The Battle for Lashmere Page 11

  She puttered around with the design a little while longer, increasing the stealth and sensor abilities and adding a more powerful sublight drive system. If only there were a way to add a small reactor that used the unstable isotopes the much more massive ships used for their faster than light systems. She looked over the design and decided it was sufficient for her needs. By the time she completed the workup for her second generation pinnace, she saw her engines were fully cooled down and ready for another hop.

  The two transits to the research station around the red giant went smoothly, and she spent most of the time sleeping and looking at a small amount of data that had already been decrypted from the first base. There were a lot of stations throughout the area. Many of them were designated as routine bases, supply depots or communications nodes. The only specialized base in the area was the one she was already headed to.

  Loki moved in on sublight engines towards the center of the system. The red giant star loomed balefully against the black of the surrounding space. An alert chimed and Simmons saw the computer had flagged several energy readings as possible ships. She looked them over and saw a common energy pattern between them that she did not recognize. The energy sources were moving between moons of the gas giant further into the system.

  She tapped a series of commands, and the computer started an analysis. After a few minutes, it reported them as ships were from a group called the Etyrni Empire. The short blurb about them in the database made it apparent they were no one she wanted to meet. She kept her stealth systems at maximum and continued on her course.

  She yawned, she needed to get some sleep. "Computer, continue passive track on those energy sources. Alert me if any of them get within fifty thousand kilometers."

  “Acknowledged," the computer replied.

  Simmons went to bed. She'd taken over the captain's quarters since it was so conveniently located near the bridge. And, she justified to herself, she was the senior officer aboard, so the move was appropriate.

  She woke up naturally a few hours later and stretched. After completing her morning routine, she headed up to the bridge. Loki was motionless next to the scientific station. The airlock was ready to extend, and she could board any time she wanted.

  She went down to the maintenance bay, got her armor on and loaded up an extra helping of field rations. She would need to start producing more soon, but the supplies she had aboard were sufficient for the time being

  The airlock mated with the side of the station with no issue. Telltales blinked from red to amber to green, indicating a stable seal and positive mechanical lock to the outer surface. She opened her inner door and stepped into the airlock. It pressurized the small space between the ship and the station. The inner door closed and the outer door opened. She could see the skin of the ancient installation now. It was pitted and covered with a layer of space dust. She examined the control panel. Simple enough alphanumeric iconography and intuitive layout. She turned the first knob in sequence, and nothing happened.

  "What's wrong?" she mused to herself. She reset the knob and tried a different sequence. Perhaps the builders had thought from the bottom up? Another knob next to what looked like a door closing symbol, but it might work…

  The outer door groaned and shifted slightly, but it did not open. After a few seconds, a red indicator illuminated over the icon she'd determined meant pressurized. She waited, and the lamp turned green. She tried the first knob again. The door shuddered and then slowly slid open. Debris and trash filled the inside of the airlock. Most of it looked to be far more recent than the time humanity had last been dominant in this part of space.

  Perhaps the people using the planets of the red giant were using this station as well. She pulled a heavy energy pistol from her belt. Although she was pressure suited, she couldn't risk deploying the heavy cannon mounted to her backpack. It would go through the skin of the station, and she didn't want to fall into the star before Loki could pick her up. She took a step forward and touched the button that she presumed was to cycle the lock and open the inner door. She heard a muted beep from the panel and waited patiently while the outer door groaned shut. A few seconds later, the inner door jumped suddenly as though the mechanical linkage had a delay in it and then started to open smoothly.

  Standing inside the door was a man. He looked human, well, mostly human. He had ears too high in his skull and they appeared to be pointed and mobile. One of them flicked forward in her direction. His eyes were brilliant yellow with slit pupils. He was holding a rifle in his hands, almost casually. It reminded her of how the marines held their rifles.

  "Tando no yash di!" the man yelled at her.

  Simmons paused, unsure of what to do.

  "Tando no yash di!" the man repeated.

  Simmons switched on her external speaker. "Look, I'm not sure what you said just now, but I'm trying to take a look at the station if you don't mind."

  The man cocked his head as she spoke, and he waited for a moment. He pressed his hand against his ear for a second and then he said, "Agont dur finst skep."

  At least he sounded a lot calmer than he had the first time he spoke. He still kept that rifle trained on her, though. She weighed the option of trying to stun him, but she didn't know what that rifle was capable of. "Um, fine, I guess. Look, I just want to plug into the station's computer system for a few minutes. Is that okay?" She took a step forward.

  "Rango gast!" the man shouted and shouldered his rifle, aiming at her head.

  "Okay, so that's a no," she said. She took a step back and the man visibly relaxed. He put his hand to his ear again. She wondered if there was something wrong with him. "Are you okay? I guess I understand why you're afraid of me, but I'm not after anything but the computer."

  After a long moment of silence, the man appeared to nod to himself and then said, "Do you understand my words now?" His lips were moving out of sync. Simmons surmised he must be subvocalizing to a translator of some kind.

  "Yes."

  "What manner of executioner are you? I expected more from Aktovikirik. Surely she could have come herself."

  “Um, I'm sorry. I'm not here to kill anyone if I can help it. I'm only interested in the station and its computer."

  "Well, that is odd. This station has been here for thousands of years. I doubt the computer even works anymore." The man relaxed a bit further, lowering his rifle and peering at her curiously. "What manner of being are you?"

  "Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting you can't see my face in this helmet." She raised the armor plate, revealing her face behind the clear visor underneath. "I'm a human. I came here from quite a long way off."

  The man shook his head and seemed to be amused. "Human? I doubt that. There hasn't been a human alive in millennia. And besides, no human could get so deeply within Etyrni space without being killed."

  "Well, here I am. Now, do you mind not pointing that gun at me and letting me take a look at the computer?"

  "I'm Netupliktik. I will let you look at what you want, but I want passage off of this station."

  Several things suggested themselves to Simmons immediately. First was that he had presumed she was there to execute him. Next was the sheer amount of trash and debris in the part of the station she could see. The third thing she thought about was the fact that he was apparently very familiar with weapons. His movements were those of extended training and time spent in dangerous situations, depending on those skills to keep him alive. She did not doubt that he was quite dangerous.

  "You hesitate. I offer my word I will not attempt to harm you or impede your progress until I am safely off of your ship."

  "Why are you here on this station? Are you alone? And, why are you expecting to be executed?"

  "Those are good questions. I will tell you I was placed here against my will for reasons that are my own. As to my impending execution… That's personal and between myself and Aktovikirik. She and I will settle our difference someday, but until then, I will survive in any way I can."
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br />   "Now, that is something I can empathize with," Simmons said. "I'm Marli Simmons." Something about his mannerisms made her want to relax. He had a disarming sort of charm to his way of speaking. She considered the situation for a moment longer. "Fine, but I have two conditions."

  "Name them."

  "First, stop pointing that gun at me. Second, while we are on my ship, my word is law."

  Netupliktik nodded and said, "That's as it should be. I believe we have an agreement." With that, he thumped his chest with a closed fist and lowered his rifle.

  Simmons nodded and said, "Good." She put her pistol back in its holster. “Where is the computer?"

  "It is this way. Be cautious. There are several sections where the gravity plating is no longer working." He jumped over a distance of three or four meters and touched down gracefully on the other side. Simmons engaged her magnetic boots and clomped across the area, fighting the sudden nausea of weightlessness she felt.

  Netupliktik motioned at her and said, "It is just through this door here. I recommend haste."

  Simmons saw that the accumulation of trash was mostly around the airlock. The remainder of the station was entirely run down. Panels were left open haphazardly with spliced cables and fluid lines making a crazy chaos of the internal workings of the station.

  "How long have you been here?"

  Netupliktik paused his brisk walk and said, "I'm honestly not sure. Perhaps three years, perhaps more. Here is the computer room." He grabbed the edge of a door that was hanging open and gave it a shove. It groaned and slowly swung open. "What's left of the computer is inside. We must hurry. Aktovikirik will have detected your presence aboard the station by now."

  Simmons nodded and stepped into the computer room. The computer was partially dismantled, and most of it was a jumbled mess. She engaged her suit sensors and scanned over the wreckage, looking for any data modules that might be intact. After several long seconds of scanning, her suit beeped and placed a highlight over one stack of equipment. She walked over and looked at the ancient computers.

  "We must hurry. It takes only a few minutes to fly here, Marli."

  She turned and looked at him for a few seconds before returning her attention to the computer. There was virtually no chance this stuff held any information she needed. "I guess I better take it with me and analyze it later, then."

  She reached out with her armored hands and ripped the data module from the supporting rack. The remaining equipment collapsed into a pile of useless debris. "Okay, let's go."

  She saw Netupliktik had a look of astonishment on his face. "Your armor gives you great strength."

  "It does. Let's go."

  The pair moved back through the station for a moment, crossing the zero-gravity area and then reentered the airlock. As soon as she boarded the Loki, an alarm began to chime softly.

  "What is it?" Netupliktik asked.

  "It's the proximity alert. It looks like someone has come to investigate." She moved quickly to the bridge, followed closely by her new Etyrni companion. "Computer, display proximity alert."

  The main plot shifted to show a huge, wedge-shaped ship moving towards the station.

  "That's her. It's Aktovikirik.”

  Chapter 14

  Hanlon and Tolon passed the time exploring the portion of New Dawn that was accessible from the bridge. There were a few rooms with crumbling furniture and a galley that would need a complete overhaul to be functional. Hanlon decided those would be a priority since she would be aboard for the near term. The computer was as recalcitrant as ever, refusing to give her any information she didn’t forcibly drag from it.

  “What’s the time until you complete the repairs to the computers, New Dawn?”

  “Another ten minutes, Captain,” the ship replied.

  “Very well. We’ve gone over the interior area pretty thoroughly. What about the small craft in the docking bay? What’s in there?”

  “Seven utility shuttles, Various designations, and types are present. Do you wish for a detailed briefing on all individual craft?”

  “No, just an overview of what’s in there,” Hanlon said. She glanced across the plot. Tolon was standing impassively, watching her interact with the computer. She was sure it was actively relaying information back to Leader. She chose her words carefully. “New Dawn, continue with the description.”

  “Seven utility shuttles and three Jacoby class escorts.”

  Hanlon nodded those must be the larger ships she’d seen when she and Tolon boarded. “What about the other docking bays? What else is available?”

  “The main docking bay holds twenty small craft, four Catalyst class destroyers, and one Ingram class cruiser. The lower bay holds eleven Jacoby class escorts, two Monsoon support vessels, and ten small craft.”

  “There’s a small fleet aboard. Are any of those ships capable of interstellar flight?” Hanlon asked.

  “Ships have not been maintained since being placed in long-term layup. Last powered test for any of the stored ships took place eleven hundred twenty-three years ago.”

  “Why haven’t you completed tests of the power systems in so long?”

  “The power systems were taken to maintain the neural wave transmitter.”

  Hanlon rolled her eyes. “Fine. What was the status of the ships at the time of the last test?”

  “Diagnostics indicate significant degradation in all polymer and natural fiber materials due to extended extreme cold conditions and the inherent instability of materials used. All other systems are within normal specifications, Captain.”

  “So, one of the ships could be made to fly without too much trouble, right?” Hanlon was getting pretty frustrated with the way the computer doled out information.

  “Affirmative.”

  “Great. Put the specifications up for one of the destroyers on the screen, please.”

  The main plot shimmered for a second and resolved to display a long, sleek ship. Below the image, a list of vital statistics about the ship like crew compliment, range, consumable capacities and so on was displayed. Based on the speed New Dawn was indicating the ship was capable of, Hanon estimated she could fly one of these ships back to Lashmere in three or four weeks

  “Thank you. Gave me an estimate of materials needed to reestablish connections with those ships.”

  “Stand by, Captain, the computer said. “Primary and secondary processing cores are coming online. Prepare for interface interruption.

  “What does that mean?” Hanlon asked. There was no response. Without realizing it, Hanlon lost her balance and fell to the floor with a thud. Hanon cursed and shook her hand where she’d landed awkwardly. She started to sit up, but a wave of dizziness came over her. She rested her hands on the deck and took deep breaths, trying to calm her suddenly roiling stomach.

  She swallowed hard, trying to keep her breakfast down. She looked up, and Tolon was advancing on her.

  “Captain Hanlon, are you unwell?” it asked.

  “Just some disorientation. I think it’s because the computer is rebooting.”

  Tolon stood over her, bouncing in place and Hanlon realized just how vulnerable she was. “Tolon, please step back from me. I’m fine. Thank you for being concerned.”

  Tolon didn’t move. “Do you not trust us, Captain?”

  “Trust you, yes. It was only a few hours ago that Leader thought killing me was the best option. I know it can watch your actions, so I would like you to please stand back from me.”

  Tolon did take a few steps away, but it was still too close for her to have a real sense of comfort. She’d seen how fast and brutal the Ulef could be with their claws on the Rampart.

  “Leader states your distrust is reprehensible, Captain Hanlon,” Tolon said.

  “Then Leader shouldn’t have suggested I be murdered to retain control of New Dawn,” Hanon retorted.

  Tolon bounced a few times and then said, “Leader is accustomed to complete and absolute obedience. Your refusal to cooperate with i
ts directives causes it to be suspicious and concerned about your motives.”

  “That’s just too bad, Tolon. I-,” Hanlon was cut off by the lights suddenly flaring brightly and the central lot turning back on.

  A large face appeared, projected above the surface of the plot. It was female, had white hair and a face that, despite being unlined, suggested great age and wisdom. “Primary interface is now restored, Captain Hanlon. I apologize for the extended silence, but the computers needed to run through the initial startup diagnostic.”

  Hanlon gazed up at the huge face floating before her and said, “New Dawn?”

  “Exactly so, Captain. The tertiary interface allows only for the most rudimentary approximation of interaction. Now that the primary and secondary cores have been rebuilt and software restored from protected backups, you will have a much more usable interface. Please, simply call me Dawn to ease our interactions.”

  The fluidity with which the computer now operated made it clear the artificial intelligence was far more sophisticated than Hanlon originally estimated. “Excellent. We were working on understanding the situation with the ships stored on board, possibly to see if they would be capable of making the trip to Lashmere.”

  “It might not be a good idea, Captain.” Before Hanlon cold ask why, the computer continued, “There are two very important reasons. The first of which is repairing one of the ships would take resources needed to fix the main drives and other support systems needed to get New Dawn back into fully functional condition. The second reason is that we have no idea what’s going on in the Lashmere system. They might have beaten the Woduur back; they might not have. New Dawn is unique, and we cannot risk it being destroyed. If the Woduur see one of the ships stored aboard, they will know New Dawn has been boarded and will be a threat.”

  Hanlon couldn’t argue with that logic. “Fair enough. Perhaps we should send a Ulef ship to scout Lashmere and see what’s going on.”

  Tolon said, “We are willing to send a ship to investigate, but only in exchange for restitution of materials being used to repair New Dawn.”