A Faded Star (14 page)

 When the flash faded, a clicking sound began and then
a voice seemed to boom from all around them.

 “Life signs confirmed. Status is human, no genetic
deviations noted. Genetic corruption status, not found. Strain zero through one
hundred eighty-seven of omega plague not found. Access granted. Preparing for
event seven alpha.”

 Everyone boggled at one another, their eyes round in
confusion. That wasn't all. The voice spoke in a rolling, almost lyrical
accent. The same accent Mister Patho spoke with. The Karn accent.

 “Greetings, humans. Welcome aboard the manufacturing
ship Aeternum. This ship has been placed here to ensure the survival of the
human colony placed in the planetary system designated Lashmere. Genetic
analysis indicates within acceptable limits current occupants of Aeternum are
humans from same. Preparing for system startup. Passive radiant shielding
expanding. Passive sensors tie-in with networked computer.

 “Warning: Potential hostile vessel located five
hundred kilometers on the bow. Indicate target status.”

 Stokes barked out, “on-hostile! The contact is
Rampart, a friendly vessel.”

 “Non-hostile accepted. Designation Rampart.
Assessing.”

 There was a long silence while everyone continued to
stare at one another in disbelief. The ship started talking again after roughly
a minute of silence. “Tech level one-point-one. Innovative faster than light
system. Weapons tech level zero-point-six. Defensive systems one-point-four.
Analysis complete. Inference, humanity has lost much of their technology prior
to returning to retrieve Aeternum. Supporting factor, duration of dormancy
estimated at five thousand standard years. Calculating exact value.”

 “I think the ship is automated?” Simmons said, ending
the sentence more in a question than a statement.

 “I think you may be right, Lieutenant. The way we were
brought aboard. If there were people here, they would have met us in the hangar
or at the airlock. And, I think there would definitely have been people on the
bridge.”

 “Assessment correct. Aeternum currently unmanned.
Command structure must be established. Aeternum must be placed in control of
the legitimate government of Lashmere. Request, provide input for command.”

 Everyone was stunned when Cobb spoke in a bold bass
voice. “Designate Theo Cobb, Master and Commander. Sequence seven alpha theta
nine nine two blue commit.”

 “Command access accepted. Aeternum now under command
of Theo Cobb.”

 The comm circuit exploded as everyone tried to speak
at once. Stokes shouted everyone down. “Silence on the line! Mister Cobb... or
should I say, Agent Cobb? Explain yourself immediately.”

 Knowing there was no point in continuing the charade,
Cobb admitted the truth. “Agent is correct, commodore. Excellent deductive
reasoning. Intel was placed on this mission to ensure the ship was brought back
under control of the Lashmere government. You have a ship, already, commodore.
This one will be flown back to Lashmere and then placed under control of the
Lashmere government. An asset of this importance must be handled properly.”

 “I resent your high-handedness, agent. Had you chosen
to reveal your mission to me, this could have been handled without you barging
in like this.”

 “Like you, I have my orders, commodore. I couldn't
allow you to start designating a team of officers from your ship to command
this one back to Lashmere.

 “Officers like Mister Patho, you mean. Oh, yes, agent.
I see right through whatever genteel argument you have prepared already. You
saw I was about to start designating command staff from my current choice of
officers, so you felt you had to act. Your kind of prejudice is exactly why the
war lasted as long as it did and why so many died. Mister Patho has repeatedly
proven his loyalty to the people of Lashmere. You can plead you had orders to
take the ship back to Lashmere yourself, but we both know you were just
unwilling to see it commanded, however briefly, by someone who grew up Karn.
Admit it, agent.” Stokes' face was flushed, his fists clenched at his sides.
His breath was coming hot and fast. The sanctimoniousness of the man was
astonishing.

 Cobb kept an inscrutable mask over his features. His
voice was another matter, however; it came out tight and even more clipped than
his accent could account for. “Commodore, I will overlook your attitude this
once. If you continue in this belligerent manner, I will use the Aeternum's
systems to have you placed back aboard your pinnace and ejected.” Cobb's eyes
fixed intently on Stokes' and did not waver.

 Patho watched the exchange and was amazed to hear
Stokes standing up for him as he was. He felt a swelling of pride to have his
commanding officer back him up so stridently. Somehow, he swore to himself; he
would prove he was worthy of the trust and respect Stokes placed in him.

 Stokes took a deep breath and composed his thoughts
before proceeding. “You can expect a formal complaint from the Office of the
Navy upon our return to Lashmere, agent. Barring further obstructionist actions
on your part, I will continue to work with you rather than against you. Now,
since you have had yourself placed in command, we should begin researching how
to get the Aeternum underway and back to Lashmere.”

 “Commodore, you simply don't understand. I am in
command, here. I will give the orders and make the decisions.”

 “Yes, you have used your inside information to gain
control for now, but your actions still have to be justifiable. Even the
intelligence office answers to the same civilian government as we do. You have
a ship with over four hundred crew aboard outside. Do you plan to eliminate all
of them to bring the ship back yourself? Are you so paranoid?”

 “Commodore, you misunderstand my intentions. I am merely
ensuring the Aeternum doesn't find its way into the hands of the Karn
resistance.” Cobb held up his hands to forestall Stokes' response. “I know
Patho is loyal, but we have strong evidence his family are members of the
resistance, even now. I simply cannot allow such temptation to be paced at odds
with potentially divided loyalty. My decision to command Aeternum stands.”

 Stokes growled-growled!-under his breath before
saying, “Very well, Agent. You can expect a full report to be made. Since
you've decided to force everyone's hand, I will place ten crew aboard to divine
the method of faster than light travel and to plan a course back to Lashmere.
You will accept the crew I place aboard, agent.” Stokes' eyes blazed as he
spoke. “I intend to maintain control of the mission I was assigned to. Do I
make myself clear, agent?”

 “Quite, commodore. I will, of course, accept the crew
you place aboard.” Stokes turned and settled into the command chair. “Aeternum
begin main startup. Provide written instructions to command chair for systems
initiation.”

 “Main systems startup underway. Instructions
provided,” the ship said in its lyrical accent.

 “Ship update interface preferences. Mimic linguistic
accent and inflections of current commanding officer, Theo Cobb.”

 There was a pause before the ship responded in a
perfect imitation of a northern Ebrim accent, clipped and harsh, “Interface
preferences updated.”

 Patho felt like he had been punched in the gut. For a
moment, it had seemed that it was a Karn ship. Just a scan of some kind he
guessed. Sighing deeply, he moved towards a bridge console which looked like it
could have been designed at any shipyard on Lashmere. He began experimentally
tapping commands. Almost immediately, the computer began to provide contextual
help as he familiarized himself with the operation. “Sir, this looks like an
operations panel. Power distribution, engine status, Life support system status
and so on.

 Simmons sat down at another console and began running
through functions herself. “This one looks like database access, sir. I'll
start compiling relevant information for a report.”

 Cobb looked back and forth between the two officers
who were industriously working on either side of him before sighing. “It would
seem I'm outnumbered, commodore. Very well, I am content to act merely as a
safety net for the return journey, ensuring the ship is brought back and placed
in the right hands.”

 It was as close to an admission of defeat as he was
likely to get from the agent. Stokes called out on the comm, “Okay, people,
let's start working the systems. Cobb, designate me as second in command and
Simmons over there as science officer.”

 Cobb complied without any sign of distress. Stokes
turned to Aves. “Mister Aves, get back to the pinnace and get bridge rotation
bravo aboard the pinnace to take over vital functions and to give Captain Cobb
here a command staff to get the ship back. Also, shuttle over a division of
maintenance technicians and watch qualified personnel to provide relief
watches.

 “Aye, sir,” Aves said before charging off the bridge.

 Stokes walked to the front of the bridge and said,
“Aeternum, provide historical overview of placement in this system. Also
provide reasons a colony was placed on Lashmere, original intent behind this
placement and expectations of colony once Aeternum was recovered.”

 “Compiling data.” There was a long pause while
everyone waited in silence. Everyone could hear breathing on the comm circuit
while they waited for the answers to all of the questions that had baffled
historians and anthropologists for centuries.

 “Data compilation complete. Aeternum originally placed
in system designated A134 by remote. Command crew and all personnel were
evacuated prior to launch. Aeternum was directed to enter system, construct a
shield preventing long range scanning location and a system making direction
finding of FTL signal difficult. FTL signal provided in great specificity and
made to pinpoint a single star system only: Lashmere. Genetic profile of all
Lashmere colonists provided and stored.”

 Stokes said, “Pause recitation. Are you saying you had
the genetic profile of everyone originally sent to Lashmere?”

 “Correct.”

 “What if humans from another colony had arrived before
we did and tried to come aboard?”

 “They would have been designated as intruders,
provided a chance to withdraw before being eradicated,” the computer replied in
a chillingly dispassionate voice.

 “I understand. Continue recitation,” Stokes said.

 “Aeternum arrived in system five thousand six point
three one standard years ago. Construction of shield shell took seven point
eight hours. Placement of signal reflectors took an additional zero point two
hours. Systems were placed in dormancy mode for remaining time interval.

 “Colony placed on Lashmere system to try to preserve
the human race. Interplanetary conflict ongoing for thirty-three standard years
before colonization had come to a culmination likely to end with humanity
completely annihilated. Several attempts were made to place clandestine groups
of humans with highly advanced technology in locations unlikely to come into
contact with hostile alliance.”

 “Alliance? “

 “Correct. At the time of launch, human empire was in
their thirty-third standard year of continuous conflict with a hostile alliance
of aliens. Encroachment of borders and contest over rare resources initiated
conflict. Continue recitation?”

 “Yes, continue,” Stokes said. He looked at Patho and
Simmons, both of whom were tapping away furiously at their consoles, trying to
pull additional data from the system.

 “Updated expectations based on observed technological
level of humans from Lashmere are as follows. Recolonize galaxy. Return to
Earth, planet of origin, ascertain status and recolonize Earth if practicable.
Discover, maintain and understand encroaching civilizations. Enter into and
maintain peaceful alliance with other species if possible. Detailed parameters
are available in text format. Vocal recitation is summary only.”

 “Sir...” Simmons' voice had a sickly note to it. “Sir,
I have to put this on all the displays. Ship, put my screen on all bridge
displays.” The screens winked on, displaying an image of an alien. The alien
looked exactly like Thun.

 “This hostile alien alliance... was it made up of five
races? The Xalcek, Hontoata, Gol, Unam and Yaderiedea?”

 “Species names match designate hostile alliance
species.” The dispassion rang like a bell this time. Stunned silence filled the
bridge.

 “We have to warn them,” Cobb said.

 “I couldn't agree more, Cobb. Let’s get this ship
underway. As soon as you have your bridge crew, we have to get back to Lashmere
and prepare for war.”

 It was inevitable. The alliance command council
resisted, pled political fallout, but in the end, they just couldn't withstand
the power of Drogue and Hanlon's arguments. Ktenu kept saying how high the
price would be once it was all over, but he continued to be vague as to what
the price would be. Ktenu provided a single cruiser class ship and five
destroyer class ships to support the raid plan Hanlon and Drogue had proposed.

 The entire expeditionary force was mustered the next
morning at the area of the alliance space dock where their newly assigned ships
were moored. Drogue and Hanlon addressed the assembled personnel. More than two
hundred veteran military spacers stood at attention as Hanlon and Drogue
stepped up to the podium.

 Drogue approached the alliance version of a microphone
and said, “At ease.” The entire assembly sat in their chairs and waited in
stark silence for Drogue to continue. Drogue placed his weathered hands on
either side of the podium. Though Drogue's face was heavily lined with age, his
voice came out sure and steady. “The alliance command has elected to take the
opportunity to use our tactical know-how to put themselves in a better
strategic situation. We have been assigned a cruiser and five destroyers. The
alliance doesn't currently field smaller support ships like corvettes so we'll
have to make do with what they have. We have been assured these are the very
best examples of their current military tech. We'll engage in a short series of
exercises over the next four days before moving on to the first of our targets.

 “Crew assignments to each ship have been forwarded to
all official communication nodes. We will expect assigned command teams to
organize, inspect and report any deficiencies within their individual commands
to Captain Hanlon. The four day training schedule we have devised is a crash
course designed to gain maximum efficiency with the alliance systems in the
time available. The first day will be mostly tutorial in systems operation,
weapons capabilities and performance characteristics of the alliance ships. Day
two will be a combat simulation against an alliance formation. Day three will
be an orbit to surface simulation and blockade. Day four will be a system
assault. These four missions are intended to loosely simulate the raids we have
planned to complete for the benefit of the alliance.

 “On each raid, an alliance salvage and manufacturing
ship will follow us in, and once combat ends, it will recover any salvageable
materials from the area. These raids are not intended to seize any territory.
The raids are meant to put the crabs off balance and to recover rare materials
vital in the manufacture of new ships. It is the first step in a larger,
long-range plan to preserve the alliance. Anyone with any questions can address
them to their superior officer or Captain Hanlon as appropriate after the
briefing. Break into your teams and prepare to complete your assignments,
people. All personnel are to organize themselves into individual commands.”

 The personnel of the expeditionary force uniformly
turned their attention to their wrist comps and checked crew assignments.
Within minutes, the assigned commanding officers had organized their commands
into divisions and departments. Officers arrayed themselves in front of their
crews and took musters of their assigned members.

 The room once again fell silent as each crew stood
waiting for new orders. Hanlon said into the microphone, “Okay, people. Crew of
the destroyer Poniard to berth one.” Hanlon motioned to a door with a single
dot over it. Crew of the destroyer Rapier to berth two. Crew of the destroyer
Saber to berth three. Crew of the destroyer Dirk to berth four and crew of the
cruiser Broadsword to berth five. All ships had been provided new names as most
of the alliance ship names were unpronounceable by humans.”

 The next morning with all ships properly crewed and
all personnel familiarized with their new assignments, the squadron made ready
to begin their training. Drogue, Hanlon, and their bridge officers sat at their
posts aboard the Broadsword.

 “Miss Hanlon are departure stations manned?”

 “Yes, Admiral. We are ready for departure.”

 “Status of the rest of the squadron?”

 “All ships report ready for departure, sir.”

 “Very well. Signal to all ships: depart in
predesignated order and make best speed to rendezvous point alpha.”

 The varied ships of the loosely termed 'the offensive
squadron' moved out to a predetermined point in space. The remainder of the
previous day after crew assignments had been passed out had been spent in
familiarization with their new ships and preparation for combat training.

 Hanlon said, “Sir all ships report underway. ETA to
form-up at the rendezvous point one hour thirty-three minutes.”

 The intervening time passed quietly. Everyone was
still getting to know their new ships. Once the ships all arrived, weapons
system testing began.

 “We are arriving at the inner boundary of the asteroid
belt, admiral,” Hanlon said.

 “Very well, captain. Have tactical highlight asteroids
with non-vital composition. Once targets have been selected, direct all ships
to begin weapons testing and tactical system evaluation.”

 “Aye, sir. Sending instructions now.” Hanlon worked
over her console for a few minutes before saying, “All ships report ready to
begin weapons testing.”

 “Very well. All ships proceed with testing.”

 “Aye, sir.” Hanlon turned to the tactical officer
assigned to the Broadsword. “Miss Kelper, commence weapons testing on target
asteroid designated alpha-one.”

 “Alpha-one, aye,” Kelper said. Her lithe frame perched
in a chair obviously intended for one of the more massive species of the
alliance. “Weapons hot, all forward batteries now firing.”

 “Mister Watkins, give me a sensor report,” Hanlon
said.

 Watkins, the assigned science officer aboard the
Broadsword, said, “Looks like weapons performance is in line with alliance
specifications. Forward weapons banks are a mix of pulsed beams designed to
demolecularize any object they are focused on and remaining batteries are
focused particle pulse type energy weapons.”

 The weapons array was intended to first weaken any
armor or hull by loosening the molecular bonds between its constituent
elements, followed by moderately powerful energy shots from another array of
guns.

 “What are your findings, Mister Watkins?”

 “It's a poorly designed system, ma'am. The
demolecularizing beams take a lot of energy and must be focused within a few
degrees of optimal in order to maintain a useful effect. The follow-up shots
from the energy cannons are weak, and without the first step, they would splash
against even relatively weak armor with no real result other than some scorching.”

 “Pretty much exactly what our simulations predicted,”
Hanlon said. “Against a moving target, what is your estimate of the beam's
ability compensate for a moving firing platform and a moving target?”

 “Well, ma'am, I can see why these guys are getting
their butts kicked The beams lose focus too easily. The energy would be far
better spent on an electromagnetically stabilized hull armor and much larger
and higher powered energy cannons. In theory, I'm sure this seems like a good
system, and under ideal circumstances, it has the advantage of being a lot more
controlled than simply battering a target apart with what amounts to highly
charged balls of energetic plasma. I think in practice the power conduits and
hard points could be used for much more useful purposes. The demolecularizing
beams are also mass intensive. Pretty big problems for ships we're supposed to
take into battle in the next week, ma'am.”

 “Thank you, Lieutenant.” Hanlon turned to her console.
“Admiral, all ships are reporting similar results. The weapons perform as
designed, and under ideal circumstances, they have a much better chance of
inflicting controlled damage to hostile ships. In practice, the design is
deeply flawed.”

 “It's exactly as we feared, then. The question
becomes: what will we do about it?”

 “It's a good question, sir. Do you think the alliance
would be willing to upgrade the ships?”

 “Even if they were, do you think they have the
materials to build another forty or so high powered energy cannons and
electromagnetic hull armor plates?”

 “Probably not,” Hanlon said. Her eyes unfocused as she
pondered the situation. “Perhaps we can modify the demolecularizing beams. Can
we just call them demo beams, sir?”

 “That's fine, captain.” The admiral held her gaze
intently. “You sounded like you had an idea.”

 “Just the beginnings of one, sir. The beams are meant
to loosen electromagnetic bonds, right? Can the process be inverted and focused
back on the ships themselves? Can we effectively create a pulsed beam that
enhances the strength of our hull armor? It doesn't do much to affect our
firepower, but it may give us a huge boost in survivability.”

 Drogue pondered the proposal for a moment and then
said, “Forward your idea to all five science sections. I want independent
analyses of your idea by tomorrow morning. If we need to take time to modify
our systems, I want it done while we are back in space dock supplying for our
raids.”

 “Aye, sir,” Hanlon started typing away at her console,
entering the broad strokes of her idea. “Sir, have you ever seen the design
specifications for the main gun on the Rampart?”

 “I haven't had the opportunity, captain. What do you
have in mind?

 “The last flagship, the Bastion, used six linked
particle cannons all designed to fire at a single point ahead of the ship. The
range of focus could be adjusted for maximum impact. It worked pretty well, but
there were a lot of moving parts, and sometimes the focus would be off. The
drop off in energy transfer from the Bastion's main gun was decent even when it
didn't hit just right. When the focus was perfect, which the Bastion crew got
really good at doing by the end of the war, the sympathetic energy between the
six shots resulted in an exponential amplification of energy transfer to the
target.”

 “I'm already aware of how the Bastion's cannon
operates, Captain. You were going to tell me about the main gun on Rampart.”
Drogue's voice had a testy edge.

 “Sorry, sir. The main gun on the Rampart is
essentially a series of ten larger particle canons with the focus issue
removed. The shots are all focused through an electromagnetic conduit that
super-compresses the shot and forces it to leave the ship with a much higher
potential energy. The process is significantly more energy intensive than the
system used on the Bastion, but the results are pretty breathtaking. The
electromagnetic rail each shot is fired through forces each one to build upon
its neighbors, so the energy also sustains the shot resulting in much improved
effective range as well. Once we got it tuned and properly focused, it's a dead
reliable system that uses proven technology.”

 “You are proposing we do something similar without
current armament?”

 “We have the basic building blocks already. Plenty of
extra power generation, effective and available EM generators, it might take
some creative engineering to get it done in time, but I think we could project
an appropriate EM envelope to compress our current particle cannons down. The
only big issue is we have no structure to stabilize the envelope so our range
might be poor compared to a purpose built system like Rampart has. We would
probably end up with about the range we have now, rather than two to three
times that if we could actually modify the ships to support such a system.”

 “Sounds like a good idea, Captain. Pass orders to
begin the modification on all ships and have the commanding officers report
their time frames within the hour.”

 “Aye, sir. Shall we continue our weapons exercises?

 “The torpedoes are essentially the same kind of system
we use. A large bomb on a guided delivery vehicle. The explosive used is
comparable to what we use. A systems check for all ships to ensure the launch,
guidance and explosive potential for all ships is all I would recommend, sir.”

 “Agreed, Captain. Proceed with torpedo testing.”

 “Aye, sir. Miss Kelper, prepare a torpedo for launch
against target alpha one. Mister Watkins, comm all ships in the squadron and
instruct them to launch a single torpedo against alpha one.”

 The two officers bent to their tasks, followed by a
series of five torpedoes exploded against the side of the slowly tumbling
asteroid. “All launches and impacts as expected, admiral. Weapons systems are
all fully operational. The first watch is nearly over, sir. Shall we proceed?”

 “Yes, Captain. Relieve first watch as scheduled.
Drills during second watch and maintenance for the third watch. Tomorrow during
the first watch, we'll begin our first exercise. All crew assigned to weapons
and armor modification are exempt from drills. I want those systems ready for
testing by second watch tomorrow if at all possible.”

 “Aye, sir. I'll forward modification time tables to
your stateroom.”

 “Excellent. You have the bridge, captain.” Drogue
stood and walked from the room.

 Hanlon considered the situation for a moment. Drogue
certainly lived up to his reputation as an aggressive and decisive leader.
Large modifications like the ones Drogue had ordered were usually only
attempted in a space dock. If there was a serious malfunction, it could cost
them dearly, and the alliance had made it clear they would not be furnishing
the expeditionary force with any other ships to use as an offensive force. The
trip from Lashmere had been particularly trying for Hanlon. In the first hour,
Drogue had made it abundantly clear he had no interest in her sense of humor
and was unwilling to tolerate it on any ship under his command, much less from
an officer in a position of authority like hers.