In the blackness of space the ship spun, helpless and crippled. It was turning end over end with a certain grace while also rotating about its longitudinal axis. External lights and landing indicators flickered erratically and vapour leaks left strange, fading spirals of frozen crystals in the vessel’s wake.
A Hegemony ship, a heavy assault implementer called the Ivwa-Kagoy, was tracking it on its course away from the Human colony world. The pursuit was also leading away from the fighting but the Hegemony captain was confident that the mighty carrier, Baqrith-Zo, was quite capable of obliterating a pair of Imisil scouts. This Human vessel, however, was a different matter. It matched the configuration of an Ezgara ship yet it had been fighting alongside the Imisil when the Hegemony carrier group exited hyperspace near the system’s periphery. There had been rumours of an Ezgara regiment turning renegade and the Father-Admiral urgently needed to know if there were any other similar rogue vessels in the stellar vicinity. His orders were clear–capture and interrogate.
Standing at his elevated command console, the Sendrukan captain surveyed projected screens full of scan data on the Human vessel. The sensors had detected some forty-seven lifesigns, whereas the Ivwa-Kagoy’s complement came to twenty-five.
But Humans are like children next to us, the captain thought. My crew should be able to overcome them without difficulty. However, Ezgara prisoners may present a problem. A degree of caution and subterfuge is required.
He was consulting with the ship’s machine intelligence and his own mind-companion when visual updates streamed across his command screens. Minor explosions aboard the Ezgara vessel had expelled some lesser debris, hull armour, outer bulkhead fragments, components, cabling, and white clouds of escape gases. There was also a larger object that looked to have been partially dislodged from its fastenings–one of the screens showed it swinging out from a shallow recess on the Ezgara vessel’s underside, still attached. Then something gave way and the object, now visible as a small shuttle pod, was flung outwards by the still-spinning ship. One sensor cluster tracked its slow tumbling progress for a moment or two; the expert system observed the erratic misfiring of its attitude thrusters, noted the absence of lifeforms aboard and demoted its monitoring priority.
So when one of the shuttle pod’s port thrusters fired in longer bursts, sending it into a tighter, faster spin, the sensors’ expert system failed to register it as a problem. Until it came out of its spin on a fast intercept trajectory, all thrusters on full burn, driving it towards the Hegemony ship. Collision alarms started yammering on the bridge and the machine mind advised the captain and his officers to retreat to the midsection.
But with only a few seconds to react, they had only begun moving to the exits when the shuttle crashed nose first into the viewport. Armoured glass barriers shattered under the impact, layers of hull around it bent and split, and the shuttle’s blunt prow burst through into the bridge. Suddenly there was the shriek of escaping atmosphere, and emergency facemasks popped out of their wall niches. But the force of depressurisation dragged the captain towards the smashed-in viewport, just as it dislodged the shuttle and propelled it back out.
Followed by the suffocated, flash-frozen bodies of the captain and his officers.
On board the Starfire, Greg turned to Lieutenant Malachi Ash and said, ‘That came off very well, I think.’
‘I’ll be happier when the ship’s in our hands,’ said Ash. ‘The next part will not be pretty and could go badly wrong if they decide to rig the drives to self-destruct.’
It took twenty minutes to manoeuvre alongside the Hegemony vessel, which was still heading along its original course even though the thrust drive had been shut down. The Starfire’s attitudinal jets were functioning but that was about all–the hyperdrive was half-slagged and most of the generators were blown, which meant that the weaponry could be neither powered nor aimed. Greg just hoped that this hijacking didn’t result in two wrecked ships.
Greg’s experience of close-quarter combat was nearly nonexistent so Ash made him stay with the rearguard, watching over the medical team and the ammo bearers. The Tygran energy weapons were keyed back to non-lethal settings to avoid damaging vital systems. In addition, some carried weighted clubs, daggers and tanglers. Malachi had been aboard this class of Hegemony warship before, and once a beachhead was established around the lateral airlock he was quick to move against the engineering section with the greater part of his troops. A smaller force was sent to secure the aft armoury.
Most of the fighting was over in less than an hour. The injuries were terrible yet the medic, Lieutenant Valerius, remained calm throughout, his tense manner matching his apparently tireless ability to deal with patient after patient. Gashes were pincerwired, burns were dermasprayed, beam- or blade-severed extremities were tagged and stored in a stasiscase while the wounds were coated in isolation gel then hardshelled. By the end the tally had reached two dead (and swiftly jettisoned out of the nearest airlock), five walking wounded and three stretcher cases.
Everyone looked bruised and battered and physically drained. Close-quarters and hand-to-hand combat against adversaries who were two, sometimes three feet taller (and correspondingly brawnier) was taxing, even with two- or three-to-one odds. This difference in scale was reflected in the ship’s interior. On his way to engineering, where Ash had set up his command post, Greg noticed the height and width of the passageways and doors, the oddly oppressive gold and grey colour scheme, and elaborate bas-relief mouldings that covered the upper half of every bulkhead.
Two of Ash’s men were dragging a dead Sendrukan out into the corridor by the feet as Greg arrived. Past the entrance to the engineering deck, the ornamentation was impressively overbearing, more bas-relief mouldings, several life-size silver statues mounted at head height in the corners, each demonstrating a different pre-industrial technical skill. Immense consoles dominated the room with a large, complex one occupying half the floor and butting against a wide window broken into hexagonal segments. Cabling sprouted from various open panels on the big console, where a group of Tygran techs worked, watched over by Ash.
‘Ah, Mr Cameron, good of you to join us,’ Ash said. ‘As you can see, we are in the process of rerouting bridge functions down here–in fact the Sendrukans had nearly accomplished it when we so rudely interrupted them. Luckily, Second Senior Instrumentationalist Panabec here has agreed to help us.’
A Sendrukan stood nearby, cuffed and shackled, towering over his two armed guards. His dark blue uniform was torn at one shoulder and his broad face bore a glumly stoic look. Greg wondered at the wisdom of taking advice from an enemy prisoner until one of the Tygran techs turned and nodded to Ash.
‘That’s the AI cores wiped, sir,’ he said. ‘Including the backup. The interface module is fully spliced into their matrix hub and we’re ready to bring the Starfire copy online.’
‘Have all precautions been taken?’ Ash said.
‘They have, sir.’
‘Good–carry on.’ Ash smiled at Greg. ‘Panabec assures me that AI transitioning is a straightforward procedure. If it’s not, he’ll be joining the rest of the prisoners in the hold.’
Before he finished, the tiny emitters all along the top of the line of big consoles winked on, flickered, and three large holoscreens appeared above them, angled downwards. Smaller ones appeared at other secondary workstations around the deck. Ash nodded.
‘Starfire-copy,’ he said. ‘Are you in control of this vessel’s systems and do you recognise my voice?’
‘Full control will be attained in two point five minutes on completion of calibration. You are Lieutenant Malachi Ash, second in command to Captain Franklyn Gideon.’
‘Indeed so, Starfire-copy,’ Ash said. ‘Give me a brief summary of this vessel’s offensive capabilities.’
‘Nine dual-function projectors, two at the stern, three at the prow, and two on each flank. Four launchers, one long-range, two medium, and one short-range, high-rate submunitioner. Additional offensive capabilities can include comm-sensor countermeasures and certain exotic forcefield properties.’
Seeing how pleased Ash was, Greg said, ‘Starfire-copy, do you know the Hegemony designation of this vessel?’
‘This is the heavy assault implementer Ivwa-Kagoy.’
‘I think a new name is called for,’ Greg said, looking at Ash. ‘Don’t you think, Lieutenant?’
‘Yes, you’re right. Starfire-copy, is there a protocol for the rebadging of captured enemy vessels?’
‘Captured enemy vessels are renamed under a colour-coding protocol. This class of vessel falls into categories red and silver.’
Greg and Ash exchanged thoughtful looks. The latter shrugged and Greg said, ‘How about Silverlance?’
‘Silverlance would be acceptable under protocol parameters,’ said the transplanted AI.
‘Very well,’ said Ash. ‘Execute this change.’
‘Done. The designation of this ship is now Recon Strike Cruiser Silverlance. Note that systematrix calibration is complete–this intelligence can now offer full control of this vessel.’
Ash turned to the Sendrukan Panabec, and gave a small, sharp bow of the head. ‘My thanks and appreciation for your valuable assistance, Instrumentationalist.’
‘The integrity of my machines is my duty,’ the Sendrukan said gravely. ‘May I be permitted to rest?’
‘Certainly,’ Ash said, nodding to the guards, who escorted the Sendrukan engineer through a side door.
‘Attention,’ said the ship AI. ‘Urgent communication from Starfire bridge personnel, with accompanying update files and realtime sensor readings.’
Ash went over to one of the large consoles, hoisted himself up into a great bucket of a seat and said, ‘Put them through here.’
As Greg joined him, one of the big overhead screens changed from subsystem monitor displays to a waist-up view of Berg, the tactical officer left in charge of the Starfire.
‘Berg,’ Ash said. ‘Update on that skirmish?’
‘It’s over, sir. One of the Imisil ships is destroyed, the other is in bad shape and heading out of the system at maximum thrust, which suggests that their hyperdrive is out of action.’
‘And the carrier group?’
‘Hegemony forces took a pounding. Out of four support battery ships, one is still fully combat-worthy, two are holed but still able to fight, and the fourth took a couple of multiwave missiles in the stern when its shields fluctuated so it’s a wreck. Carrier lost nearly a third of its interceptors and was breached on several decks.’
‘Those Imisil ships can certainly deal it out,’ Greg murmured.
‘The carrier group is back on course for Darien,’ Berg continued. ‘ETA is about 110 minutes. Comm traffic has been intense since the Imisil fled but they’re employing fifth-level encryption–we’ve sent you coiled archives.’
Ash nodded. ‘Silverlance AI–are you able to extract usable data?’
‘Decryption/translation module online–archived object now processed. Summary follows: main document details a list of ground targets in respect of planetary bombardment. Target plotted on hybrid locational/physical map on main screen right.’
Greg stared up at the map in horror. Red triangles were littered all across the colony–towns, villages, hamlets and cities, even sizeable farm compounds had been marked for destruction. Even the buildings at Gangradur Falls and the small settlements scattered throughout the Forest of Arawn. Tusk Mountain was the focus of a conspicuous cluster of red triangles, although Giant’s Shoulder was noticeably clear of them. Then there was the enclave of Brolturan troops to the north–had the Hegemony commander contacted them, perhaps even talked with Kuros? Then he realised that there was little point in speculation. There was only one thing that was about to happen to Darien, and one word to describe it.
Genocide.
‘We have to stop them, Ash,’ he said. ‘We cannae sit back and let them do this!’
The Tygran officer was glowering up at the map.
‘That carrier,’ he said, ‘destroyed one of those Imisil ships and chased off the other, and either of them could take on this Heg ship and win.’ He glanced at Greg. ‘So how, Mr Cameron, can we go up against it and succeed?’
‘Do what we did before–throw a shuttle at it…’
Ash shook his head. ‘That carrier masses something like a million and a quarter tons fully manned and loaded. Ramming it with a shuttle would be like throwing a shoe at a charging behemox. On the other hand, if we used a ship…’
Greg made a rueful grimace. ‘The Starfire?’
Ash got down from the big seat, stretched his back and studied the screen displays. ‘Silverlance AI–with the Starfire in tow, would we be able to intercept the carrier group before it came within weapons range of Darien?’
‘Assuming maximum velocity within tolerances and a flight time of forty-two minutes, this vessel could achieve intercept with eight point three minutes to spare… Communication has been received from the Hegemony commander, contains updated version of target list and personal orders.’
‘Read me the orders,’ Ash said grimly.
‘Translated, it begins: “From Phalanx Supreme Ordainer Jothul, aboard the Great Carrier Baqrith-Zo, to Effector-Captain Vadeyni of the Implementer Ivwa-Kagoy–the Imisil raiders have been defeated, though not without cost. You are to break off current action and rejoin Phalanx at coordinates alpha. Equally, you are to examine the attached list of unassigned targets and respond with prioritised selection matching your vessel’s capabilities. Ends.” This message also came as an audio message, all encrypted to level five. What reply should be made?’
‘Send an “acknowledged–please stand by”-type response,’ said Ash. ‘Buy us some time.’
‘This has already been done.’
‘Wait another minute then repeat.’
‘We can only send a plain message,’ Greg said. ‘Tell them our comm systems were seriously mangled in a fight with a Tygran warship…’
‘… which we have captured almost intact and are claiming as victor’s prize.’ Ash nodded. ‘Silverlance, can you phrase that suitably in a response? End by saying we have set course and are under way.’
‘Done, sir.’
‘And select a number of targets from that list, something plausible given our weaponry. Send when ready.’
‘Message has now been sent. Sir, do you wish to deploy the forcefield in a towing configuration anchored to the Starfire?’
‘Inform the bridge of the Starfire, then deploy fields and lay in the intercept course.’
‘Communication made, sir… course set, thrusters engaged… we are under way.’
Greg smiled and nodded approvingly.
‘Interesting that you use headsets and console pickups aboard the Starfire, while here it’s all speaking into the air.’
‘The difference is that on Hegemony ships they love the sound of their own voices!’
They laughed.
‘I’ll have to take the shuttle back to Starfire, get the remaining crew evaced over here,’ Ash said. ‘And I have to be there in order to set the various self-destructs. And in the meantime, I’m leaving you in charge, temporary measure.’
‘There’s only twenty-six minutes till we make that intercept,’ Greg said. ‘That’s cutting it a wee bit fine.’
‘It is not a problem. Tygrans are used to achieving results under pressure.’
Ash headed for the exit, which slid open, and he paused on the threshold. ‘Stay in your body armour and retain your sidearm. And you guards–bring Panabec out so everyone can keep an eye on him.’
The Sendrukan engineer was brought out and seated at a round table by the rear bulkhead. Satisfied, Ash nodded to Greg and left.
Greg went over and clambered into the big Sendrukan chair so that he could survey the situation as it unfolded on the semiopaque holoscreens. There were fourteen crew members still aboard the Starfire, close to a full shuttleload, and a round trip there and back could take up to fifteen minutes. Timing was going to be tight.
Just over five minutes later, the screens and ceiling lights in engineering flickered off and on.
‘Silverlance,’ Greg said. ‘What just happened?’
‘Power… power… powerless,’ said the AI. ‘Autodiagnostic reports… no anomaly or interruptions. This is incorrect–am initiating subsystems scrutiny–hierarchic integrity is compromised–alert! Main hold access doors unlocked–Sendrukan prisoners escaping…’
Suddenly fearful, Greg recalled how the Starfire was taken over and remotely controlled by the Tygran Marshal Becker.
‘What’s doing this?’ he said. ‘Is it coming from the carrier?’
‘No data objects of suitable complexity have been received–anomalous interference coming from within this ship–unauthorised course alteration!–Silverlance is now on heading B27-902.8 heading away from Darien…’
We’re off course! he thought. We’ll never stop that carrier now.
Shouts made Greg look round to see the Sendrukan engineer Panabec walking unhurriedly across the floor. His guards, guns raised, were warily following until he stopped and turned to gaze at Greg. The listless bearing was gone and now the eyes flared with anger.
‘You are a disease,’ the Sendrukan said. ‘You will be purged.’
Then he stepped onto a floor tile, which swung down. Like a stone he fell straight through, gone from sight in a heartbeat. The guards dived forward but the tile had resealed and seemed as solid as the rest.
‘Where is he?’ Greg said. ‘Silverlance, where did Panabec go?’
‘Deck Three auxiliary disposal stall–subject Panabec has encountered escaped prisoners–entire group now numbers nine and are moving forward–nearest bank of evacuation pods is accessible from that area.’
‘Can you stop them? Seal off the hatches?’
‘Unable to comply–such security functions have been abrogated by another.’
Another what? he wondered while trying not to panic. ‘Open a channel to the Starfire–we need to notify Ash…’
‘Unable to comply–access to external comms has been denied.’
He listened with mounting horror. ‘What’s doing this? I thought that the original ship AI had been wiped… is there any way to shut the prisoners out of the pods altogether?’
‘No. Emergency and maintenance systems are being progressively subverted. Countermanding agency may be viral with partial cognitive heuristics–may have been a hardwired retaliatory instrumentation…’
‘Is it safe for us to remain aboard?’ he said. ‘Is it possible to isolate the subverting agency? Put up a firewall of some kind…’
‘Safety uncertain–isolation impossible–forward port evac pods are launching–all Sendrukans have left this ship…’
Greg stared up at the holoscreens. On two of them, blocks of Sendrukan text appeared one after another in pale blue lettering then slowly faded away. The third screen was a live feed from a hull sensor cam, showing four pods jetting away from the former Hegemony vessel.
‘Subversion encroaching on tertiary and secondary systems–integrity compromised–withdrawing to primary core–this cognitive unit is now under threat of sequestration–absent any external countervailing influence, self-erasure has been initiated.’
Suddenly, silence. Greg exchanged worried looks with Panabec’s former guards.
‘Any word from the Starfire on your comm units?’ he said.
‘Nothing, sir,’ said the taller of the two. ‘They’ve been dead since this began.’
Greg nodded sombrely. ‘If some booby-trap virus is taking over the ship, we have to figure out where the safest place is–up here, or down near the—’
‘Nowhere on this ship,’ said an authoritative voice, ‘is safe for you.’
A chill went down Greg’s spine but he couldn’t help laughing.
‘Ah, you’ll be the new Hegemony captain, then. I’m glad you’re here because I think we got off on the wrong foot…’
‘I am not the captain of the Ivwa-Kagoy but its avenger. You Humans have violated its honour and its illustrious duty. Punishment will be severe.’
‘Now, ye see, you’re jumping tae conclusions. Without the full facts, you could be in danger of committing crucial errors.’
‘The facts are not in question. In opposing our appointed task in this system you Tygrans have assumed the role of enemy combatants. By attacking and boarding this ship you have earned for yourselves an implacable retribution. There are no errors.’
‘Except that I’m not a Tygran,’ Greg said. ‘I’m a Darien non-combatant and I shouldn’t even be here. If you execute me I imagine you’ll be breaking who knows how many interstellar treaties, conventions and protocols, which might not go down well with the leadership back home.’
Leisurely pacing to and fro between the big holoscreens, Greg glanced over at the guards and gave a damned-if-I-know shrug. The guards grinned.
‘Such pleas for exemption do not concern me,’ said the Hegemony intelligence, just as one of the guards knelt down beside some of the gear left next to the big central console by Ash’s techs. ‘Your presence aboard this vessel implies a hostile role. Retaliation against all Humans is therefore justified.’
The guard was peering at what looked like a diagnosis pad sitting on a transport cabinet with its screen open.
‘As I said, we got off on the wrong foot,’ Greg said, frowning now as the guard started to beckon him over. ‘We should all get round a table and talk this through. Once ye get tae know us ye might change yer mind…’
‘My function and purpose is clear–all Humans aboard this ship should be considered an infestation and dealt with accordingly.’
‘Ye might want to reconsider that. My own government will not look kindly on the negligent slaughter of one of its citizens.’
Silence.
Aye, Greg thought as he joined the guard. We’re all just the ones who don’t matter, me, them and everyone on Darien.
‘What is it?’ he said, even as the guard was turning the pad screen for him to see Ash staring up at him.
Greg laughed. ‘Is this live or a recording?’
Ash pointed to his right ear then tapped his right shoulder. For a moment Greg was puzzled, then remembered the earpiece built into the Tygran armoured jerkin he wore. He fingered it from a tiny collar pocket, placed it in his ear, then found the jack wire in the hem and snapped it into the pad.
‘Let’s keep this short and to the point,’ Ash said. ‘Yes or no answers. Has some kind of backup Hegemony AI taken control?’
‘Oh aye.’
‘We thought that might have been a consequence of getting Panabec’s help. Have any sectors been depressurised?’ ‘No… eh, I think.’
‘Take that as a no… what’s the matter?’
Greg was straightening from his crouch, turning his head this way and that, listening. ‘It’s gone quiet–the ventilation’s off.’
‘Not much time left–open the flap on the underside of this datapad, press and hold the red button for five seconds, then press the blue button.’
Quickly he upended the pad, flipped open the recess and just as he pressed the red button the lights flickered into a dull pulsing pattern and an ululating alarm began to sound. Suddenly the Hegemony AI spoke.
‘A cunning ploy, to install an intelligence unit independent of all ship-nets. Yet your punishment is assured, one way or another.’
Counting five, he released the red and punched the blue.
Then he felt the faint breeze.
‘My God,’ said one of the guards. ‘It’s opened the locks!’
Edgy with panic, Greg turned the pad over but the screen was blank and an amber light was winking next to the recessed interface grip.
‘C’mon Ash, where are you?’ he muttered.
‘Starfire-copy now embedded,’ said a different voice. ‘Rerouted bridge systems online–access is partial due to encrypted lockouts… onboard environment compromised by depressurisation.’ ‘Starfire-copy, this is Greg Cameron,’ he said aloud. ‘Do you recognise me?’
‘Voice pattern confirmed as Greg Cameron, Darien envoy…’
‘Okay, listen,’ he said as he sat on the equipment case. ‘We need you to close all the hatches which have been opened.’
‘Security and maintenance system lockouts have been encrypted–decryption estimate thirteen point seven minutes.’
Greg felt like tearing his hair out. ‘We’ve not got the time! Is there any other way to override the hatch controls?’
‘Data on Hegemony ship systems hierarchy incomplete–shall extrapolate using Tygran vessel Starfire systems.’
‘Fine–and can you open a channel to the bridge of the Starfire while yer at it?’
There was no response. Greg stood and went over to the line of consoles, speaking again to the ship AI and still getting no reply. He was starting to feel light-headed when the lights abruptly brightened and shifted to a new pattern of pulses. The alarm also changed to a higher, faster pitch.
‘In the name of the wee man,’ he snarled. ‘What now?’
‘This alert signifies a containment breach in the fuelling sublevel and a discharge of radioactive material into the environment circulation,’ said the ship AI. ‘This triggers a high-priority override which closes and seals all doors and hatches–shipboard atmospheric integrity is no longer compromised and all sectors are now repressurising.’
Greg grinned. ‘And the containment breach?’
‘A fiction–false sensor readings were sent to the air quality subsystem, which escalated them to the environment oversystem. Another false report from the fuel pressure subsystem corroborated the warning and the override was triggered. System lockout decryption estimate nine point six minutes.’
One of the overhead screens flicked on and there was Ash, gazing down.
‘Good work keeping your nerve, Mr Cameron. We’ll make a Tygran of you yet.’
‘Aye, well, I’ll be happy to take a shot at it if we can get back on course…’
Ash hesitated. ‘Starfire’s thrust drives are offline, but without the power drain of towing us, the Silverlance might manage it.’
‘I see, you mean a one-way ticket, suicide mission sort of thing.’
‘Yes, that would be… wait, energy readings for your weapons have just spiked, and the targeting sensors too. Starfire-copy, explain.’
‘Weaponry and sensors are among a group of systems locked out of access–decryption estimate eight point two minutes–warning: beam projector targeting has switched to long-range mode and is pinpointing the carrier–flank and forward batteries have opened fire.’
‘That vessel is at the outside limits of long-range weapons,’ Ash said.
‘Sensor data indicates that the Hegemony carrier has suffered minimal hull damage,’ said the Silverlance. ‘Carrier velocity is falling–we are being probed by their sensors–incoming communication: “War-vessel Ivwa-Kagoy, you are to render all weaponry inert and prepare to be boarded”–no response is possible due to comms lockout–warning: shipboard launchers are now powering up–nearby targets have been acquired.’
‘What targets?’ Greg said sharply.
‘Four evacuation pods recently ejected from this ship and currently headed towards planet Darien.’
The Sendrukan escapees? Greg thought. That Hegemony AI did this…
‘That AI said our destruction was assured,’ he said. ‘It set this up, to make it look as if we’re firing on defenceless…’
‘Missiles launched and on course.’ Seconds passed, then on one of the big screens there was a bright flare, followed by another three. ‘Evacuation pods destroyed.’
Greg felt sick to his stomach. One of the holoscreens step-zoomed in on the Hegemony carrier group. The carrier was a long vessel with a hexagonal cross-section and a large triangular midsection which was probably where the command and control decks were. But as he watched the viewpoint pulled back and swung to frame a much smaller, blockier ship.
‘Two of the carrier’s battery-support ships have broken formation in our direction, due to intercept our course in six point three minutes–they will be in weapons range in three point nine minutes.’
Greg gritted his teeth and shook his head. ‘Estimated time until lockouts are decrypted.’
‘Five point five minutes.’ ‘There is some good news,’ said Ash.
‘Hope so–d’ye know how many beam projectors each of them battery ships carries?’ Greg said, peering up at the sensor readings. ‘Twenty-four, that’s how many! So, how good is your good news?’
‘Self-repair systems have got one of the Starfire’s main generators back online.’ Ash smiled down at him from the left-hand screen. ‘We’ve now got one of our beam cannons charged and ready to fire.’
Greg nodded, smiling weakly. ‘I suppose you could get in a lucky shot, or ten.’
‘If we even had the thrust drive at least we wouldn’t be such a sitting duck.’
A gloomy silence held sway. On the central holoscreen a countdown ate away at time. Greg was restlessly pacing the deck when he felt a shudder underfoot.
‘Starfire-copy, what was…’
‘Full control over main systems has been regained–instructions?’
‘Bring thrust drive online,’ said Ash. ‘Initiate evasive manoeuvres. Re-establish forcefield tow on Starfire. Ready all weapons, target the leading vessel.’
‘Hegemony vessels have increased velocity,’ said the ship AI. ‘One point one minutes till their weapons are in range.’
Greg gnawed his lips, drawing blood. ‘Are we moving at all?’ he said. ‘It feels like we’re…’ He paused, seeing the countdown slip below one minute, seeing the seconds pour away, wondering if Catriona would ever know, wishing he’d taken time to write her a note…
‘Hegemony ships have stopped and are reversing course,’ said the ship AI. ‘The carrier appears to be under attack from another vessel–newcomer did not register until twenty seconds ago then swiftly approached Hegemony carrier–newcomer’s configuration is unfamiliar, has a rough hemispherical shape and a number of tapering spokes around its edge–hull seems featureless and black. Carrier has engaged with all onboard defences and is deploying interceptors.’
On the screen missile strikes and beam impacts wreathed the mysterious black ship in a corona of fire and destruction. Seemingly unaffected, it had not thus far responded with weapons of its own. The battery ship which had remained with the carrier had already unleashed the full force of its twenty-four beam cannons, a column of dazzling energies that struck the black ship square on. When the back-tracking companion vessels at last came into range they likewise brought their cannon arrays to bear, and then there were three spears of ferocity hammering away at that black hemispherical hull.
The unknown vessel seemed not to notice. Going by the onscreen images, there was no evidence that the fearsome triple onslaught was having any effect at all. The black ship, however, was moving with almost casual grace through the firestorm to position itself at an odd angle to the Hegemony carrier, poised forward of the midsection and off to one side.
‘What is it doing?’ Greg murmured.
‘Nothing friendly,’ said Ash.
The three battery ships had ceased firing and were moving round to focus their attacks on the mystery vessel’s underside. At the same time one of the spines protruding from the black ship’s rim began to extend towards the carrier. A weird jagged radiance played around the gradually telescoping tip and Greg was wondering if it was some kind of onboard systems disabler when it suddenly shot forward.
The impact wasn’t visible from the Silverlance’s perspective but the long-range visual feed showed a few glittering pieces of debris come into view. Ash muttered something under his breath and Greg watched in appalled fascination, unprepared for what happened almost ten seconds later. The interceptors had redoubled their efforts and the battery ships were unleashing the fury of their beam cannons then a gout of debris erupted from the carrier’s underside as the other end of the black ship’s extending spine punched its way out.
‘This is like the ship rams from ancient Earth history,’ Ash said. ‘Crude but effective…’
The carrier had put all its thrusters into reverse but the black ship kept pace. Then something else happened–another black spike smashed its way out through the hull, clearly branching off from the first impaling spine. Then another broke out, and another and another until the carrier from its midsection to its prow resembled a grotesque, gargantuan pincushion. The black ship then used other spines to spear two of the battery ships: run through and fatally weakened, they began to suffer internal explosions which reduced them to torn, leaking hulks. The third had been under way when the deadly spine leaped out and glanced off its hull. Thrust drives ramped into full burn, it accelerated away but too late–from the black ship’s underside a tentacle of jagged radiance uncoiled, snaked out and engulfed it, dragging it back in so that two rim spines stabbed out and skewered it. Staved in and mangled, it burst apart in a paroxysm of fire and havoc.
It was like a signal for the carrier’s end. The branching spikes began to move, some rotating one way against the rest. Chasms were ripped open in the hull, more debris and bodies, more puffs of escaping air. Something vital, a refuelling station, perhaps, exploded, sending fire racing through a line of the interceptor berth decks, which touched off a string of secondary explosions.
Then the black ship finished it. At some point, that lethal central spin must have telescoped out within the carrier because the hull visibly tore open from the upper section down. Misfiring thrusters and blasting explosions forced the bows askew and the huge warship’s back was broken. The spike branches shrank, the long spine withdrew, then the black ship manoeuvred to the aft of the crippled Hegemony vessel and repeated the deadly assault, this time with two of its rim spines.
Fifteen minutes later the carrier had been reduced to half a dozen massive, ragged pieces, racked by explosions, drifting amid a cloud of pulverised wreckage and contorted bodies. The interceptors fought to the end, expending the last of their energy cells in useless attacks, and those not caught by the black ship’s force-field tentacles crashed themselves into its impervious black hull, final acts of pointless defiance.
At last it appeared that all resistance had been crushed and all life snuffed out–the black vessel had hunted through the debris field for lifepods, destroying those it found. Now, with all its spines withdrawn, it moved out of the spreading cloud of wreckage and towards the two Tygran-controlled ships.
Ash and his remaining officers had crossed over to the Silverlance during the carrier’s drawn-out demolition. Greg was watching the black vessel’s approach just as Ash entered engineering with a dataslate in hand.
‘More trouble, I see,’ he said to Greg.
‘Never a dull moment round here,’ Greg said. ‘But this time we’re ready. Hyperdrive is prepped for a fast exit, or if ye fancy a brief shot at suicidal glory all the weapons are online and charged. I’m assuming that the latter ain’t your first preference.’ Or even your tenth.
‘Today is not the day for suicidal glory, Mr Cameron,’ Ash said with a level smile. ‘Starfire-copy, ready drive for evasive jump pattern alpha.’
‘Jump pattern alpha ready–unidentified warship has altered course and is now accelerating away–it has transitioned to hyperspace.’
The change in the black ship’s behaviour happened as swiftly as the ship AI’s commentary, and took everyone by surprise. But Ash’s stern demeanour remained fixed.
‘Maintain battle readiness,’ he said. ‘Sensors at full range…’
‘Contact,’ said the ship AI. ‘New vessel has appeared three point eight thousand kiloms off our lower port quarter–profile matches that of the Imisil heavy recon scouts previously encountered–incoming multistream signal.’
‘Screen it,’ said Ash.
The central overhead holoscreen lit up, showing the familiar features of the Imisil commander. Ash stepped to one side and with a look urged Greg to step up.
‘Presignifier Remosca,’ he said amiably. ‘I’m very glad to see that ye made it through that wee skirmish.’
The humanoid’s smart white garments were now smudged and streaked with grime and blood. The skin spot-clusters pulsed between dull amber and pale green.
‘Captain Cameron–it is most acceptable to re-establish our acquaintance. I had not realised that you were so daring as to capture a Hegemony warship–this will not endear you to them.’
‘Well, if they insist on leaving their property lying around unattended…’
‘I note and share your levity,’ Remosca said. ‘More seriously, did you observe the ship which destroyed the Hegemony carrier group?’
Greg nodded. ‘It was quite a show. No one here has ever seen anything like it.’
‘We knew of such vessels only as dark legends from the distant past,’ Remosca said. ‘That ship belongs to a race called the Vor. It was a force of their ships that attacked the Imisil fleet–our co-signifiers managed to fight off the ambush but at considerable cost.’
‘You must have impressive weapons,’ Greg said. ‘Don’t know what was protecting that ship but nothing the Hegemony had could touch it.’
‘The Vor have only a few of those render-ships–they are shielded by a bubble of subspace which here in normal space makes them almost invulnerable. In hyperspace, less so. That vessel I am sure was hunting for us.’
‘And instead it ran into the Hegemony carrier and gave it a serious amount of grief.’ Greg chuckled. ‘Shame we couldn’t persuade them to stick around and help us out.’
‘The Vor are a vile species, Captain Cameron,’ said Presignifier Remosca. ‘They are biological parasites that ride around in the bodies of captured enemies; all brain tissue involved in higher functions is removed, reducing all cerebral activity to basic, primitive functions, then the Vor climbs in and interfaces its mind with what remains. Our legends tell of the millions who were abducted to serve as hosts for these creatures. They cannot be compromised or negotiated with, much less considered possible allies.’
Well, that’s me told, Greg thought.
‘And now it’s vanished back into hyperspace,’ he said. ‘It could have gone after us or destroyed the Darien colony, or both, yet here we are.’
‘I have no answer for you,’ said Remosca. ‘Except to say that whatever the strategy the Vor are following, it will not be to our benefit.
‘However, now you must listen carefully. The Imisil fleet, despite its losses, is back on course and will be here in less than two hours, by your reckoning. We have been in touch with the edge commanders and they have informed me that the Hege–mony armada will be supported by a combat fleet from their Yamanon partners, the Earthsphere. But be aware–the Hegemony will not be permitted to establish overwhelming military supremacy here.’
Despite these stirring words, Greg still felt the optimism drain out of him. For a moment he was directionless, then a spark of anger flickered inside him.
‘After all that’s happened here–to us–they still let themselves be used!’ The anger was hot now. ‘The Hegemony snaps its fingers and Earthsphere hurries along to their master’s bidding, grovelling puppets, the lot o’ them! While Darien is a piece to be fought and wrangled over!’ He paused to rein in his rage. ‘Just as a matter of interest, how might the combined Hegemony and Earthsphere forces compare to the Imisil fleet?’
‘Conservative estimates suggest that we could be outnumbered by seven to one,’ said Remosca.
Eyes widening, Greg uttered a low whistle. He glanced over at Ash, who was watching the screen with a thoughtful smile on his face. Then for some reason Greg’s mood changed and he found himself striving not to laugh out loud.
‘We shall send to you the latest reports on the likely composition of the Hegemony and Earthsphere fleets,’ said the Imisil commander. ‘When our fleet arrives, the Predominant Commander will wish to meet with us all, therefore you should be attired accordingly. In the meantime, we must attend to essential repairs.’
The image of Remosca vanished, to be replaced by a wide-angle shot of the vicinity, including Darien and the forest moon, Nivyesta. Dynamic tags floated around the image border, updates on debris density per 100 cubic kilometres. Some tags identified the locations of bodies.
‘Seven to one sounds worse than the actuality,’ Ash said. ‘Strange things happen during battle, witness our most recent encounter. And anyway, so far the space around Darien has been a graveyard for starships. I think that the Hegemony is going to learn a painful lesson here.’
‘And Earthsphere?–what will they learn?’
Ash shrugged. ‘To choose better allies, perhaps.’
As the Tygran officer went off to talk to his techs, Greg stared up at the screen, at Darien hanging in space, looking just then more beautiful than he could remember.
If I asked Ash for permission to return to Darien he would probably allow it. Yet here am I, on a captured Hegemony warship, mentally preparing myself for more fighting against insane odds.
And just then, he found himself picturing Catriona listening in on his thoughts, her face lit up with a sceptical smile.
Oh aye, Mr Cameron? And what makes you so special that these fine, brave Tygran soldiers just canna leap into the lion’s mouth without you, eh? Tell me that if you will.
And he imagined himself replying:
Well, I don’t think I could sit down there, safe and powerless, while Darien’s fate is being decided up here. I might die, but if Darien lives on then that’ll be okay. But what if I lived through it all and Darien was wiped out? I couldn’t bear that, losing you and… home.
So ye see, a leap into the lion’s mouth may not be such a bad option, if you give it something that’s really hard to chew…