The Burden of Command, page 20
part #14 of Empire Rising Series
“Understood,” Lydia said as Mackay, Onoda, and Becca nodded. “We can do this,” she promised Jake.
“Then let’s get to it,” Jake said as he stood. “I have faith in you all.”
*
Python, 9th November 2508 AD. (three weeks later).
“Jake, you better get to the bridge,” Becca’s concerned voice hissed over the COM channel.
Jake had just awoken to its beeping. The tone of the marine’s voice drove any lingering grogginess from his mind. “On my way,” he replied as he swung his legs out of bed. Less than thirty seconds later, and he rushed onto Python’s bridge. He didn’t have to ask what was going on. The holo display was clearly showing it. The stealth recon drones they had left outside the asteroid field had picked up three new contacts. They were headed straight towards the wreckage of the two ships Python had attacked three weeks ago. From the shift passage they were coming from, Jake doubted they were friendly. “Do we have any IDs on them yet?”
“Not yet, Lieutenant,” the officer manning the sensor station replied. “The computer is still analyzing.”
“Which means it isn’t going to come to a conclusive answer,” Jake predicted. The computer had had long enough to analyze the gravimetric waves being given off by the ships’ engines. If it couldn’t identify them already, it wasn’t going to. “They must be Flex-aor or from this Racumin civilization. At least, I hope so, we have enough enemies as it is.”
“Someone has come looking for their missing freighter?” Lydia asked as she stepped onto the bridge. McKay was right behind her.
“Three someones,” Jake informed her. “The question is, how thoroughly are they going to look?” The debris from the Flex-aor and Racumin ships hadn’t spread out too far. That meant it would be easy for the ships to investigate the wreckage. Before slowly moving Python away from the area using Python’s shuttle, Jake had made sure every piece of Karacknid tech had been scooped up or destroyed. He hadn’t wanted it to fall into someone else’s hands. In hindsight, he realized maybe he should have destroyed all the wreckage. That would have left more of a mystery for whoever had now appeared. Yet then, maybe they might have searched the rest of the system more thoroughly than they might, he figured.
Over the next hour, everyone on Python’s bridge watched the three alien ships come to rest at the point where the two ships had been destroyed. From Python’s current location, the contacts were too far away to get a useful visual image of them, and so there was no way to tell whether they were Flex-aor, Racumin or someone else. Here and there, their passive sensors got returns on smaller craft. Jake guessed they were shuttles, examining the wreckage. Then one of the ships powered up its engines and moved away from the other two. “What is it doing?” Becca asked.
McKay came to the answer first. “That’s where we blew our charges to fake being badly hit,” the engineer said. “They’ve detected some wreckage from Python.”
Jake felt a bolt of fear shoot up his spine. He shouldn’t have just destroyed the wreckage from the other two ships, he should have made sure there was no trace of Python left behind. “If they detect enough damage to think our ship was crippled, they might come looking for us,” he said, giving voice to his concerns.
“Or just as bad, if they figure out wreckage is from a Human ship, then they’ll be tipped off that we know about them,” Becca added. “If they are Flex-aor, then that knowledge might force them into moving up whatever plans they have been concocting these thirty years.”
Jake’s eyes widened at that thought. The Flex-aor that had survived the Human and Varanni attack on their worlds had to have been plotting their revenge. If they thought they had been discovered, then Becca was right, they would probably launch whatever evil plan they had as soon as possible. They are hardly likely to try and run away now, he doubted.
“They’re splitting up further,” Lydia said as the three contacts on the holo display did indeed begin to move away from one another. Twenty minutes later, the time it took for the electromagnetic energy from the three ships to reach Python’s stealth drone, the drone began to pick up emissions from active sensors. “They’re looking for us!” Lydia announced. “And they are Flex-aor, the emissions are the same the Flex-aor freighter used to track and engage our missiles.”
Jake grimaced. They were looking for Python. If the Flex-aor thought she was still in the system, they’d want to destroy her before she could escape with news of their existence. “We need to power down all our non-essential systems,” he ordered. “How are the repairs on our hull breaches?” He asked as he turned to McKay.
“We’ve closed over all the holes, most have a first layer of stealth coating placed on them,” the engineer answered.
“Most, but not all?” Jake asked. “Which ones don’t?”
McKay tapped on his command console and brought up an image of Python in front of Jake. “These four here,” he said as four damaged areas began to flash.
Jake nodded. “All right, we need to reorientate Python to face these areas towards the nearest asteroid,” he responded. “I guess we’re going to get to test if the repairs to our maneuvering thrusters are going to work a little early. Give me just zero point one percent thrust on them as we roll,” he said as he gestured for Lydia to carry out the maneuver. “And pull back our recon drone, its stealth tech isn’t nearly as good as an Imperial drone’s. Let’s not take any risks.”
“Aye, Lieutenant,” Lydia replied. “Beginning the maneuver now.”
Jake tensed. If something went wrong, it would give away their position instantly. Or we could just break something new, he feared. Yet they had to turn their damaged sections away from the Flex-aor ships. If one came close, its active sensors would get a reading off Python’s damaged hull. With every muscle of his body tight, he watched as ever so slowly, the image of Python on the holo display began to rotate. The four hull sections that were flashing turned to face the nearest asteroid.
Then Lydia moved Python as close to the asteroid as she safely could. When she was done, she sat back in her chair and let out a sigh. “That should help us blend in with it.”
“Good work,” Jake said. “And pass my compliments to your repair teams,” he added as he glanced at McKay as well. “She held together nicely.”
“Just don’t think we can try the main engines yet, we’re not ready for that,” McKay cautioned.
“If they find us, we might have to try,” Jake replied. “And we need to warm up a missile tube or two.”
“That might be more doable,” McKay said. He shook his head. “But if we try the engine we are working on, it’s far more likely to explode and take us with it than get us anywhere.”
Jake nodded. “Noted.” He turned back to the nearest Flex-aor ship. The computer was now estimating it was roughly the same size as an Imperial destroyer. “If they come this way, we’re just going to have to hope the asteroids keep us hidden then.” He swallowed hard after he spoke. Jake was pretty certain that if Resolute came close to the asteroid field, her sensors would pick up Python with ease. Which means we’re going to have to hope the Flex-aor aren’t as good as us. That was true thirty years ago, but Jake still had no idea if it was still true today.
Over the next three hours, the tension on Python’s bridge gradually grew. The Flex-aor ship that appeared to be tasked with searching their third of the system first orbited the system’s only gas giant. As it did, it scanned every one of its sixteen moons. Then, it investigated the system’s seventh planet and its planetary ring. After that, it made its way to another asteroid field on the edge of the system. Finally, it turned towards the field Python was hiding in. As it came closer, Jake had a running fight with his foot. It kept wanting to start tapping on the deck. He also had to resist the urge to ask Lydia to keep checking if every non-essential system was powered down. Mentally, he knew they were, yet he still wanted to keep asking.
A small beep from Lydia’s console made Jake jump. Movement around him told him he wasn’t alone. “Our passive sensors are beginning to pick up electromagnetic radiation from their active sensors,” Lydia said, almost in a whisper.
“They’re getting close,” Jake said needlessly. He just felt he had to say something. Almost, Jake opened his mouth to order the missile tube they had close to being repaired powered up. If he could surprise the Flex-aor ship and launch a missile from close range, he could maybe take it out. But then the other two would come for you, he reminded himself. There really was nothing he could do. Either the Flex-aor ship would find him and they would all be killed, or it wouldn’t. Jake closed his eyes. He had tracked the Karacknid freighter, he had destroyed the Karacknid weapons before they could be transferred to the Flex-aor. If this is where it ends, it is not a failure. All his life, Jake had felt a burden to serve the Empire. He knew that without the sacrifices of the generation that had fought in the Karacknid War, none of the blessings he had enjoyed would have been his. That was why he had joined the Imperial Navy despite his parents’ misgivings. If this is all your career amounts to, it was no waste, he told himself. A sense of peace descended upon him. He knew it was true. Whether his parents or anyone else ever found out what happened to them, if the Flex-aor found them, he could die content.
Opening his eyes again, Jake found most of Python’s bridge officers staring at him. Without having to force it, he smiled at them all. “If this is the end, it’s been a pleasure to serve with you. We have accomplished a great deal for a prize crew on a poorly-built pirate ship.” Jake couldn’t help but chuckle at the concern his words brought to some of his officers. “I’m not giving up yet, just reflecting on what we have been able to do together,” he assured them. When most of the bridge officers nodded or smiled back at him, Jake smiled again. “Let us wait this out together and face it bravely, whatever comes.”
“Together,” Lydia echoed.
No one else spoke, but Jake felt they all shared the same sentiment. Giving them all one final nod, he intentionally turned his gaze back to the holo display. With their stealth drone back in Python’s hangar, his ship’s passive sensors were only able to give a rough location of the Flex-aor ship. It was still coming closer every minute, however. The clearest indication of that was that ever-rising level of electromagnetic energy hitting Python’s hull. Most should be being absorbed by the stealth coating, yet on a secondary holo display, the rising levels were being recorded. On the same holographic, the level where Lydia expected the stealth coating to be fully saturated came ever closer.
When the amount of active sensor emissions reached the point where just another five percent increase would reveal Python’s presence, Jake’s hands tightened into fists. As the seconds ticked by, the entire situation began to feel surreal. Despite the impending possibility of a swift death, Jake still felt at peace. Yes, his body was tensing up, expecting a blow to come in, yet his heart rate was calm. He had faced death several times over the last handful of months. To his own surprise, he realized he was starting to grow accustomed to it. You’ve come a long way from throwing up after Resolute’s first encounter with the pirate ships, he told himself. Looking around the bridge at the other officers’ demeanor, he recognized they all had. It would be a shame if it ended here, he thought. His next words to himself vanished even as they began to form. The electromagnetic energy coming in dipped! For the first time in more than an hour, it had gone down! Jake didn’t want to tempt fate, so he sat perfectly still. A second later, it ticked down again. They could have just turned their active sensors in a different direction, he cautioned himself, not wanting to get his hopes up. Yet as the energy started to tick down at a faster rate, he turned to meet Lydia’s eyes.
She was beaming. “They’ve moved past us! They didn’t spot us!”
Jake found himself grinning from cheek to cheek as well. “We made it!” He said as he turned to take in Becca and McKay as well. “We made it!” All around him everyone began to congratulate themselves, relief poured off everybody. Jake could hardly believe it. He had all but accepted what was going to happen. Their sensors can’t be as good as ours, he concluded moments later as he began to calm down. That boded well for the future. Whatever the Flex-aor had planned, if he could get back to Earth, it meant there was a good chance they could be stopped.
“All right everyone,” he said as his officers started to calm down as well. “We are not starting up our repair work again until those ships leave the system. But we can make preparations. We are going to redouble our efforts to get Python moving once again! We’ve been given a second chance. Let’s not waste it.”
*
Python, 23rd November 2508 AD, (fourteen days later).
Whether out of relief at having survived such a close call, or fear of having to face another one, over the days and then weeks that followed the encounter with the Flex-aor destroyer, it seemed like a fire had been set under the feet of Jake’s crew. He didn’t know how they all found the time to get enough sleep and work miracle after miracle repairing Python, yet somehow, they did. First, McKay managed to rebuild one of Python’s impulse engines to the point where he was confident they could begin to test it at low power levels. Then, reactor two was slowly powered up to sixty-four percent of its maximum. There were a couple of wobbles along the way, and McKay was certain pushing anything above sixty-four would cause a cascading failure. Yet, they were able to get enough power to test the engine and begin to bring other systems online. Like a stack of dominoes, once the reactor was working at a reasonable capacity again, more and more systems were brought back to at least a decent level of functionality.
Just two weeks and two days after the encounter with the Flex-aor destroyer, or five weeks after the battle with the two freighters, Jake finally felt everything was in place to try leaving the asteroid field. “All right,” he said as he nodded to McKay, “bring the reactor up to full.”
“We had sixty-four percent Lieutenant,” McKay reported thirty seconds later.
“Give the engine ten percent thrust, bring us out,” Jake ordered Lydia.
Ever so slowly at first, but then with increasing speed, Python began to move out from between the asteroids. With far more caution than normal, Lydia weaved around several asteroids, giving them a wide berth. Jake, like everyone else on Python’s bridge, held their breath during the maneuvers. If Python’s sensors weren’t calibrated exactly, or some of her maneuvering thrusters failed, they could end up careening into one of the asteroids. Jake needn’t have worried though. Lydia expertly handled Python while all of McKay’s repairs held up beautifully. “Well done,” Jake said, grinning at his officers as Python slipped out of the asteroid field and into open space. “Set course for the shift passage home,” Jake added. His words caused his smile to widen. There had been times when he hadn’t been sure he’d ever get to give such an order.
“Aye, Aye Lieutenant!” Lydia replied enthusiastically, returning his grin.
Jake nodded to her and then shared a look with McKay and Becca. They had all done it together, they each deserved to be able to enjoy the moment. Yes, with just one engine and an underpowered reactor, it was going to take them far longer to get home than otherwise. Yet they were on their way. We are coming, Jake thought towards many of the senior officers he had met at the Admiralty and even Emperor Somerville. We will get our news to you.
Chapter 18
The years immediately after the War of Doom were quite possibly the most unified Humanity has ever been. When the looming threat of complete destruction suddenly lifted, a wave of optimism swept across the Human colonies. All of the Empire’s citizens were united in their gratitude for what the Imperial Fleet accomplished and in their determination never to be so threatened again. Yet, as the years past, it was inevitable that many of the pre-Imperial fault lines would remerge.
-Excerpt from Empire Ascendant 3015 AD.
Midas Touch, Outskirts of New France system, 1st October 2508 AD, (6 weeks previous).
Moments after Midas Touch entered the New France system, holo news reports were detected and sent to Cornelius Teal’s personal datapad. For a moment, he frowned at what he read. News of the events at Earth had beaten his yacht to the former French colony. Despite how bad it looked, he smiled. Empress Christine and the three Houses of Parliament had reacted far more swiftly and decisively than he had anticipated. They intend to put up a fight. Good! Cornelius enjoyed a challenge. He and his co-conspirators had played a bold move. Walking right into the Imperial Palace and demanding secession had always been a gamble. Now, the two Somervilles were doing the same. They’re going all in, he thought to himself. That was fine with him. He was already all in. Now all those he had brought on board to the idea of secession would have no choice. They couldn’t back down.
As he expected, within seconds of him reading the reports, Midas Touch’s COM board lit up like a Christmas tree. He had travelled in convoy with most of the politicians who had accompanied him to the Palace. They would all be in a panic. “Arrange a holo conference with everyone for ten minutes,” Cornelius said to his chief aide. “I’ll take it in my conference room. Oh, and I guess we better hold station here. Given there’s warrants out for all of our arrests, let’s not get too close to New France until we know which way the colony’s local government is going to jump.” Though he had most of the colony’s bureaucracy in his back pocket, Cornelius was not one for taking chances. “And send word to Dmitry station, our little surprises are to reveal themselves and rendezvous with us.”
“Right away sir,” his aide replied.
