Into the Breach (Empire Rising Book 15), page 16
“Lieutenant Munroe,” Cortez repeated a little louder when Munroe didn’t look up.
Munroe’s head shot up. His eyes darted between Cortez and Jonathan. “I’m sorry, Captain,” he said hastily. “Very sorry.”
“What has got your attention, Lieutenant?” Jonathan asked in a neutral tone, not wanting to spook Munroe.
“These three contacts, Captain,” Munroe answered as he zoomed in the feed from the gravimetric sensors.
Jonathan watched as the first few seconds of sensor data from the additional reinforcements was replayed. Three contacts did stand out. For a brief moment, their acceleration rates were significantly higher than any of the other ships. They were also somewhat on their own, holding position slightly away from the rest of the reinforcements. “Another species’ ships?” Jonathan asked.
“Maybe the Eaglatons,” Lydia suggested.
“I don’t have enough data to come to a firm conclusion, Captain,” Munroe said. “That wasn’t what had my interest, though. It’s right here,” he said as he rewound the sensor feed again. This time, he paused it right at the beginning. “Right when the ship started accelerating, there were additional gravimetric waves given off by the center ship. The waves may not be exactly correct. I think I’d call them eddies.”
“Eddies?” Jonathan asked. “You mean like the gravimetric eddies that surrounded the Gift wormholes?”
Munroe shook his head. “The opposite, actually. Maybe anti-eddies would be more accurate.”
Already, Jonathan felt he was getting lost. “What does this mean?”
Munroe shook his head again. “I’m sorry, Captain, I don’t know. It could be some kind of advanced engine. Or maybe, the eddies came from the ships shift drive as it powered down, though it is strange we detected none from the other two similar ships. It may even be a new kind of weapons system.”
The mention of a weapon’s system gave Jonathan pause. He had no idea if it was possible, but strategically, it made a great deal of sense. Why didn’t we think of this before! “These anti-eddies,” he asked quickly. “If that ship could generate more of them, could they interfere with the eddies around the Gift wormhole?”
Munroe’s eyes widened. Instead of answering, he began to tap on his console. “I can’t be sure, Captain,” he said as he continued to carry out some calculations. “But I don’t think it would be good. It could create a gravimetric storm that would rip apart any ships that tried to pass through it. Or, it could even collapse the wormhole entirely.” His head shot up. “We’d be stuck here on this side of the Gift.”
That was the least of Jonathan’s concerns. He turned to Cortez. He could see in her face that she grasped it as well. “If they can close the Gift wormhole, we could receive no more reinforcements from Earth. It wouldn’t just be us who are stuck here, but Rear Admiral Salamanca’s fleet and all the Conclave species. We will be stuck alone without reinforcements at the mercy of either this Protectorate or the Karacknids. We need to get out of here now!” Jonathan said. Salamanca needed to get a fleet to the Gift to protect it at all costs. “Jump us out at once, Lieutenant,” Jonathan ordered as he turned to Scholes. He just hoped they had enough time.
*
Achilles, 27th August 2509 AD, (three weeks later).
As he always was, Jonathan was sitting in his command chair as Achilles came to the end of the shift passage she was travelling along. The Kalassai dark matter sensors had allowed Munroe to map it all the way to an unexplored system. With luck, they would find another shift passage there that led in the direction they wanted to head. Until this point, Munroe’s prediction that they could find a path through unexplored space was proving correct. They were actually closer to Bastion than they had expected to be at this point.
“Exiting shift space in five seconds,” Scholes reported.
When the seconds passed, a tremor ran through the Imperial destroyer. Silence filled the bridge as everyone peered over their consoles tracking the feed from Achilles’ passive sensors and monitoring the ship’s systems. Several officers saw it at once, but automatic alarms beat everyone to it. They told Jonathan an unknown contact had been detected. One that was already in weapons range! “Bring up the shields!” Jonathan ordered. “Begin evasive maneuvers. Active sensors to full.”
“Unknown contact has activated their sensors,” Schmidt reported. “We are being blasted with targeting scanners.”
“We’re picking up energy build ups from them!” Cortez announced.
“Wait! Wait!” Lydia suddenly shouted just as Jonathan had been about to order the contact targeted with Achilles’ weapon sensors. “I know her, she is the Mongoose. She is an Imperial ship! I served in her as a Sub Lieutenant. She is another one of the long-range destroyers assigned to explore the Conclave’s southern border.”
With any of his more junior officers, Jonathan would have wanted to double check, but he trusted Lydia implicitly. “Power down our active sensors. Activate our transponder,” he ordered at once. “And cease our evasive maneuvers.”
“Transponder activated,” Rutherford let him know.
“Hail them, use Rear Admiral Salamanca’s Fleet’s frequency,” Jonathan requested.
“They are powering down their targeting sensors and slowing their maneuvers,” Schmidt reported.
“The contact has just activated her transponder,” Rutherford informed everyone. “She is the Mongoose. Captain McMasters is returning your hail, Captain.”
Jonathan couldn’t help but grin as a naval captain in a uniform matching his own appeared on the holo display. It felt like a long time since he had seen a friendly face outside of Achilles’ crew. “Captain McMasters, I think I owe you an apology. We have caused each other quite the shock.”
“You have indeed, Captain Somerville, that was quite the entrance. I have to ask, what in the blazes are you doing out here?” McMasters replied.
Jonathan lost his smile as the reality of the situation returned to him. “I’m afraid we don’t bear good news. We have made contact with six new civilizations. At least four of them are hostile. Three are in some kind of alliance and have been building up military forces in a system just three weeks from here. I believe they plan to attack our fleet base at Bastion or the Conclave Alliance’s southern border. We were on our way back to Salamanca to bring warning. I have a full report I can transmit to you.”
“That is quite the story, Captain,” McMasters said as he shook his head. “The last thing we need are more enemies. It sounds like you have no time to spare, though, what are you doing passing through this area of space, have you already mapped it out? I thought this was my assigned sector.”
“It is, Captain,” Somerville replied. “Actually, our meeting is fortuitous, very fortuitous,” he continued as it dawned on him that McMasters would have a route back to Bastion already mapped out. “We were mapping out a route for ourselves as we went. My Science Officer estimated travelling through this area of space would be quicker than retracing our steps. It turns out he was more right than he realized. We’re going to need the map of the local systems you have created.”
“Of course, we’ll transfer the data right away, though I think we have a decision to make between the two of us. If there is an enemy massing on our border, there’s no point me continuing my mission. But both of us don’t need to return to Salamanca,” McMasters said, expecting Jonathan to follow his reasoning.
Jonathan did, if Achilles or Mongoose went to Salamanca, the other destroyer could return to Farvul’vian and keep an eye on the Protectorate fleet. Yet, something else dawned on him. “Any other time and I’d agree with you, Captain, and I’m sure both of us would be chomping at the bit to be the one to keep an eye on this hostile fleet. But there’s another problem.” Quickly, Jonathan explained to McMasters about the anti-eddies Munroe had detected.
McMasters saw the threat immediately. “Then, we must bring a warning to the Gift as well. They need to jump their fleet through the Gift and protect this side to make sure the wormhole is kept open.” McMasters paused as he screwed up his face.
“What is it?” Jonathan asked.
“It’s not that I doubt your Science Officer,” McMasters answered. “But the Gift Garrison Fleet has strict orders not to pass through the wormhole, but to defend the forts on Earth’s side. I’m not sure they would come through without a direct order from Rear Admiral Salamanca…unless that order came from someone more important.”
Jonathan nodded. “Like the heir to the Imperial throne,” he finished for McMasters. Not once in his military career had Jonathan used his father to get what he wanted. Yet, if the situation was desperate enough, he had no problem doing so. “All right, Captain, you head to Bastion with all haste, I’ll take Achilles to the Gift and get the Gift Fleet to jump through and make sure whoever these aliens are, they cannot close the wormhole. Just make sure you get Salamanca to send orders confirming the need for the Gift Fleet to traverse through the wormhole.”
McMasters laughed. “Don’t worry, Somerville, I won’t leave you high and dry. Get the Gift Fleet to send word to Salamanca that the Gift is secure, so he knows his back is covered as soon as you get there.”
“I will make sure of it,” Jonathan promised.
“Then, we have a plan, Captain,” McMasters said as he quickly touched his forehead in a slack salute. “Let us get to it. Godspeed.”
“And to you too,” Jonathan replied, his respect for McMasters having grown with every sentence from the Captain’s lips. “You heard him,” Jonathan said to his bridge officers as soon as the COM channel ended. “Lay in a course for the Gift. We have a new responsibility now.”
Chapter 13
A well-planned ambush can turn the tide of even the biggest of wars.
-Excerpt from Empire Ascendant 3015 AD.
Matilda, Z-16 System
Emilie couldn’t help but grin when the sensor data from her stealth ship came in. The Flex-aor tender ships were still where Georgia had spotted them. We have them! She knew. Looking up from her datapad, she found Rodgers and Roche staring at her, excitement written across their faces. “Let’s do this,” Emilie said. “Prepare the fleet to jump in.”
“Yes, Admiral,” Roche said enthusiastically.
At Emilie’s words, the mood on Matilda’s bridge instantly changed. The apprehension as everyone had waited for the stealth ship to return was replaced with anticipation and excitement. Tension also began to fill the air. Emilie felt it within herself. The stealth ship had detected at least a couple of hundred Flex-aor warships. Given High Queen Ala’ron was known to have over eight thousand, it was very likely there were many more. But we are not here to take them all on, Emilie knew. The tender ships hiding in the asteroid field were her primary targets. And hiding in there may be as much of a curse as a blessing, she hoped. The asteroids would hide her ships’ approach from the Flex-aor as well as they hid the tender ships. And once the shooting starts, all hell is going to break loose.
Given that they didn’t know how many enemy ships they were going to face, the best plan she and her staff officers had come up with involved filling the asteroid field with thermonuclear warheads. If her ships could break apart enough asteroids, it would begin a cascading event of collisions that would fill the field with massive chunks of deadly rock. The Flex-aor warships and tender ships wouldn’t be able to escape. With luck, Emilie could get her fleet in, launch their attack, and pull back without even having to face the Flex-aor fleet in open battle. We shall see, she cautioned herself before her excitement got the best of her. No plan survives contact with the enemy, she had learned that more than once during the Karacknid War.
“The fleet is ready to jump, Admiral,” Roche reported a minute later.
“Then, let us proceed,” Emilie ordered as she gestured to Johansson at the navigation console.
At the touch of a button from Johansson, Matilda and the five hundred warships with her carried out their micro jumps. They exited shift space well out from the system’s mass shadow. Then, remaining in stealth, they began a slow acceleration burn into the system. Though Emilie’s scout ship hadn’t detected any, she was certain the Flex-aor would have ships in stealth, patrolling all the shift passages into the system. That was why her ships were now beginning a slow, five-hour elliptical cruise into the system. With luck, they would bypass bumping directly into any Flex-aor scout ships and be able to approach the asteroid field from an angle the Flex-aor wouldn’t expect. Settling herself into her command chair, Emilie prepared herself for the long wait. Of course, she had to be ready to act at a moment’s notice. For despite her hopes, there was no guarantee the Flex-aor fleet wouldn’t spot her and seek an engagement.
The first hour passed without incident. Emilie had her staff officers simulate their attack into the asteroid field twice to keep everyone’s mind from wandering. As soon as Matilda crossed the system’s mass shadow, however, something changed. Looking around at her officers, Emilie expected a contact report or something else to be announced. Yet, everyone was continuing about their duties as normal. Emilie almost ordered an additional shell of stealth recon drones launched and her fleet to slow even further. But as she assessed her emotions, she couldn’t figure out why she would give such an order. The smallest of tingles had run down her spine, but there was no outward reason for it. Mentally shrugging, she tried to relax in her command chair once again. However, her eyes started darting to the sensor feed far more than they had before.
Despite her feeling, or whatever it was, Emilie still wasn’t sure, and the next hour and a half passed by without anyone raising an alarm. Emilie almost managed to convince herself that she was just being paranoid. Yet, as Matilda got further and further into the system, she just couldn’t accept the logical argument she was making. Yes, the sensors were detecting no threats, and everything was going according to her plan. The stealth ships and stealth recon drones she had pushed ahead of her fleet were also reporting their path was all clear. None of that could shake the growing feeling Emilie had. And now she was becoming more aware of what it was that was bothering her. The strangeness that had assaulted her when Matilda had first crossed the mass shadow was now developing into a sense of foreboding.
Something is wrong, she told herself. Very wrong. She had fought in over a hundred battles. By now, she knew she should have been filled with nerves and excitement. She was feeling neither. Most of her emotions simply felt cold, except for a sense something ominous was looming over her fleet, she felt lifeless. Summoning her mental strength, Emilie tried to shake the feeling she couldn’t explain. First, she thought of her senior commanders and staff officers. They were all highly trained, skilled warriors. Her confidence in them should have been able to keep her mind at ease. Yet, no sense of confidence would come.
Starting to panic that there was something wrong with her, Emilie changed tack. Forgetting about her fleet, her mind went to Mark and her son Daniel. The last time she had seen both of them was when she had been forced to say a quick goodbye before she had taken command of Matilda and the fleet her uncle had ordered to the Flex-aor homeworlds. Daniel had been crying, far too young to understand why his mother was leaving. It had broken her heart. Now however, she could barely remember how she felt. Emilie’s face whitened. Something was very wrong with her. You can’t lead the fleet like this, she told herself. If you can’t trust your emotions, you cannot command. Opening her mouth, Emilie began to give orders for the fleet to halt its advance. Yet, nothing happened. Though she felt her mouth moving, she heard no sound. Emilie’s hands went to her throat. It was like her vocal cords wouldn’t obey her. After rubbing her throat, she tried to speak again. Again, no sound came out. Panic assaulted her. She couldn’t give any orders! Desperately she looked around at her staff officers for help.
Roche was the first to notice her. Her Chief of Staff’s eyes casually passed over Emilie and then snapped back. Roche’s body then pulled as a look of horror passed over her face. “Admiral, are you all right?” Roche demanded, her voice rising sharply.
Emilie tried to speak, but still no words would come out. Instead, she tried to shake her head, only to find her neck now wouldn’t obey her either. Glancing down at her command chair, she tried to move a hand to type in order she wanted given. It wouldn’t leave her throat. Neither would the other. As her panic turned to terror, she felt her whole body starts to tremble. Think! She screamed at herself. Think! There must be some explanation. Thinking was hard however, with her emotions feeling deadened and her body not responding, dread was threatening to overwhelm her. This is not normal, Emilie said to herself, this is not normal, she repeated. What is happening to me? Who is doing this?
Suddenly, Emilie froze. Her body stopped trembling. Her mind sharpened. Who is doing this? She repeated, realization flooding upon her. It wasn’t a what, but who. And there was one immediate answer. Ala’ron is in the system! The Flex-aor High Queen was assaulting her mind, just as she had done to her uncle’s. At once, Emilie was aware of another presence within her mind. She could feel long, tentacle-like threads reaching from her out through Matilda towards the asteroid field. Emilie was now certain; Ala’ron was there, twisting her mind, despite still being more than a light hour away. And she began to do it as soon as we crossed the system’s mass shadow, Emilie realized. She had sensed it right away, even though she hadn’t understood what was happening. But if Ala’ron is here, that means she knows about our fleet, which means it is a trap!
