Alien Courage (Rise of the Empress) (57 page)

Traveller lifted off and hovered just off the floor.
The whine increased in pitch until it was a roar. “Outer doors opening,”
Toormis said as his body shook with the vibration of thrusters only drive.

The large dock door opened slowly, snow and wind
swirled inside. The outside scene was keenly watched by all aboard as the doors
fully opened. They saw the slope they had all laboured up just a short time
before. The mountains seemed less threatening and had a majestic quality.
Traveller crept out of the space dock and locked herself in the magnetic beam.
Snow was whipped up and the screen went totally white. Toormis engaged the main
engines and the thrusters shut off eliminating the vibration. Pure power
greater than anyone of them have ever experienced before hurtled the ship
directly upwards.

“
Wheee
!”
Toormis screamed as the ship easily counteracted the
pull of gravity. The ship was a lot more powerful than Toormis anticipated.
Traveller sped through cloud, wind and snow and slowly spun on its axis, the
sound of displaced air on the side of the ship’s hull produced a deafening
roar. Traveller increased acceleration with awesome power. The people onboard
were rammed back in their seats. They all fought to remain conscious.

“
Ohhhh
,” moaned Cassy as she
dug her fingers into the arm rest.

The clouds sped past the viewing ports in a blur as
the ship gained speed and altitude. Suddenly the clouds disappeared and were
replaced by the blackness of space with countless specks of shimmering light.
The magnetic beam behind them automatically shut down and the noise of air
rushing along the hull ceased and an eerie silence enveloped the ship.

“Are we cloaked yet?” the Administrator asked as he
didn’t see the hazy image on the main screen you usually get looking out from a
cloaked ship.”

“Oh yes. We flew fully cloaked from the space dock and
the engines aren’t even hot yet. This ship is truly a work of art. I’m setting
course away from this sector and I’ve computed the course to keep us away from
as many Confederate Bases and observation beacons as possible. I noticed the
satellite on our exit from Zion on my monitors. It would have recorded a
disturbance and will be probably be interpreted as a cloaked ship leaving the
atmosphere. But they won’t believe it at the speed we just did. We need to
leave this sector immediately.”

Across the sector a Confederate relay probe received a
stream of data from one of its satellites and beamed a transmission of a disturbance
leaving the atmosphere of Zion, the data was interpreted as a fully cloaked
ship. Confederate Command immediately responded with standard operating
procedures and dispatched a squadron to investigate. The transmission
immediately appeared on all Confederate security systems.

“Wake up the Black Priest,” ordered the communications
officer on the Black Priest’s ship. “There was an occurrence in the adjoining
sector next to Base 2 Alpha.”

“What was it?” The Black Priest said entering the
Bridge.

“An unknown ship just left a planet called Zion in the
adjoining sector to Base 2 Alpha. It was cloaked and no destination for the
ship is known. I’ve cross referenced all traffic in the two sectors and it is a
high possibility that a number of ships have visited Zion after a Confederate
patrol was denied access but left a satellite monitoring the planet.”

“Interesting.
Get me information on this planet and what sort of
ship could leave an atmosphere fully cloaked,” the Black Priest said.

“The planet is an Irrimus asset. Primitive humanoid
inhabitants supply local animal products for night vision research and
biological aquatic technology. One registered android base on Confederate
charts.
Atmosphere hostile in temperature and precipitation.
Average temperature just above freezing.
Electronics
are unstable due to radium core and magnetic poles that vary widely in random
positions. Access is by magnetic pulse beam only. The planet holds no
strategically significant purpose…”

“Oh really,” the Black Priest cut in. “You,” he said
pointing to the navigator. “Get me all that planet’s ship traffic for as long
as Confederate records have recorded them. Go on,” he indicated to the
Communication’s Officer.

“The cloaking technology does exist for ships to leave
atmospheres virtually undetected but it is not Trigealian sanctioned for
general use. Smugglers have been caught with prototype versions but the only
ships installed with that technology have been specialist vessels. We do not
have access to their records.” The Priest said finishing his report.

The Black Priest walked around the Bridge slowly. He
stopped to get a tumbler of his deadly drink and sipped it while looking out an
observation port. He remained silent for a short time then spun around. “Order the
Starfighter squadron to gather up the Moon base’s Commanding Officer, his
immediate staff, the Space Dock Administrator and all Volen personnel at the
base. Also any others with Irrimus equipment found on their vessels or whoever
sold it to them. I want that base searched for all evidence of Zion and bring
me the personnel responsible.   
Now Captain!”

“Yes My Lord,” the Priest Captain replied from his
seat.

“Set a course for Zion and compute all possible
vectors from that planet for a ship wishing to avoid detection by Confederate
Space Command.”

“Yes at once My Lord,” The Captain said and looked at
his co pilot who immediately carried out the order. “My Lord believes Zion has
been used as a hiding place?”

“Indeed… and for more than we
anticipated Captain.
A planet in
the Confederacy in which electronics don’t work, therefore T334’s cannot police
it and Trigeal ships cannot navigate. Lord Ambrae was a conspirator with the
Emperor for many years. Where would you hide or pick up a spare space ship from
if you were being chased?”

The Captain understood and turned to his console and
energetically assisted his co pilot.

The navigator stood and walked over to the Black
Priest and handed him a data disc. “All of Zion’s recorded ship traffic My
Lord.”

“Very good,” replied the Black Priest who retired to
his cabin to study the data.

---------

The Ensign checked his monitor again. “Sir, a
disturbance occurred in Zion’s atmosphere. I’m sure of it, sending the scan
readout to your monitor.”

The Captain of the Palace Guard studied the data and
indeed there was a fluctuation in the planet’s atmosphere.
“Probably
just a metrological phenomena.”

“I don’t think so Sir. I’m just deciphering the
communication programs this computer has and these smugglers sure weren’t
concerned about Trigealian intervention or Imperial law by having such an
illegal program. I have received a series of intercepted Space Command secure
transmissions and there is one coinciding with that scan disturbance from
Zion’s atmosphere. I’ll have the data as soon as I can figure how to open this
file,” the Ensign said chewing his bottom lip while he concentrated of the
screen data. “There we go. A cloaked ship left Zion’s atmosphere in attempting
to avoid identification by a Confederate satellite monitoring the planet.”

“That’s the Traveller!” The Captain said feeling
instantly angry that the ship was taken. “She’s the only ship that can do that.
Where is she headed?”

“Don’t know Sir but you need to read this – I transfer
it to your monitor,” the Ensign said softly.

The Captain read the intercepted Confederate
transmission and his heart sank. The message was an issued order for his
immediate arrest for the kidnapping of the Emperor, murder, and theft of a
Starfighter. His muscles went limp and he slumped deeply into his seat. His
mind went numb with the betrayal and he stared in space.

The Ensign got up from his seat and went aft to the
galley area. He rummaged around in the cabinets and found what he was looking
for, a thin metal cylinder of white liquor. He filled a glass and took it to
the Captain and put it in his hand.

“Drink it Sir,” he said quietly.

The Captain looked up at his Ensign who stood smartly
to attention. A smile slowly grew on his face. He looked at the glass in his
hand and drank it in one swallow.  He held the glass for another and the
Ensign refilled the glass. “Have one Ensign,” the Captain ordered. The Ensign
rushed back to the galley and returned with a glass and filled it. “You know
Ensign. There are only three people in the Confederacy who know that
transmission is a lie, and you are one of them. Here’s to a very exclusive
club,” the Captain said and drained his glass. The Ensign without hesitation
drank his in one swallow.”

“Sir, I will never ask you who the third person is
unless you request it. But as of now we have to leave this location. A squadron
of Confederate Fighters are on their way to investigate Zion’s mystery ship,”
the Ensign said.

“Yes, right you are,” the Captain said feeling the
hopelessness of this situation. “If you just stole the cleverest and deadliest
ship in the galaxy which way would you go?”

“Exactly the opposite way from eight
Starfighters.”

The Captain smiled again. “You are temporarily
assigned Captain of this vessel and her course is at your prerogative. Make me
proud Captain,” the Captain said getting out of his chair. He patted the Ensign
on his shoulder, grabbed the cylinder of alcohol and headed aft into the ship.

The Ensign felt a wave of despair wash through him. He
had never seen the Captain do anything else but take charge of every situation.
He looked around nervously at the array of controls on the Volen craft and
looked out into space. It was a first for him to be in charge of a ship. He
suddenly brightened up, “well Captain,” he told himself. “There’s an invisible
ship out there I must find and capture. It can out fly, out gun and out
manoeuvre this vessel and there’s also a squadron or two of Starfighters after
us who will blow you out of the sky if they can find you. Pretty simple
situation really and the solutions are…” The Ensign now Captain jumped in the
Captain’s seat and swung the console around to face him. He had the recently
intercepted Space Command transmissions on his screen and chose those closest
to his present location and quickly found the incoming Starfighter squadron. He
set a course exactly the opposite way they were coming from in relation to
Zion. He moved the ship slowly out from the asteroid they were hiding behind
and positioned the ship with the asteroid between them and the incoming
squadron, then gunned the vessel to maximum speed. The ship quickly left the
Zion’s system and with scanners set to maximum intensity started searching for
the invisible ship.

A squadron of Confederate Starfighters entered the
sector and set course at maximum speed for Zion. One of the support vessels
carried a magnetic pulse beacon and a team of assault troops with a section of
land based programmed androids. Their orders were simple, capture and occupy
the Irrimus land base.

The Black Priest was restless and shuffled from one
end of his ship to the other. Something was upsetting him and he couldn’t work
out what was causing it. He refused all offers of assistance except for the
help of one of his Priests offering to organize the data on the history of the
ship traffic related to Zion.

“Why the attention on Zion’s past, My Lord?” the
Priest asked as he looked through the supply ship records and types of supplies
Zion had received and dispatched in its history.

“No one ever suspected that little planet as being
such a safe haven for the likes of those who despise the Trigeals. The
atmosphere and climate is a perfect screen from scans and detection,” he said
and felt certain there was more there than just a primitive race of humanoids.
“But, it is the perfect location for a new Assengi Temple.
The
new centre of power for the Confederacy.”

His Priest bowed deeply in front of the Back Priest.
The Black Priest shuffled towards him and looked down, “soon my friend, the
riches of the new life will be within our grasp.”