I’ve cracked it. I’ll get it all at once, as soon as the analysis is completed.”

  “How long?”

  “Anywhere from a few minutes to a few years.”

  “Years?” Vidmar asked.

  “I’d try for the lower end of that estimate, Professor. I don’t think we’ve got days, never mind years. If there’s a secret hidden in those messages, we’ve got to have it.”

  “Closing for landing,” Cunningham said. “We’ll be on board in less than a minute.”

  The six of them tensed up, finally relaxing as the docking clamps locked home, the airlock cycling to admit them to the ship. Despite the situation, it felt comforting to be back on a starship again, even if it was heading right back into the firing line. Outside the airlock, a frowning woman was waiting, Lieutenant’s stripes on her shoulders.

  “Lieutenant Novak?” she asked.

  “Right here,” Novak replied.

  “Wanted on the bridge, right away. Better hurry. The Captain’s not in a patient mood.” She peered into the cabin, and said, “What’s with the computer power? What are you trying to decode?”

  “Either the secrets of the universe, or a recipe for chicken soup,” a frustrated Belinsky replied. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Chapter 9

  “Shuttle is safely on board,” Rochford reported. “Lieutenant Novak is on her way to the bridge.”

  “I’ve looked over her record,” Ivanov said, waving a datapad in the air. “She was Vanguard’s Science Officer. Staff, not line. Fairly undistinguished service record.”

  With a shrug, Scott replied, “In peacetime, that tends to be the rule in any case. Status of the alien ship, Ensign?” He hadn’t really wanted Ivanov on the bridge, but was so short-handed that he hadn’t really had a good reason to refuse. Much to his regret.

  Sullivan’s hands danced across her controls, and she added, “Closing, sir, but not as rapidly as before. We’ve got a lot of relative speed this time. They’ll have time for just a single shot as we pass.”

  Nodding, Rochford added, “Power levels on the alien ship are a lot lower this time. Not surprising, given that they just finished pounding an asteroid to pieces, I guess, but that ought to help us out a bit.”

  “Helm, best evasive course,” Scott ordered.

  Ivanov walked towards the command chair, and said, “Wait a minute, Captain. If the enemy ship is low on power, then they might be vulnerable to a direct attack. I recommend we attempt a close firing pass, see if we can strike inside their armor.”

  “You yourself pointed out that our best shot didn’t scratch the surface, Lieutenant. Nothing of note has changed since then, and I doubt that their hull armor will be dependent on their power network.”

  “We’ve got to take the chance, sir. It might be our only change to bring them down.”

  “My orders stand, Lieutenant,” Scott added.

  “Enemy ship is altering course, sir,” Sullivan reported. “Interesting. They’re not going to get any closer on this pass, but they’re setting up for another one in nine minutes. I think they’re trying for a slingshot around one of the larger asteroids.”

  “Firing range in one minute,” Garcia warned. “I have a firing solution, Captain. Might as well take a shot in the dark while we’re flying past.”

  “Be my guest, Commander,” Scott replied, “as long as it doesn’t jeopardize our escape vector.”

  He sat back in his chair, watching as Leonidas slid through space, the enemy ship racing to the side, sacrificing this firing pass for a far longer one in the near future. He ran the projections forward, a frown spreading across his face as the reality of the situation hit home. Unless he could come up with a miracle, his ship was going to be destroyed in ten minutes. The alien would have more than long enough to blow them out of the sky, and there was no chance they could dance out of the way this time. Everything was set up perfectly, approach path, speed, range. A masterful maneuver.

  There wasn’t even any way for them to leave the system. Ross 248 had only two wormholes, one leading out to Chi Draconis, a dead-end, and the other curving back into known space, towards Struve 2398. Another populated system, this time with a hundred thousand people settled on the scattered worlds. At last report, they were attempting to evacuate, but getting them back to Earth would take weeks, not hours. He couldn’t lead the alien ship back that way. Even if in his heart, he knew that Struve had to be their next target.

  And beyond that system, 61 Cygni, and Fleet Headquarters, where Admiral Singh was frantically attempting to undo the apathy of a decade and put the battle fleet back into service. She needed more time, and he had to find a way to provide it. Try as he could, he couldn’t think of one.

  “Firing range!” Sullivan yelled, and Leonidas banked to the side to avoid the expected series of impacts as the alien ship fired, hurling beams of crimson flame into the void. They weren’t even trying to hit them, not this time. They were trying to guide them, force them onto the precise trajectory they wanted, and the worst of it was that it was working. These weren’t berserkers, despite their stated goals. They were tactically astute, and a determined foe.

  “Returning fire,” Garcia replied, resignation in her voice as she took the chance to fire Leonidas’ primary armament at the enemy, three more maser bolts smashing into the side of the alien craft. Ivanov took a step forward as the sensor data flooded in, but once more, it gave the same result. Positive impact, no evident damage. The enemy armor had once again repelled the attack.

  “We’re clear,” Chen said. “Executing evasive course.” He looked down at his readouts, shook his head, and said, “I don’t like the readings I’m getting from the power network, sir. It’s getting harder to keep the systems balanced.”

  “You aren’t here for an easy life, Ensign,” Ivanov retorted.

  Turning to face him, Scott replied, “Ensign Chen knows his station, Lieutenant, and if he tells me that we’re getting
dangerously close to a systems failure, I’m going to believe him, and I’m going to listen to what he has to say.” The door slid open, and a young, disheveled woman walked onto the bridge, “Lieutenant Novak, I presume?”

  “Yes, sir. Captain Scott?”

  “Indeed. Now that the introductions are over, I’d appreciate your report. Make it quick.”

  “There were only a few survivors from Vanguard, sir, and we found an alien base…”

  “Alien? These aliens?” Rochford asked.

  “No, sir, another race, we believe exterminated by the same ship, hundreds of thousands of years ago. What we found was their last redoubt, a…”

  Ivanov stepped forward, shaking his head, and said, “Come on, sir, you can’t actually believe this nonsense. An alien race discovered in a system settled for decades, that apparently was destroyed by the same ship we’re facing now, just a few eternities ago?” Turning to Novak, he said, “I don’t know what you are trying to cover up, Lieutenant, but I think we need the truth.”

  “Lieutenant Ivanov,” Scott said, “get off my bridge. Right now.”

  “Sir, I…”

  “Don’t make me have you escorted to the brig, Lieutenant. That course of action is looking extremely tempting.”

  “Yes, sir,” the officer sullenly said, stalking to the elevator.

  “Continue, Lieutenant,” Scott said, turning back to Novak. “I apologize for his behavior.”

  Glancing at the elevator, Novak continued, “We found a coded message, sir. Well, thousands of them. Professor Belinsky believes them to be the last records of this race, and that they might provide some sort of clue to their fate. Perhaps even something we can use against the enemy. That’s what we needed the processing power, sir.”

  “He’s cracked their language?” Wilson asked. “How…”

  “I don’t know the details, Lieutenant, but apparently the code was designed to be easily broken. The aliens wanted someone to find their message and decode it.” She shook her head, and said, “I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you, sir. You’ve already lived a lot longer than Vanguard. We were destroyed a few minutes after entering the system.”