Star Crusades Nexus: Book 09 - The Black Rift (25 page)

“So he ordered that two of them be joined together?”

Captain Garcia shrugged.

“Hell, that’s just what I heard. There was another rumor that he had the thing built as a terror weapon, one that he could use to get Terra Nova in line.”

Neither was particularly sure which, if any of the stories were true. Instead, they simply looked on at the vast, dark shape of the bastardized vessel. Its ugliness only served to increase its intimidation factor.

“Beta Cruiser squadron. You are cleared for docking on arms six through fifteen. It’s your turn for replenishment,” said the voice from the shipyard’s open channel.

Both of the officers looked at each other as though they had just heard the greatest ever secret. Exactly on cue, the squadron of six cruisers peeled away from the primary fleet and headed toward the designated points at the sprawling complex.

“I heard that when this place was built, there was enough space for over a million personnel and four thousand active military and civilian ships. It was said that you could see the facility from the surface of Micaya.”

Captain Garcia rubbed his forehead.

“I doubt we’ll ever see something like this again. Ships from multiple species, all working together against a common enemy.”

He nodded in the direction of ANS Warlord.

“Drink in that view, Lieutenant. It will stay with you for the rest of your life.”

To his surprise, his pilot almost laughed at his comment.

“Yeah, okay, Sir,” said Lieutenant Takeda.

She noticed the confused look from her superior and regretted her automatic response. Even so, she could hardly leave it like that, and therefore felt obligated to say something more.

“You’re making a big assumption there, Sir.”

“Which is?”

She smiled at him. “Well, we have to live to be able to look back on this moment.”

Captain Garcia laughed.

“Even in death, we can look back at this. It is still something we can look forward to.”

The younger officer shook her head in disagreement.

“You don’t believe that religious mumbo jumbo, do you, Sir?”

She tried to sound coy, but the offended look on her Captain’s face confirmed that she had gone too far for him.

“Maybe I do. My family comes from a long line of Neo-Christians from the Kerberos colonies. I assume you believe in nothing, Lieutenant?”

She was worried for a second, but there was a slightly playful look to his face. She just hoped it was all tongue in cheek, but Takeda could tell she’d managed to say the wrong thing, at the exact wrong moment. She didn’t want to say anything, but then she remembered the number of times in the past when she’d let such comments slide. Even after hundreds of years living in a secular society, there were still as many religions on the colonies as before.

“On the contrary, Sir, I believe in far more than any religious person might.”

The Captain appeared fascinated.

“Please do continue. I was under the assumption that the secular had no belief?”

She shook her head in irritation.

“Really, do we have time for this?”

He creased his brow in a mocking gesture.

“If you’re an unbeliever, and this really is our last mission, then it’s my duty to prepare you for what is to come. To make sure you’re ready for life after death. How can you be ready for the end of your life if you believe there is nothing more when you go?”

She laughed, finally seeing he was doing no more than trying to goad her.

“I’m not interested in preparing for life after death, or as I like to call it, death. I am much more interested in planning for my life because I’ve only got one.”

Now Captain Garcia appeared genuinely happy.

“Exactly. There is nothing I find more offensive than the idea that somebody without belief in a deity can have anything to die for. After all, they are saying they will have no afterlife. That must be terrifying.”

“Yes, Sir, and that’s why we have to do everything we can to enjoy what we have. Just like this enemy fleet coming for us. We have one chance, and if we fail, well, that will be it, Sir. You will never find a more motivated person than one that doesn’t believe in fairy tales.”

Captain Garcia looked at her, and his face finally relaxed.

“I know. And for the record, I might come from a long line of Neo-Christians, but that doesn’t include me. There’s no way you’ll find me believing in talking snakes and rules and regulations going back to the bronze age.”

He looked to the right and checked the weapon status. Takeda shook her head again as he did so.

“I know, I know,” he said defensively.

“These torpedoes are burning a hole in my hull, and I want them off my ship ASAP. We’re not equipped for this kind of operation.”

Lieutenant Takeda pointed to the mainscreen.

“Look, the first part of their fleet is about to move from behind the planet.”

Both of them took in long, slow breaths while watching the ships.
                    

“The battle is about to begin.”

A single red alert indicator flashed repeatedly.

“Here is comes.”

Captain Garcia reached forward and tapped the icon. The audio from ANS Warlord came through loud and clear.

“Enemy warships have arrived. All vessels withdrawal to the secondary deployment area, launch fighters, and prepare for battle.”

Captain Garcia nodded as though the Admiral could see him.

“So, we feign a withdrawal, but will the enemy fall for it?”

* * *

Battleship Retribution, Taxxu, Uncharted Space

Zero-One-Zero, Thayara, and Spartan watched the massive Rift Engine in complete silence; the floating model that sat suspended in the center of the battle deck and easily filled the vast open space. Like the last vessel, it was double-headed and truly gigantic. Behind it moved more ships of the same design plus scores of warships and escorts. Amongst them, like a shark around a shoal of fish, were the Biomech battleships, each unique in its shape and configuration, yet they dwarfed all but the Rift Engines.

“It is time,” said Spartan.

“We agree,” answered One-Zero-One.

The model changed to show the Rift and the ship, as they seemed to merge into one.

“How long will this take?” Thayara asked.

No sooner had the one end of the machine approached the Rift, and it began to spark and flash. Vast streams of energy crackled along its entire length, but it remained just out of reach of the collapsed entrance.

“The machine will take less than an hour to stabilize the entrance. Then we will create the bridge and send the engine through to maintain the connection. When this happens, the engine will maintain the bridge until it becomes fully stable.”

“And nothing will be able to collapse it afterward?”

“Once the Spacebridge is constructed it will be as stable as any other astronomical body. We will use our machines to open the old Rifts and to create a permanent network suitable for our return.”

Spartan looked back at the massive projection. Even he had to admit the mighty Rift Engines were unique. Their ability to build and support the Rifts was unlike anything he’d heard of before. In his mind he could see whole networks of Rifts, each allowing travel and trade between stars, but without traveling. He thought of Terra Nova and Hyperion, and of ships moving between them filled with traded goods.

What am I doing?

He looked to Thayara and almost panicked upon seeing so many of the machines around him. Even the female warrior was draped in the finery of the Ghost Warriors. He lifted his hand to wipe his brow, and once more found himself stunned. The mechanical arm was something he’d forgotten about in the last few minutes.

One of these days I’ll do this, and the machine will be more me than the flesh.

He looked to the two of them and then pointed to the Rift.

“What about traveling in Helios? You said you could take care of that.”

“Yes, we will,” said the machine.

Spartan sighed.

“I need more than that. How long will this all take?”

The machine flashed white, and a hologram of the Helios System appeared once again.

“Our Rift Engines can create short tunnels for a few minutes at a time. Once we are through, we will build a tunnel directly to the enemy.”

The machine then pointed to Spartan.

“This is where you will come in. Our simulations show that your first-strike strategies have a greater likelihood of success than ours. You, Spartan, you will have the honor of selecting the first targets, as we discussed.”

“Then get this damned Great Seal open. I have a target for you.”

* * *

ANS Warlord, Micaya Shipyards, Helios Sector

Admiral Anderson watched the tactical screen as it filled with more and more ships. The icons showing his active vessels paled compared to the vast Biomech horde. Even so, he watched with no expression, as his own forces withdrew away from the shipyards and in the direction of the Micayan planet.

“Any change in their course?”

The tactical officer shook his head.

“No, Sir, the entire fleet is making directly for the shipyards.”

“Good, let them come. There’s plenty of scrap for them to shoot there.

He noticed eyes staring at his and twisted about to find Captain Louise Decker.

“Yes?”

“We’re ready, Admiral. All of our crew at their stations, medical bays ready for casualties, and every gun is loaded and targeted.”

“Excellent work, Captain, truly excellent.”

“Admiral, the enemy vessels are launching missiles,” said the tactical officer.

Admiral Anderson looked at his tactical display and spotted the shapes moving from the enemy fleet. At this distance, the timers showed they would take nearly a minute to strike their targets. It was more than enough time to move, assuming they were ready to do that. Against a fleet unprepared for battle, it should give them no chance to escape. He tapped the icons for the commanders at the shipyards who were waiting aboard the operational ships to the rear.

“Activate defensive batteries, release four ships to the forward skirmish line.”

They must have been waiting for such an order because in less than thirty seconds there were four ships accelerating away from the vast gantries.

This had better work!

Captain Decker and her XO moved alongside him, watching in silence as the missiles moved closer and closer to the vessels positioned at the shipyards.

“Why just the one volley?” asked the XO.

Captain Decker pointed to the structures.

“They are checking our defenses and trying to spring any traps that might be out here. It’s a smart play.”

“Admiral, here’s the feed from Admiral Lewis.”

The imagery from the mainscreen was of hundreds of derelict ships, all of them sitting out in the open and connected to gantries. Markers showed that large numbers of them were powering up their engines, but only those in the fleet knew they were a distraction. Admiral Anderson pointed at the area of space between the two sides.

“Launch fighters, put up a protective screen around the shipyards.”

That was when the first missiles made impact. The largest derelict was a ship known to the Helions as the Aorvorr, apparently a name from an ancient hero. The vessel was close in size to an Alliance Battlecruiser, yet this one was a wreck. Her hull was holed and broken, and several large sections had been removed over the last generation. Even so, at least one powerplant was active in her hull, as were four point defense turrets. Streaks of gunfire opened up and were quickly joined by the small number of active defenses on this side of the gigantic facility.

“Great work, T’Kron, damned good work,” said Admiral Anderson.

Over half of the missiles were exploded well out of range before they were through the perimeter. They then had to run the gauntlet of the fighters. Six missiles punched through the worn out armor of the Aorvorr. Explosions wracked her innards, and her powerplant immediately went offline. A second ship just behind her was hit, and then secondary explosions crippled two more.

“Sir, their fleet is breaking. They are moving in to the attack,” said the tactical officer.

“Yes, but what are their targets?”

The display showed the vast group of Biomech vessels, along with projected lines showing their targets. Every few seconds the lines changed to show the revised projections. They all waited a little while longer until the data conformed what they had all hoped. The XO said what they were all thinking.

“Looks like they’ve taken the bait. Eighty percent of their forces are heading for the shipyards. The Ark and its escorts are coming right here.”