Call to Arms (Black Fleet Trilogy, Book 2) (35 page)

During the next ten hours, Jackson was reminded of his first encounter with a Phage ship, a specially built Alpha that had been probing into Terran space. Toward the end, that ship had also tested him for specific reactions, shadowing him for over a day until, under the enormous tension, he could almost feel his sanity slipping away.

This time was different. He was different.

As he watched the Phage drift in high-orbit with the obvious intention of cutting off his escape, a detached calm came over him. He was here, they were here, and whatever was about to happen was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not.

****

“These stims are killing my stomach.” Barrett complained quietly as he continued to update the tracks of all the enemy ships in orbit.

“Mine as well, Mr. Barrett,” Jackson said quietly. “Any change in their orbital trajectories?”

“No, sir,” Barrett said. “Still maintaining a precise altitude of just over five hundred and fifty thousand kilometers. No increase in velocity either.”

They’d been awake and on duty for over thirty-six hours, and it was showing. The stims were helping keep them physically awake but did little for the lapses in mental acuity and judgment. Jackson had been rotating everyone out that he could, but he and Barrett had remained at their posts ever since the Phage had surrounded Nuovo Patria and begun their blockade, for lack of a better term.

“We’re getting some activity in the outer ring of their formation, sir,” Ensign Hayashi said.

He and Barrett had been sharing monitoring duties after Jackson had almost been forced to have the Marine sentry remove Davis from the bridge for an hour of rest.

“What have you got, Ensign?” Jackson asked.

The inner ring of Phage ships had been made up completely of Bravos, still quite numerous after the battle, but the eight remaining Alphas were flying a slow orbit slightly further out.

“The Alphas are maintaining their orbital altitude, but they’ve increased velocity by fifteen percent and are still steadily accelerating.” Hayashi highlighted the data on the main display.

“Coms, call everyone back to battle stations, and send word to the
Icarus
that this might be it,” Jackson said. “The Alphas are accelerating to increase their effective coverage and keep us trapped down here. This will either be an attack or the arrival of the Charlies we’ve been waiting for.”

“New contacts!” Barrett almost shouted. “Grav sensors picked them up. They just appeared in the inner system!”

“Calm down and tell me what we have, Lieutenant Commander,” Jackson snapped. “Is it the four Charlies?”

“Uh… no, Captain.” Barrett squinted at his display. “Eighteen contacts, less relative mass than the
Ares
and strangely low power output detected for as quickly as they’re accelerating toward us.”

“A multiple of nine… sounds like the Phage, sir,” Hayashi said as Davis rushed back onto the bridge, her eyes red-rimmed and her utility top half buttoned.

“I would have to agree if for no other reason than if it isn’t the Phage, we have a third player to this game.” Jackson looked away from Davis as she tried to pull herself together and get up to speed by looking at the tactical display. “Begin dumping data into three com drones simultaneously, and prep them for immediate launch. If we’re seeing a new class of Phage ship, CENTCOM will need to know about it. Tactical, confirm your data with the
Icarus
.”

“Aye, sir,” Barrett said.

“Alphas are breaking orbit!” Hayashi said. “All eight are moving into position between the planet and the new contacts.”

“Nav! Put us in a polar orbit, and increase altitude to one hundred thousand kilometers,” Jackson ordered. “Coms, get the
Icarus
moving into the same orbit. Tell Commander Wright I want constant line of sight coverage on the new contacts between the two ships. Helm, you’re free to adjust your course as you get it.”

The harsh rumble of the mains pushing the
Ares
out of her current orbit shook the deck while Jackson’s sleep-deprived brain raced to make sense of what these new contacts were. He doubted they were yet another secret class of Terran starship sent in to save the day. But if they were Phage, why were the Alphas moving to intercept them? Unless there wasn’t complete unity within the Phage hierarchy, and this was an opposing faction… and if so, were they likely to still have the same views on exterminating human populations?

“OPS, have our two remaining Jacobsen drones prepped and launched toward where the Phage are about to face off with these newcomers,” Jackson said after considering all the possibilities. “Full sensor package, and make it fast.”

“Yes, sir.” Hayashi pulled his headset back on to talk to Flight OPS.

According to the gravimetric sensor nets, the new ships had an impressive rate of acceleration and were also employing some sort of reactionless drive to move them along. That fact alone made Jackson’s heart sink, as he’d been holding out hope that perhaps this was another secret Tsuyo R&D had been keeping under wraps. Now the best he could hope for was an “enemy of my enemy” scenario as possibly a third species was flying into the system to fight the Phage.

“Drones are away, sir. They’ll have radar contact with the Alphas in the next ten minutes and will be in visual range in another forty.”

“Thank you, Ensign,” Jackson said. “Helm, continue orbital change. OPS and Tactical, make sure our sensors are backing up the drones. It’s likely they’ll get taken out pretty quick when the shooting starts, and we need as complete a record as possible before launching the com drones. Coms, what’s the situation on the surface?”

“Tense, Captain,” Lieutenant Keller said. “They’ve been waiting for days for an attack that’s yet to come. There’s some minor civil unrest, but mostly everyone seems to be holed up in their homes.”

“That’s as good a place for them as any,” Jackson muttered.

“It’s a shame we have nothing to offer them for assurance,” Davis said.

“It would be an obviously hollow gesture, Lieutenant,” Jackson said. “Their ground stations are well aware the fleet has left the system, and only two destroyers stand between them and the enemy.”

“Sir! Power output readings are spiking on the eighteen new contacts, well past even what the
Dreadnought
-class ships put out,” Barrett said. “They’re now accelerating toward the Phage Alpha formation, exceeding eight hundred G’s and increasing.”

“That’s impossible!” someone hissed behind Jackson.

“What are the Alphas doing?” he asked.

“Alphas are spreading out evenly,” Hayashi said. “Thermal build up on the leading edges of each ship suggests they’re preparing to fire.”

“Drones are locking on optical sensors now,” Hayashi said.

The main display showed that the
Ares
was climbing up around Nuovo Patria and would crest just as the new contacts came within range of the Alphas’ plasma weapons.

“Unknown contacts are now slowing… They’re redeploying. Eight are continuing toward the Alphas, and the other—they’re firing!” Barrett’s running commentary was interrupted as eight of the unknown ships fired laser cannons of such prodigious power that the beams were actually semi-visible on the sensors as they impacted trace gasses and particulate matter drifting through the area.

Jackson watched, mesmerized as the new ships fired their powerful beams well outside what he would consider an effective range for that type of weapon.

“Three Alphas have been destroyed!” Hayashi exclaimed. “Four! Five—”

“The other ten ships have split again!” Barrett called out. “They’re taking out the Bravos and taking them out
fast
!”

“All Alphas are destroyed!” Hayashi shouted. “Optical scans are picking up expanding debris, and that’s about it.”

“Who the hell
are
these guys?” Jackson demanded as the ships ripped through the remaining Phage.

Although a few of the smaller Bravos managed to break orbit and escape using whatever method they used for FTL travel, the crew of the
Ares
sat stunned as the eighteen new ships shredded an entire Phage armada in less than two hours.

“All eighteen ships are returning to their previous, low-power readings, Captain,” Barrett said. “Putting up the best visual capture we have of one on the main display.”

The blurry image was of a sleek, seamless ship that gleamed silver-white as it passed through the light of the primary star. It certainly had little in common with any Phage ship they’d seen so far, but also did not remind him of any Terran designs he’d ever seen.

“What are they doing now?” he asked.

“They’ve formed up into two phalanx flights of nine each and are moving into high-orbit over the planet,” Barrett said.

“Let’s give them a moment before we try—”

“Sir, there’s another contact that just appeared in the inner system,” Barrett said. “It’s enormous… computer is trying to resolve the data now.”

“Is it a Charlie?” Jackson asked, confused as to why they would only send in one.

“No, sir,” Barrett said. “It’s an Alpha, but its profile matches the first one we encountered with the
Blue Jacket
, not those we just fought.”

“Incoming transmission, sir,” Keller said. “Audio only.”

“From the Alpha?” Davis exclaimed, clearly shocked.

“It appears so,” Keller said. “Putting it through now.”

“
I speak to the leader
.” A raspy, metallic voice made all the hairs on the back of Jackson’s neck stand at attention.

“I’m Captain Jackson Wolfe,” he said. “Who is this?”

“
I bring warning
,” the voice said, ignoring the question. “
The test is concluded
.”

“What test?”

“Channel is closed, sir,” Keller said.

“Target has disappeared from sensors,” Barrett said.

“Well that was ominous.” Jackson fell into his chair. “What did it mean by test?”

“Maybe the more important question is if we passed or failed,” Davis said.

“Another incoming com signal, sir.” Keller frowned. “This one is definitely coming from those unknown ships. Short-range UHF radio signal… I can’t quite seem to make out what they’re saying. There’s also a video signal, but the computer can’t resolve the format.”

“Just put the audio through.” Jackson’s skin almost tingled from the anticipation.

“Greetings unknown Earth vessel,” a voice said in an accent that only Jackson was familiar with, though the inflection wasn’t quite right and could almost be called archaic. “I am Colonel Robert Blake, Unites States Air Force. I think we have much to discuss.”

“Colonel who from the what force?” Chief Green blurted out as Jackson shook his head in disbelief.

Chapter 19

“
Earth
vessel?” Barrett asked incredulously before throwing a slightly guilty look at Jackson.

“Do you have any idea what he’s talking about, Captain?” Davis asked.

“Someone is playing games,” Jackson said. “Colonel Blake is a famous aviator from Earth’s ancient past. I doubt any of you would have heard of him.”

“He was the commander and pilot of the
Carl Sagan
, Earth’s first attempt at a faster than light exploration mission.” Specialist Accari spoke up. “The mission was launched but never heard from again.”

“Very good, Specialist.” Jackson nodded. “Our friend on the other end of the com signal sounds pretty spry for a man who would be over three hundred years old.”

“Captain, the channel is still open,” Keller reminded him. “How would you like me to respond?”

“Put me on.” Jackson waited for the double beep. “Colonel Blake, this is Captain Jackson Wolfe of the Terran starship
Ares
… First, let me express my thanks for your intervention on behalf of the people of Nuovo Patria, the Warsaw Alliance, the Terran Confederacy, and my own crew.”

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Captain Wolfe,” the voice of the supposed Robert Blake said. “I’m sure that you’re either in utter disbelief of my claim, or you have no idea who I am claiming to be.”

“You’re correct on both counts, Colonel,” Jackson said. “The bridge crew is pretty evenly divided.”

“Of course,” Blake chuckled. “Perhaps, Captain, it would be easier if I either came aboard your ship or met you on the surface of the planet below us. A quick blood test should at least confirm that I am, indeed, human. We can work out the details from there.”

“It is not within my authority to invite you to land on Nuovo Patria, Colonel, so I guess that leaves us one option,” Jackson said after a moment. He didn’t believe for a moment that the voice on the other end of the channel was who it claimed to be and he was treading carefully. Humanity couldn’t afford another enemy with such superior technology. “Would you like us to send a shuttle for you?”

“No need, Captain Wolfe,” Blake said. “My ship has analyzed your lateral airlocks and is fabricating the necessary collar for us to dock directly with each other—with your permission, of course. I felt it might streamline this process if you were also able to come aboard my ship.”

Jackson looked around at his bewildered bridge crew and shrugged. “Very well, Colonel. The
Ares
will maintain her current orbit. When can we expect you to have the necessary hardware completed and join us?”

“Already complete, Captain,” Blake said. “Moving to you now.”

“In that case, we will see you shortly at the starboard airlock,” Jackson said. “
Ares
out.”

“Channel closed, sir.”

“Coms, tell Major Ortiz I need him and five of his best to meet me at the starboard airlock,” Jackson said. “Lieutenant Davis, you have the bridge. Once I leave, you are to initiate lockdown protocols. Nothing comes in here until we’ve gotten some answers. If this goes to hell, I want you to order the
Icarus
out of the system. In the meantime, bring Commander Wright up to speed on what’s happening.”

“Aye, sir,” Davis said to his back as he walked off the bridge.

****

“He’s completely homo sapiens,” Commander Owens confirmed to Jackson just outside the conference room.

Colonel Blake was still seated inside with Lieutenant Davis, along with Major Ortiz and his Marines. The strange ship had docked easily with the
Ares
and revealed that it was only crewed by a single person, despite the fact it was half the tonnage of the destroyer that had a crew of over six hundred.