The Earthfleet Saga- Volume Two Read online

  The line was quiet, but he could hear voices talking over options and debating. Finally, Hamilton replied. “Understood sir. Just tell us what we need to do, and we’ll follow orders as best we can. I’m assuming the assault shuttles will provide cover.”

  Westermann began to answer, then paused. “What if they didn’t? What if you simply left the station and headed for Agincourt?”

  Hamilton was silent as she considered. “Suggestion. Advise the Qoearc we’re here and are now returning to the ship. After that, we’ll leave the vicinity peacefully.”

  “And then?”

  “No idea, sir, but if it works, at least we’re in one piece and back on board.”

  Westermann thought it over. “I’ll contact them immediately, but since we’ve had no messages from either ship, my guess is they won’t acknowledge. At the same time, with Stiz in the neighborhood, they may well want to leave while they can as well.” He let go a breath. “Okay, we’ll try it. Stay put. I’ll get back to you.” He clicked off and turned to the Comm station. “Get me the Qoearc. Whichever one won’t hang up on you.”

  * * *

  The Station…

  Hamilton huddled with her landing party, discussing options, strategies, and talking with the assault shuttles regarding withdrawal options. Commander Xiaoli offered to pilot, saying her quick reflexes would be a good match for the Qoearc’s tactics in similar situations.

  “You’ve studied Qoearc tactics?” asked Hamilton. “You continue to astound me, Commander. Very well, prepare to disembark on the captain’s order, but not before. The rest of you, be sure you’re strapped in tightly, it may be bumpy. And it might be best if we all went into medical stasis just in case.”

  The crew traded glances. Butler nodded and spoke. “What if… we launched the shuttle empty?”

  Hamilton shook her head after a moment. “For what purpose, Lieutenant?”

  “To see if they’d shoot it down, Commander. I’d rather take that chance with us not in it.”

  “Damn, that’s brilliant,” said one of the S-Techs.

  “We can always have one of the other shuttles take us on either way,” continued Butler.

  “Yes, and if they shoot down the assault shuttles, we’re stranded,” said Hamilton.

  “We can cross individually in our suits,” replied Xiaoli. “It would be a lengthy and somewhat unnerving transit, but possible.”

  “Unnerving?” Hamilton showed a slight smile. “Damn scary, Commander. Look, we could debate this at length. For the moment, unless ordered otherwise, we stay with the shuttle.” She looked to Butler. “But I’ll pass along the suggestion to the captain.”

  * * *

  The station watched closely as the new arrivals approached. All of them. The two latest were of a uniqueness never seen. Some sort of organic structure in the vessel’s hull! The occupants were not of carbon base, but silicon! How incredible!

  Quick calculations were made to show that very soon, the space around the station would be occupied by three different species, all apparently at odds with each other for unknown reasons. Results of combat between them would likely be disastrous for all involved, including the station itself. There was little choice, therefore, and the station began preparations. It would take the majority of power available, but it must be done, for any hope of survival. For anyone.

  * * *

  EAS Agincourt…

  “Captain, the station field is expanding again!” Harvey’s voice from Science interrupted Westermann’s focus on the forward screens. “Visible spectrum, deep blue, energy output has nearly tripled! Getting way too close, sir!”

  “At ease, Lieutenant, just give me the facts. Tactical, what are the Qoearc doing?”

  “Backing away quickly, sir. We might have an opening to send the shuttle across in about three minutes. The field is within a kilometer of Agincourt.”

  “ETA on the other Qoearc and Stiz?”

  Phillips ran his fingers over the panel controls. “Ten minutes for both, give or take two. The Stiz acceleration has been—”

  “Never mind that, thank you.” Westermann turned to Skovok at the Comm station. “Reply from the Qoearc?”

  “None, sir. I’ve hailed both ships three times.”

  “Raise Commander Hamilton.” He waited as he watched the screens. The Qoearc were definitely retreating, but keeping weapons trained on the station and the assault shuttles.

  “Commander Hamilton, sir.” Skovok adjusted his earpiece. “The connection is very bad. The time-flow effects are interfering.”

  Westermann punched his intercom button. “Lori, we may have our chance coming up. You’re going to have to watch carefully from your perspective and decide what’s best and when. If you deem it safer to remain in the station hangar, do so. At this point the Qoearc are as worried as we are and retreating.” He waited for a reply, but heard only static on the line. “Commander Hamilton, are you there?”

  “Here, sir…” Hamilton’s voice faded. “…didn’t hear everything… said. Keeping an… on the Qoearc…effects are… headaches and dizzy, don’t… know if we can pilot the shuttle.”

  “Hold on, Commander. Mr. Harvey, condition of the assault shuttle crews?”

  Again, Harvey peered into the scanner and made controls adjustments. “Sir, they’ve not reported anything serious, but they have better shielding than the shuttle on the station. Shall I have them pull back?”

  “Tell them to take position around the hangar where Commander Hamilton’s shuttle will emerge. They are to escort the landing party back to Agincourt as quickly as possible.”

  “Aye, sir.” Harvey turned to Skovok at the Comm station and gave quiet orders.

  “Lori, listen carefully. The assault shuttles will meet you at the hangar entrance. They will run cover for you. Tell your pilot to make a beeline for Agincourt’s main hangar deck. Get in quickly, don’t worry about damage to the shuttle. Just get where you’re protected from the time-flow effects. Confirm, Commander.”

  Again, static met Westermann’s ears for a tense moment. “…hear you… okay, got it, I think… not fun… take off in two… acknowledge, please.”

  “Tactical, two minutes. Get those assault shuttles in place now.” Westermann turned to his intercom again. “Acknowledged, Commander, we’ll get you home safe. Keep this line open.” He turned. “Mr. Phillips, target PAKS port and starboard on those two Qoearc. If they so much as twitch, hit them hard.”

  “Captain, the Qoearc are five minutes away, Stiz six, seven at most.”

  “Damn! Commander, get out of there. Qoearc are coming down our throats with the Stiz in hot pursuit. Go now!”

  “Aye… launch… away and clear…”

  “Tactical, launch the third assault shuttle for additional cover. Helm, swing us around, bow-on to the Qoearc. I want them to understand what will happen if they fire.”

  “Captain, we’re getting aberrant readings in sensors, targeting computers.” Phillips quickly ran a diagnostic. “Likely the time-flow effects, sir.”

  “Confirmed,” said Harvey. “Our sensor net is slowly degrading. We’ve got about ten minutes before we’re basically blind.”

  Flashes of thought recalling the pulsar event ran through Westermann’s mind. He almost chuckled at the irony. “Engineering, can we shield our computer core any further?”

  “Sir, we have a full-size planetary habitation unit running at max power. We’re out of options.”

  “Captain, the shuttle is about five minutes to docking. It won’t make it to Agincourt before the Qoearc and Stiz arrive.”

  “They’re here!” Phillips at Tactical nearly leapt from his chair.

  Decelerating hard, the incoming Qoearc ships appeared as if from nowhere. The battlecruiser loomed huge, a thousand meters behind the Tak’nar scouts. A minute later, two Stiz ships arrived, much less imposing, but Westermann knew they carried a lethal weapon in their energy cocoon. He also knew it took at least two Stiz ships to generate it. A tactical mi
stake, in his mind, for the Stiz to send only two against the forces gathered.

  “Shuttle time to Agincourt?” Westermann looked to Harvey at Sciences.

  “Three minutes, sir. The field continues to intensify. Five hundred meters and closing. In five minutes, we’ll be within it.”

  “Noted. Commander Hamilton, your status?” Static again, and nothing else. “Lori, respond.”

  Phillips glanced over his shoulder. “Captain, the shuttle is starting to drift. Engines off, navigation out, other systems failing.”

  “Engineering, activate a grappler.”

  “Sir, the system is down and has been since we reported malfunctions earlier.”

  Westermann shook his head. “There was no such report…” He bit his tongue. He knew either the reports hadn’t been made or he simply hadn’t heard them because of the station’s field effects. He knew a decision was coming… one he really didn’t want to make.

  * * *

  The Shuttle…

  Hamilton’s head spun. She was on her stomach in the shuttle and had no idea how she had gotten there. She knew what she needed to do, she simply couldn’t get her mind and voice to coordinate giving simple orders. Butler, beside her, was no better. The Techs were comatose. Xiaoli at the controls sat stoic, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, obviously in some sort of Zen state. Or dead.

  Hamilton crawled to the control panel and hit the intercom switch on the third try. She knew she had heard the captain’s voice, but didn’t know if it was moments or hours ago.

  The shuttle jolted and she fell. Another jolt, and beyond the viewport she could dimly see the assault shuttles nudging hers. They must have been drifting, for Agincourt hung in the distance, at least a kilometer away, and the assault shuttles were pushing them back on course. Hard to tell, with her eyes nearly crossed. A sharper jolt, and somewhere in her addled mind she knew one of the shuttles had engaged a tow line.

  The hatch blew, and for an instant everything and everyone was sucked toward it. Then the air curtain engaged, the whirlwind stopped, and in stepped three suited figures. Agincourt security. Hamilton tried to grin, but only drooled down her chin inside her environmental suit.

  One of the guards approached, said something, but she couldn’t reply. She dimly felt herself being slung over his shoulder and hurried out, the guard linking to a line between the two craft. She was dropped onto the deck of the assault shuttle, none too gently, but barely felt the shock. She lay half-awake as voices filled with urgency ran between the hatchways. She knew she was safe, at least temporarily, and the captain had performed a miracle.

  Not the first time, she thought. It was the clearest thought she’d had for what seemed a hundred years.

  * * *

  EAS Agincourt…

  “All hands safe,” reported Harvey. He turned to Westermann, grinning. “Well done, sir. Great idea.”

  “The credit goes to the assault shuttle crew, Lieutenant. Tactical, status.”

  “Qoearc have retreated to fifty kilometers relative, Captain. All but one scout, drifting slowly, perpendicular to our position and the station. Stiz are holding about one hundred kilometers behind the Qoearc line. They all seem to be out of the time-flow field effects.”

  “Mr. Harvey, how much time—”

  “Captain! The scout is powering weapons! Firing!”

  The drifting Tak’nar cut loose a barrage of fire in the general direction of the station. Most of the blasts missed. A few struck the station causing visible damage and outgassing. As the Tak’nar continued to drift, its fire found the shuttles, cutting crooked paths across their hulls and engines.

  “Damn it! Tactical, disable that ship, don’t destroy it unless you have to. Battle Stations. Que lighting.” Westermann hit the intercom as deep crimson lights bathed the Bridge. “Shuttles, do not return fire! Get back to Agincourt!”

  With his targeting computers offline and scanners nearly blinded, Phillips used a steady eye and a bit of luck as he fired at the Tak’nar, cutting away one turret and sending the ship spinning away. His hand hovered near the controls as he watched for further weapons discharge, but the ship only slid further from the engagement, rotating slowly.

  “Good work, Lieutenant. Status of the other Qoearc?”

  Phillips shook his head, as if to clear it. “Sir… I think they’re charging weapons, but it’s hard to tell. I’m a bit dizzy.”

  “Captain, the rescue shuttle sustained engine damage and is drifting away. The others are following.”

  Westermann punched the intercom again. “Sickbay, Bridge. Get someone up here on the double with whatever you have to counteract the time-flow effects. I’ve got officers in trouble and I need them fully alert.” He clicked off. “Mr. Harvey, assist at Tactical until Medical arrives.” He turned to the Comm station again. “Get me the shuttle with the landing party.”

  * * *

  Damage! The station immediately assessed what functions had been incapacitated by the energy blasts from the vessel still within the time-flow field. It was obvious whatever protection or shielding it had was not as effective as the beings who had been on the station carried.

  It surmised the attack was an attempt to eliminate what it thought was causing the effects. Therefore, these creatures were much quicker to resort to hostilities than the first group.

  The station instituted self-repairing systems, brought nanobots online, initiated fire-suppression, created shielding around damaged areas to keep smoke and particulate matter from dispersing, then powered up the remaining generators. It extended the time-flow barrier to its fullest. It knew this would encompass the larger vessel from which the creatures had come, but it could not be helped. The station must protect itself. It felt no remorse. Its programming in this regard was hardwired. There were no choices.

  It watched as the small craft struggled for control and edged their way toward the parent ship. The space around the station and the vessels began to glow, well into the visible range beyond ultraviolet. Intensity grew. Pressures within the small craft mounted. The station calculated only moments remained before they were incapacitated completely.

  * * *

  Assault Shuttle One…

  The hypo-spray through the medi-tap in the neck of Hamilton’s suit hissed and was drawn away. Her mind cleared somewhat, and she rolled to her hands and knees. She worked her mouth slowly, more to see if she was injured than anything else.

  “Report,” she rasped. She took a deep breath, looking round. The rest of the landing party lay beside her in various stages of distress. Butler was sitting up, still glassy-eyed. The Techs were groaning but moving. Xiaoli was motionless on the deck, but breathing.

  “She’s in some sort of meditative state,” said the security ensign. “But we’re in trouble, Commander. Engines are out, life support on batteries, and the other ships aren’t much better. But we’ve got to transfer to another shuttle.”

  “Get ready to move, then,” replied Hamilton. “We’ll cross in suits to save time. We’ve got to get out of this time effect. If we wait much longer, even Agincourt may not be able to get away.”

  “What about the Qoearc and Stiz?”

  Hamilton shook her head. She stopped immediately, still dazed. “Doesn’t matter. Alert the closest shuttle we’re on our way.” She looked to Butler. “Lieutenant, you and the Techs take Xiaoli, security will lead, I’ll follow.”

  “Commander, permission to remain with you,” said Butler.

  She nodded after a moment. “Everyone else prepare to disembark.”

  The shuttle lurched, then alarms rang. A muffled explosion came from behind the rear bulkhead. Two seconds later, the wall exploded inward.

  Two security men went down, and a Tech followed. Butler threw himself over Hamilton, catching the brunt of the explosion on his back. Debris ricocheted from wall to wall, crashing into the control panel, impaling the pilot, sending the shuttle spinning away from the others.

  Hamilton rolled from beneath Butler. Hi
s suit was shredded from shoulders to waist. His helmet was fractured. And he was dead, a jagged piece of durasteel imbedded in his back.

  The two remaining Techs dragged her away. “Commander, we’ve got to go. The hull is breached, and in a minute, we’ll get blown out by the rupture.”

  “Get Xiaoli. Hit the vent button. Go.” She pointed to the emergency vent controls beside the hatch.

  The Techs gathered up the limp form of the science officer. One held her as the other worked the controls. The atmosphere screamed away through the emergency system ventilators. The hatch opened and the Techs stepped out with Xiaoli between them. They looked back, but only briefly.

  Hamilton rose, or tried to. She looked at her left leg; blood streamed down and was now beginning to boil in the vacuum. Didn’t even feel it. Ooohhh, now I do!

  She stifled a scream, cracked open a patch packet and slapped it across the worst of the wound. Another followed. Then another. Her leg was numb, and the stim-shot wearing off. She crawled on hands and knees to the hatch.

  She took the hatchway jamb in one hand and gave a quick look at the gash in her suit. It appeared to be holding.

  She looked once more at the bodies, eyes spinning, head feeling as though filled with cotton. She convinced herself no one remained alive.

  She braced against the torn framework and rose on one leg to push herself out the hatch…

  … just as the shuttle exploded.

  * * *

  EAS Agincourt…

  Med-Techs streamed onto the Bridge from the lift. Two went to Westermann, two more to Tactical, and others dispersed to every station. Each crew member was given a stim-shot, the captain two, and they laid Phillips on the deck to administer CPR. Three relief crew entered a moment later, one taking the Tactical chair, one the Aux. Services panel, and the other beside Westermann, awaiting orders.

  The Med-Techs placed Phillips on a stretcher and carried him from the Bridge. Not a word had been spoken. Westermann assumed it was because they were in as bad of shape as everyone else.