Titan, the old moon of Saturn saw new life with the creation of the Interstellar Network. The moon had been settled for centuries, but its standing as the first among many colonies gave it an almost mythical reputation. As the development of the Old Solar System began, so did the interest and pilgrimages to what was considered by some to be the spiritual home of those who had left Earth for a new life. Titan became to the Alliance what the Holy Lands had been for Western Civilization on Earth.
The Lost World
Jack was the first to reach the port side weapons array on board the stricken frigate. It had taken almost fifteen minutes to get there, but luckily, they’d managed to avoid running into any hostile forces or problems. That was at least, until they approached the large metal blast door that led into the compartment. Not only was it shut, but it was mechanically sealed from the inside.
“We’ve got a problem,” said Jack in a dour tone.
Wictred pulled himself into position around the door, jamming his body to the wall so that he could exert as much effort as possible onto the lever. He groaned as he used every ounce of strength to try and force it, but to no avail. He loosened his hold and looked back to Jack.
“It’s locked.”
Jack shook his head at his old friend.
“You don’t say.”
Anne tapped her hand on the thick metal three times and then called out.
“Is there anybody there? This is Nurse Anne Fitzgerald. We need to come in.”
A dull clanging sound issued from the other side, and in one slow movement, the door slid open. Wictred moved to the opening, only to stop himself at the sight of three rifle barrels. Jack lifted his hands and placed them in front of his friend.
“He’s with us. We’re from APS Corporation.”
“Get in here, fast!” said a gruff voice from in the shadows.
Jack moved in first, and the other three followed right behind him. As soon as they made it inside, the great metal door slammed shut behind them. A gentle glow from the far corner showed up the shapes of the marines hiding behind what cover they could find.
“Who’s in charge here?” demanded Jack.
A shape moved closer, until a squat looking man wearing half of his PDS armor stood just half a meter to his front.
“Lieutenant Veeranki, ship’s security. What the hell are you doing on my ship? The order to evacuate has already been given.”
“No shit!” said the marine that had come with them. “We are all that’s left. What are you doing holed up in here?”
The Lieutenant seemed to soften at the sight of one of his own.
“The lifeboat isn’t functioning properly. We’ve got a Navy tech guy working on it, but he reckons it will be another thirty minutes before the system is in place. You know what’s going on here?”
Jack looked to Wictred, who seemed to have little interest in contributing to the conversation. It was one of those peculiarities of the Jötnar. Although they were interested in battle and adventure, they rarely said anything unless they had something genuinely to contribute. It was both a benefit and a curse, and right now, Jack would have liked to hear something from his friend. His attention was drawn to Anne. She was moving about, speaking quietly to the other marines. Even in this situation, she seemed more interested in doing her job. At least one of them was badly in need of some help, with two arm wounds.
Maybe it’s just keeping her busy.
He looked back to the marine.
“There’s a fleet of ships out there, and they are attacking Alliance vessels. I don’t know what they want, but negotiation doesn’t seem to be at the top of the list.”
He pointed back to the door.
“They have a ship running abeam and had troops move inside to disable us.”
A head appeared from the entrance to the lifeboat. It was a much older looking man in grubby overalls, and the interior lighting of the lifeboat backlit him neatly.
“Did you say one of them is alongside us? I thought they would have left some time ago.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, why?”
“Well, as the Chief Engineer, I’m the only one of us here with access codes for the primary server. With my information, you can trigger the auto destruct. It might be the only way to stop this ship getting any closer to the Spacebridge.”
“So?” asked one of the marines.
Wictred looked at the man and then slammed his oversized fist into the bulkhead.
“He means we can destroy the ship, and maybe take theirs with us, before they can cause any more trouble.”
At that one comment, the small storage area seemed to fill with agreeable faces.
“Alright, sounds like a plan, but you’re forgetting one small detail. We are still stuck here. I don’t know about you, but I have no interest in burning here. What did you have in mind?”
“I’ll show you the route. It will take you about fifteen minutes to get there, and then sixty seconds to start the sequence. It’s only a three minute countdown, so you won’t have time to get back.”
“Great, I assume you have a plan for that as well?” asked Wictred.
“Yeah,” answered the Chief smugly. “I’ll meet you at the Six Alpha docking point. It’s three sections from where you’ll be anyway. It’s normally only used for cargo and the like, but there’s no reason why a pod or lifeboat can’t dock there, force a magnetic seal, and trigger the airlock. It will need some pretty good flying. Lucky I’m good at that, as well!”
“Isn’t that cutting it a bit fine? What if you can’t get the lifeboat working?”
He looked inside the craft and back to Jack.
“Oh, she’ll fly, don’t worry about that. What you need to worry about is the guns on that thing outside. The last lifeboat we launched was vaporized once it hit the ten thousand meters marker. This might be our only way out of here. We need to be outside of the five thousand meters mark when the auto-destruct activates.”
“What about the shock wave?” Wictred asked.
The Chief shook his head in an irritated fashion.
“Don’t you kids learn anything in school now? There won’t be a shockwave in space. There will be a very short-lived heat bloom though that will vaporize anything within a kilometer of the frigate, probably more with the enemy ship combined. Depends what’s on board and how they built her.”
Jack nodded slowly. “Okay, what do we need to know?”
* * *
Spartan activated his thermal and infrared overlay as they continued deeper underground and through the tunnel system. Teresa stood at his side, and the rest of the APS team followed directly behind, with their blades drawn and at the ready. They’d been inside now for almost five minutes and continued on the gentle gradient deeper into the site. The three soldiers had vanished long ago, as they moved with greater speed. Spartan was not happy, and it was just as well he was at the front, so none of the others could see his expression.
We have a lot of good people on the surface. Are any of them still there?
He checked his IFF system, but even this short distance underground had completely blocked his medium to long range communications. The only good news that he could see was that a small number of his people had made it to the vicinity of the encampment. That was all he had, but he did know the site was well protected with automated turrets and contained enough weapons and supplies for multiple APS teams if needed.
I just hope they keep their heads down. Last thing we need is a massacre on Hades.
Teresa nursed her head as she did her best to maintain Spartan’s fast pace. The blast as they’d entered the tunnel had knocked her out cold, and the pain in her skull was ever present. Even so, not one of them wanted to lurk near the surface to face whatever was going about its business.
“Where are they taking us?” she asked suspiciously.
Spartan trudged onwards and shrugged at her.
“Who knows? It’s pretty clear they live here though, and they were trying to keep us away from the artifact at the dig site. We must have disturbed something down there.”
Teresa nodded as ideas gelled together in her mind.
“Like Jack and Wictred did when they found those machines?”
“Maybe,” he replied.
The idea made sense. There had been no violence until particular sites on the moon had been interfered with. First was the marine unit under Colonel Daniels. Then had came Jack, and now this catastrophe at the dig site.
His attention was drawn ahead as a bright light appeared directly in front of them. It took a moment for the suit to adjust to the brightness, but Spartan kept moving forwards. After few more steps, they reached the end of the corridor and stood on the perimeter of a vast cavern that had been cut into a beautifully intricate structure. It immediately reminded him of the exquisite architecture of Terran Nova with its detailed arches and columns. The designs here were not identical, but the artistic design and quality of work were evident. Most of the area was open, but the walls were filled with columns and small buildings that although very narrow, seemed to reach up and merge with the very rock itself.
Waiting almost fifty meters away were two-dozen of the warriors. They stood in what looked like an open plan temple. Columns ran in a circle around them, and in the centre was a hexagonal stone object covered in tubes and wiring. Above it floated a holographic model of a dozen spheres.
Planets? Spartan wondered.
All were armored in the same fashion, apart from the woman they’d met previously. She took one step away from them and waved her right arm in some odd and flamboyant fashion before stepping back. A different soldier stepped forward and deactivated the complex helmet arrangement; to Spartan’s surprise it was another female face. She then spoke in much the same fashion as the first; her alien sounding tongue quickly masked by the synthetic tones of her suit.
“Greetings, Spartan, Commander of the Alliance. Welcome to our home.”
Spartan looked over to Teresa and then to Gun, but neither said anything. Every one of them seemed as surprised as him. He returned his look to the pale, pallid face of the soldier.
“Greetings to you. What is your name? Who are you?”
The pale-faced soldier moved her head and looked around at the underground facility, returning her gaze to Spartan.
“I am Ayndir,” she said slowly, lifting her hands to indicate those behind her, “and we are the T'Kari. The last of our race.”
Spartan’s mind rushed as a hundred questions entered his thoughts.
“How can you understand us?” It was the first question he really wanted answered.
The woman nodded and continued speaking.
“We have listened to your data since you came here. Our technology has deciphered your tongue. Our suits can translate for us.”
She paused as though wanting to say something uncomfortable.
“Spartan, Commander of the Alliance. Why have you come here? Why have you disturbed our buried dead?”
She then stepped closer and raised her tone.
“Why did you awaken the machine?”
The inside of the structure vibrated violently. Small chunks of stone broke from the ceiling, dropping down almost a hundred meters and then crashing to the ground. Teresa grabbed him as he lost his footing from the shaking, but then it died back as quickly as it had arrived. Off to the sides of the open space, a number of armored doors opened. Small groups of people, this time unarmored, appeared to look at the new arrivals. One, a tall woman with long white hair approached, looked at them and launched into a long discussion with Ayndir. Half way through their conversation, the woman lifted out an object from her robes. It flashed and displayed a holographic image of the surface of the moon. It showed the Alliance encampment and the arrival of four APS Bulldog vehicles. Dozens of people were rushing about, and Spartan was sure he could see several of his operatives in full armor taking up positions on the perimeter.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he demanded.
Ayndir lifted her eyes to him but waited until the unarmored woman finished speaking.
“Your people, up there,” she explained, looking to the ceiling. “They have brought the wrath of machines back to our worlds. It will not be long now.”
Gun stepped forwards to Spartan.
“What’s the plan? We can’t leave them alone up there. This is a war!”
The other Jötnar growled in agreement. Khan even turned to head back the way they had arrived, but Ayndir lifted her hand in an obvious gesture.
“Your people will be safe up there...for now,” she said calmly.
In the background, another group of a dozen of the soldiers ran past and into a different tunnel entrance. Gun immediately suspected betrayal; his patience now starting to wear thin.
“Explain!” snapped Gun.
“The machines know some of our people still live. They will finish what they started nine hundred solar cycles ago. Our doom approaches. Your people will suffer...after our fall.”
“Bullshit!” shouted Khan angrily. He swung his blade, creating a whirring sound that caught the attention of all the soldiers. Spartan noticed their interest and could only assume it was the complete difference between the Jötnar and him and Teresa.
Activity inside the open area continued, as what could only be assumed were civilians lined up near to two large structures. They were being handed weapons, much like those carried by the soldiers. Interestingly, these civilians were a mixture of male and female, but he spotted no children or youths of any age. Spartan knew immediately that something bad was about to happen. He grabbed Teresa by the shoulder.
“You don’t arm civilians unless things are bad.”
He then turned to the others.
“Get ready.”
The soldiers split from the centre of the space and rushed to a variety of doorways along the outer rim. Only four remained, including Ayndir as well as the civilian. The civilian spoke in hushed tones to Ayndir who then repeated them through her suit’s translator.
“The machines left this sector seventeen of your solar cycles ago. Their military base was destroyed, and our race was extinct. At least, they thought we were, until now. They have many enemies, but you have reminded them of us, and our resistance. Now it is the end.”
A repeating tone appeared from nowhere, and it seemed to galvanize the T'Kari who rushed to cover, preparing for the end. Every structure, column and building seemed built with the dual purpose of being a defensive position. Loud thuds came from multiple directions deep inside the thick stone.
“You are all ready?” asked Spartan to his tiny group. Teresa and Spartan both had their carbines loaded and lifted to the shoulder. The Jötnar lifted their weapons while Gun raised his arm-mounted weapon.
“You should use cover. They are strong!” said Ayndir.
She took up a position behind the nearest column of the centre structure. The shape was perfectly formed with gaps for shooting while staying protected. Spartan was fascinated, but snapped back to attention when a booming sound to his left announced the arrival of the enemy. The great metal blast shield ripped from its mountings. Right away, a number of small objects rolled inside, followed by a bright flash and sonic burst. Luckily, the PDS suit was able to filter it all out, and in they came. To Spartan’s astonishment, the figures looked almost identical to the T'Kari, except for their flowing robes, gold colored armor and large ration of edged weapons. Their armor and clothing style were just the same, yet there was a familiarity about them he couldn’t shake off.
“Uh, Spartan...do these guys look familiar to you?” asked Gun, at the same time as he opened fire with his Gatling gun. He was the first to fire, and the overwhelming volume of fire from his weapon cut a dozen figures before the rest joined in. It didn’t take long before more breaches were made, and the entire underground site turned from calm tranquilly into yet another blood soaked battlefield. As Spartan loaded a new magpack into his carbine, he spotted the faces of the Jötnar. Each of them howled with bloodlust as they blasted away.
Gods help them if any of those things get near Gun and his people. He thought with surprising amusement.
* * *
Jack and Wictred worked their way through the damaged corridors of the long abandoned frigate. The systems were still off, and the temperature had already fallen over ten degrees and was continuing to worsen. They’d left the others under the command of the Chief, who seemed to be the only one with any idea as to how they could get away from the ship. As they continued onwards, Jack wondered what else was happening through the New Charon system. From what he’d seen, it was clear that somebody wanted them gone. The thing he really wanted to know was who they were and what they wanted.
“Jack, it’s through here,” Wictred said quietly.
The two entered the computer room to find cables and equipment drifting about the place. Jack thought back to his last conversation with the Chief and tried to remember where he said they needed to go.
The control nodes on the primary console.
He looked about and found the unit with the static body of a dead crewman draped over it. Jack kicked at the wall and moved effortlessly to the unit. He traced the control node with his hand, until reaching a flat panel about the size of his head. He pushed it in about a centimeter until it clicked and then slid open to reveal three circles, each with an analogue dial sat on top of it. Between the three circles was a small hexagonal hole. Jack reached for the control-key the Chief had given him. As expected, it matched the hole perfectly.
“Wictred, we need the other one,” he called out.
Wictred was already moving from one body to the next, but so far had found nothing of use, other than a half loaded navy issue pistol. He tucked it inside his belt and continued the search. Jack looked below their position, now nervous that they might not find a senior member of the crew in this part of the ship.
“Maybe they got out,” suggested Wictred.
“Wait!” said Jack. He could see a shape jammed down behind one of the shattered computer displays. “Look, if I’m not mistaken, that’s the body of a sub-lieutenant. Check him out.”
It didn’t take Wictred long to get to the man, and within a few seconds, he held up the control-key triumphantly. According to the Chief, all senior command staff carried one, as well as the commanding officer of this part of the ship. It needed both keys to activate and would also send an automated message to all other command staff. They could then instantly override the self-destruct system in case of accident or sabotage. Jack just hoped there was nobody left on board that might stop them. The idea that others might still be alive on the ship was a thought he did his best to avoid, but from what he could see, the ship was a barren vessel and one that would kill anybody within the hour, no matter what he did.
At least this way we can take some of those bastards with us!
“Okay, over there and open up the secondary port,” he said, pointing to a partially damaged computer system.
Wictred wasted no time and quickly covered the space to the unit. With a quick push, the slat at the front popped open to reveal a smaller but similar entry unit to the one near Jack. Wictred placed the key near the hexagonal hole and looked over to Jack. On his nod, the two pushed in their keys, and both units flashed yellow.
“Yes!” cried out Jack, pleasantly surprised that this part had worked at all. He’d half expected something to fail or interfere with their task. He checked the time displayed on the front of the unit, quickly calculating how long they had.
Two minutes till the lifeboat gets here. Crap! We’re behind schedule!
Each of the circular parts lit up, and he thought back to when the Chief had given him the details of what to do. The circles clicked as they were twisted, and he recalled the nine-digit code needed for the trigger. He started with the first wheel, and immediately a color display showed the first character speeding through numbers and letters.
“You sure you remember what the Chief said?” asked Wictred suspiciously.
Jack continued entering the code.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but yeah, I’ve got it.”
With each series of twists, the list of numbers and letters increased until finally, the entire nine-letter code was finished. Upon adding the very last one, the system beeped, and its lights turned red. A quiet voice came directly from the unit.
“Auto-destruct sequence activated. Three-minute silent countdown is in progress. Please evacuate the ship immediately.”
Jack looked to Wictred, who actually appeared nervous for the first time.
“What the hell are you waiting for? Go, now!” he cried.
With that, the two pushed away from the units and to the far door. It was a short route to the Six Alpha docking point, only three sections, but with the silent countdown ticking away in their ears, the two of them moved as fast as their bodies would let them. Wictred made it to the Six Alpha section and turned, waiting for Jack to arrive. He moved in a few seconds later, and the young Jötnar pushed the door shut behind him and pulled on the seals. The two then turned to face the external airlock, a double layered system that was designed to allow automated supply units to dock with the frigate. Jack hit the first manual control that triggered the opening of the seal. There were three seals in this section, and the final two could only be activated once a unit was connected to the exterior of the ship. It was a simple system, designed to avoid accidental breaches and fatal accidents. Wictred smashed his fist onto the panel, but the final two sections didn’t open. Even more serious though, his fist managed to break the panel to leave nothing but exposed circuits boards and wiring.
“Wictred! What have you done?” exclaimed Jack.
He pulled himself over to the panel and reached in, only to find smashed components and a scorch mark running along the metalwork. He turned back to Wictred, shaking his head.
“We’ve got a big problem.”
* * *
Captain Thomas stared with cold, expressionless eyes at the formation of enemy ships on the main display. The six ships appeared to be almost the same size as ANS Devastation, but their design, intentions or even capabilities were a total unknown to him. The shapes were similar to images he had seen of prehistoric fish back on Earth, with the thickly ribbed hulls and chunks of plating fitted at every point. One of them had reached an Alliance frigate, but they were too far away to assist, and by all accounts, the sensors showed the abandoned ship looked no better than a hulk.
“Tactical, what’s our status?” he asked for confirmation, even though he could see the icons on his own status board. He just needed to hear it from somebody else. The assault on the medical frigate was a shock, but there were even greater concerns in New Charon, right now. Lights flashed up on the mainscreen, and it quickly altered its focus to show the spot that had been occupied by the medical frigate and the large enemy ship. In their place was a great cloud of metal and debris. Colored flashes ripped through both structures, until a great color ball of energy tore the two vessels into tiny fragments.
“Holy crap!” uttered the Tactical Officer, before realizing what he’d said.
“Uh...the medical frigate is gone. Sensors indicate a strong possibility that she triggered an autodestruct sequence. The enemy ship’s gone as well.”
The display altered again to show all the changes that were occurring. The large structure of the primary enemy vessel had moved only a short distance from where it had arrived. The Tactical Officer highlighted the vessel on the computer system so that it indicated red on the display.
“The main vessel has taken a stationary position at the mouth of its Spacebridge. We have six other vessels, roughly cruiser class, and they have split up with each on an intercept course with the moons around the gas giant. No...Wait! They are all altering their course.”
Captain Thomas scratched his chin as he considered their options. The major Alliance ships in this sector were spread out over a wide distance with none, other than ANS Devastation, anywhere near the Spacebridge.
“Uh...Sir. They are on an intercept course with our Spacebridge and ANS Beagle.”
That last part snapped him out of his thoughts.
Beagle? What do they want with the bridge?
He nodded to the helmsman.
“Put us between them. They aren’t getting near our station.”
“Aye, Sir,” answered Lieutenant Glinda Scookins. She was a short, white-haired woman with a clipped accent. She was fast though, and in just a few seconds, the course changes were laid in. Captain Thomas indicated for Commander Parker, his XO to approach.
“Get the crew ready. I think we’re going to war.”
“Aye, Sir,” replied the XO, who then turned to the communications with confidence.
“This is the XO. Action stations! Marines, to your posts! Charge weapons systems! Medical staff to your posts! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill.”
The Tactical Officer did one final check before nodding to the Captain.
“Sir, particle beams capacitors are charging, approximately ninety seconds until ready.”
Captain Thomas nodded.
“Good, let’s hope they work as well as the tests suggested. Get me Captain Vinson on the horn.”
The face of ANS Devastation’s CAG appeared in seconds on the smaller screen to the right of where Captain Thomas sat.
“Captain, I need your birds in the air. Put fighters out as escort. We have hostiles on the way.”
“Understood, Sir, they’ll be out in less than sixty seconds.”
* * *
The destruction of the medical frigate and the enemy warship was the first major action in the space-borne struggle for supremacy in the New Charon sector. Even as the wrecked hulks drifted apart, the deployment of every ship in the system altered. All civilian ships and traffic in range of the Spacebridge returned to Prometheus immediately. All other military vessels set their course for ANS Beagle and the entrance to the Spacebridge itself. From the bridge of the ship, now nicknamed Charon Station, Captain Raikes watched the movement of ships around the nearby gas giant and its moons.
“Confirm that, all unidentified ships have changed course to intercept this station?”
The XO nodded.
“Affirmative, Sir, with the destruction of our frigate and the enemy ship, they have redirected their efforts towards us. It looks like their objectives have changed.”
“And the only defensive capabilities we have are two frigates?”
The XO nodded but said no more. On the tactical display were the icons for all the major warships in the system. Icons over the heavy gravity world showed the Jötnar transports and one Alliance crusader class vessel. ANS Dragon and her small taskforce were busy establishing monitoring posts and a resupply station in the asteroid belt. He’d already spoken with Admiral Anderson, who was mustering every ship he could find in the vicinity of Prometheus. He’d already sent through the second frigate to assist the station, but it wasn’t enough.
That left only ANS Devastation anywhere within range of the Spacebridge for at least two days. The display also showed quite clearly that the six enemy ships would have to move past Devastation. The status markers showed the intentions of her commander, and the hold action he was taking made Captain Raikes nervous. He tapped the communication button and immediately reached the pale face of Captain Thomas.
“Captain Raikes, good to see you. I’m deploying fighters and setting up a perimeter from the Rift.”
“I see. You understand that the enemy vessels appear of a similar size and capability of one of our own cruisers? You won’t last long out there.”
Captain Thomas nodded.
“I understand. Even so, once they get past us, they will hit you. If ANS Beagle is damaged or destroyed, we’ll be trapped here and at their mercy. We need reinforcements and fast.”
“Anderson is sending a taskforce in two hours. How long until the enemy reaches you?”
The Captain moved away for a moment before returning to the screen.
“They’ll be in weapons range in just over ninety minutes.”
“Ninety?” replied Captain Raikes with surprise. “Can you hold for thirty minutes with six ships on you?”
Captain Thomas simply smiled back at him.
“Ask me again in two hours.”