Flagship (23 page)

Cole went down to his office, where Briggs was working at the computer.

"Any luck?"

"I've captured a few messages," said Briggs. "The problem is that they're not anything the computer recognizes."

"Even the Master Computer on Deluros VIII?" said Cole, frowning. "That doesn't make any sense. These people didn't choose Deluros out of a hat. They clearly have a grudge against the Republic. That means at some time in the past they
must
have spoken to them."

"The Master Computer is down, sir," said Briggs. "I don't know if it's been destroyed, or has merely lost its power source—something that big and that powerful must take a lot of power. But whatever the reason, I can't access it."

"These messages," continued Cole. "Audio or transmitted in code?"

"Code, sir."

"Then keep working on it. The ship's computer may not be able to translate growls and snorts and clicks, but if we feed it enough written or coded transmissions, sooner or later it'll start to make sense of them."

Cole left the office and wandered to the mess hall, where he sat as his usual table and ordered a coffee. Sharon appeared in the doorway a moment later.

"Want a little company?" she asked.

"Sure."

"You look troubled," she said. "Or at least preoccupied."

"I'm missing something," he said, "and I haven't been able to put my finger on what it is."

"I'm sure you'll think of it before the Navy ships start arriving— and you really can't do anything until then."

"I think that's what's bothering me," he said. "We won't be at anything near full strength for almost a Standard day, and I think the enemy will be long gone by then. Hell, the first of our ships will be arriving in an hour; I don't even know if the enemy will stick around that long."

"I don't know what you can do about it," insisted Sharon. "There are hundreds of them, possibly a few thousand. You can't do battle against them alone."

"I know."

"So we just sit it out until our ships start arriving," she concluded.

He shook his head. "Not good enough."

"Wilson," she said, "the
Teddy R
can't stand against a fleet of these ships, even if they don't have Level 5 weapons."

"We can't just stay here doing nothing," replied Cole.

"This isn't like you," she said. "I've never known you to take foolish risks before."

"If I look troubled, it's because I'm about to take the most foolish risk of all."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" she said with a failed attempt at flippancy.

"Because
I
don't like the sound of it," said Cole. "But I don't see any alternative." He frowned. "No, we have to do it." He got up from the table. "And the sooner the better."

He walked briskly to the airlift, and a moment later was back on the bridge.

"Pilot," he said as he approached Wxakgini, "take us into the Stutz Wormhole."

"Are you sure?" asked Jacovic. "We don't know what's waiting for us at the other end."

Cole looked at Wxakgini. "Do we?"

"No," confirmed the pilot. "As I said, it's never been mapped by the Republic."

Cole frowned. "If it was just the
Teddy R
I'd wait," he told Jacovic, "but it's not. We're the flagship now. I can't ask a few thousand Navy ships to go through that hole if the enemy's ships have all returned and I don't even know who or where the enemy is. We've got to find what's at the other end of that wormhole." He turned to Christine. "Send a coded message to our ships, that if we're not here when they arrive we haven't deserted them, that we're scouting the enemy and will be back shortly."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, Pilot—let's go."

The
Teddy R
burst out of cover and began racing for the wormhole. A few ships spotted it and took up pursuit.

"Who's in Gunnery?" asked Cole.

"Mr. Pampas and Mr. Braxite, sir," said Christine. "And I believe one of Mr. Lafferty's men, who has weaponry experience, is with them."

"Put me through to them."

"Done."

"Bull, this is Cole. We're being pursued by a half dozen enemy ships. They have nothing but Level 3 and 4 weaponry, and probably can't do us much harm. Take them out before we pass Deluros V."

"Yes, sir."

"Pilot, what's the transit time within the wormhole?"

"I don't know exactly where the hole leads," answered Wxakgini. "A guess would be twenty-five to thirty-five minutes."

"Damn!" muttered Cole.

"What it is, sir?" asked Jacovic.

"I wanted to get in and out fast," said Cole. "Identify the location and the alien culture, see how they've positioned their ships, and get the hell out of there."

"There's no reason why we can't do that, sir," said Jacovic.

"I'm not so sure," said Cole. "After we've done a quick survey, we want to come back here so we can inform our ships what's waiting for them, what to look out for." He grimaced. "But if we're coming back in, say, an hour, we could run right into the enemy in the wormhole." He turned to Wxakgini. "I don't suppose we can fire a weapon inside the hole?"

"You can," replied the pilot. "But you would probably outrun it and end up killing yourself. Or it might not fire at all; remember, the laws of time and space do not necessarily apply to the interiors of wormholes."

"You want to expand upon 'not necessarily'?"

"They
may
apply," said Wxakgini. "Or they may selectively apply."

"You are not the most helpful guy I ever met," said Cole.

"Being helpful is not my function," replied Wxakgini. "I pilot the ship. ETA for the Stutz Wormhole is ninety-three seconds."

"Got the last of them!" cried Pampas's triumphant voice. "Take a look!" An image of a blazing fireball appeared, then vanished as the fire sputtered out and the debris scattered through space.

Cole stared at the viewscreen. He'd spent his entire adult life in space, and he still couldn't get used to the fact that even though he knew a wormhole was dead ahead he couldn't see it. In fact, he could see right through it, see all the stars behind it, could see no hint of an entrance, no warping of space.

"Here it comes," said Rachel.

"You actually see it?" asked Cole.

"No, sir," she replied. "I was checking my watch."

There was a sudden shudder, and then the
Teddy R
was inside the wormhole. And, as always, the viewscreens ceased to work.

"All right," said Cole. "When we emerge, Bull and Braxite will man the weapons from Gunnery, and Jacovic will work the auxiliary weaponry, if needed, from the bridge. Christine, I want you and Rachel to have your computers pinpoint our position, because if this war lasts more than thirty hours after we launch our invasion, we need to know where we are and how to get home—and I also want you to capture any images that we can transmit to the rest of our ships. If the enemy's home planet isn't obvious, then you're going to have to run an analysis on every planet within five light-years, as well as determining their position." He paused. "Correction: make that oxygen worlds only."

"Are you sure, sir?" said Rachel. "I mean, there
are
chlorine breathers."

"I know," said Cole. "But when you hit them, they don't burst into flames the way the ones Bull and Braxite hit did. You need oxygen for that." He paused. "I don't know if they'll have any ships guarding the other end of the wormhole, but it would be foolish to assume they won't, so I want a couple of you without express duties to perform at that time to get down to Gunnery and see if there's any way you can assist Bull and Braxite. That includes your people too, Mr. Lafferty. There are more than two stations down there—but under no circumstance do we fire unless we're fired upon. If we can just sneak in and sneak out unseen, maybe they won't have a welcoming committee when we return here with our Navy. Christine, put me through to Briggs."

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Briggs," said Cole. "Any luck yet?"

"Not much, sir," answered Briggs. "The computer says it's a logical language, but it knows none of the reference points, so it may take as much as two days to translate it."

"That's not going to be much help," said Cole. "Can you just order the computer to keep working, or do you have to be there?"

"I can program it, sir."

"Good. Then do so, and come back up to the bridge. I'm going to put you at that small computer station you hate. I need all the data we can gather when we emerge from the hole. You, Christine, and Rachel can divide it up any way you want, but I want the area blanketed."

"Yes, sir."

"Once you're done, I promise you can go back to sleep until we're ready to invade them," added Cole.

"I'm wide awake now, sir," said Briggs. "I'll be on the bridge shortly."

Cole turned to Jacovic. "Am I forgetting anything?"

"Not that I'm aware of, sir."

"Okay," said Cole. "We've got about twenty minutes to go. Take over while I finish what's left of my coffee."

He went back down to the mess hall. Sharon was still sitting at the same table.

"I thought you'd be back," she said. "I know how you dislike the bridge."

"It brings up images of heroic captains standing by the wheel, sword in hand, the salt spray in their faces. That's not me."

"It's closer to you than you think."

He made a face. "Any order I can give on the bridge I can give from right here."

"I take it we have absolutely no idea who or what we're up against?" she asked.

"Not yet."

"Let me ask you a question, Wilson," said Sharon.

"Go ahead," replied Cole.

"Has it occurred to you that we should be joining them rather than fighting them? After all, we both went to Deluros with the same target in mind."

"Not for a second," said Cole. "They're bombing and killing indiscriminately, just like the Navy has been doing on the Inner Frontier. And this is just a hit-and-run. If its existence was threatened, the Republic would sign a truce or a cease-fire with the Teroni Federation and pull three million ships back to defend Deluros. At least if we pull this off, we can choose more reasonable leaders for the Republic."

"Are
there more reasonable leaders?" she asked.

"We spent years living in the Republic, and more years defending it," said Cole. "They're not all bad. Hell, most of them are just like you and me; they just want to get through the day without hurting anyone or being hurt. This Chang seems like a reasonable man; surely there are others."

"All right," said Sharon. "I just wanted to make sure you'd thought it out." A self-deprecating smile. "I should have known you had."

"ETA in six minutes," announced Jacovic's voice.

"Damn!" said Cole. "I wish Briggs had broken their language or code or whatever the hell it is. If we take any prisoners, I don't know how the hell you're going to question them."

"It depends who you capture," said Sharon. "They have to have had
some
contact with the Republic. With ten billion planets in the galaxy, they didn't choose Deluros VIII by chance. What they speak to each other is one thing; maybe some of them will speak or understand Terran, or possibly Teroni."

"Five minutes," announced Jacovic.

"I'd better get up there," said Cole, getting to his feet.

"You've already explained to me why you don't have to."

"Under normal circumstances, I can avoid the bridge for a week," lie said. "But these aren't normal circumstances."

"Come on, Wilson," she said. "The truth?"

"All right," he said. "They deserve to see their captain on the bridge, sharing the danger with them."

"Strapped to the wheel, sword in hand," she said with a smile. "You know, Rachel and Gentry are looking better by the minute," growled Cole as he left the mess hall.

"We should be out of the wormhole in about twenty seconds," said Jacovic.

They kept their eyes on the viewscreen, and finally the
Teddy R
emerged into normal space.

"No ships, sir," said Christine.

"I agree, sir," said Rachel.

Cole turned to Briggs. "Mr. Briggs?"

"Nothing, sir."

"All right. Rachel and Briggs, start surveying those planets, and see which ones have an oxygen atmosphere and can support carbon-based life. Christine, try to figure out where the hell we are." He paused. "Jacovic, just keep an eye out for visitors."

After a minute Christine spoke up. "This would be a lot easier if we could move a few light-years ahead, sir. There are a lot of red and blue giants that are obscuring what's beyond."

"Not unless we have to," said Cole. "I don't want anyone to know we're here."

"They have to know the wormhole works in both directions," said Christine.

"If the Navy had ever used it, these people—whoever they are— would be a Republic colony by now. And if they thought someone
might
use it, they'd have been waiting for us when we came out of it."

"It does imply that they will be easier to meet in battle than an enemy that prepares for all eventualities," offered Jacovic.

"Sir!" said Rachel excitedly. "I think I've got them!"

"Where?"

"Fifth planet circling the type G star two light-years away, she said. "If you look at the viewscreen, it's on the left side, toward the bottom."

"This one?" asked Cole, indicating a star.

"Yes, sir. Oxygen world, considerable neutrino activity, and I'm picking up planetary transmissions."

"Mr. Briggs, see what you can do about narrowing things down," said Cole.

"I beg your pardon, sir?" said Briggs.

"I'm sure Pilot won't mind your tying in to the navigational computer. I think we can assume no enemy planet or empire could exist within twenty thousand light-years of Deluros, so why don't you have the computer check every populated non-Republic oxygen world that's the fifth planet circling a G-type star?"

Briggs looked up a minute later. "There are thirty-two of them in the galaxy, sir."

"Well, that's a start. Christine, you're on the best of our computers. Have it chart all the stars within, say, ten light-years and see if it can narrow it down further."

"Checking . . ." she said, whispering instructions to the computer that only she and the machine understood. "We've narrowed it down to two planets, sir."

"Only one, sir," said Rachel a moment later.

"Explain," said Cole.

"The eighth planet of the Tamerlaine system has eight moons. The eighth planet of
this
system has six. Therefore, this has to be the Rubino system.

"Very good," said Cole. "At least we should be able to figure out how to get home if we survive. Have we got anything on the Rubino system?"

A moment later Christine turned to face him. "Rubino V is what we want, all right. Five centuries ago they had an empire of twenty-seven planets. They tried to assimilate a few of the Republic's worlds, the Republic warned them off, they ignored the warnings, and the Republic destroyed almost their entire fleet in a single afternoon. They also brought about half of the Rubino empire into the fold. As far as I can tell, Rubino V seems to have disappeared from galactic history thereafter. It was a little planet that flexed its muscles once too often, got slapped down, and hasn't been heard from again."

"That is one hell of a long time to plan your revenge," said Cole. "It makes me feel better, though, that we're not fighting a world or an empire that's just trying to break away from the Republic and gain its freedom. Do we know what the Rubinos look like?"

"I doubt that they're called Rubinos, sir," said Christine.

"They are until someone gives me a better name."

"They're humanoid, sir," said Rachel. "Erect bipeds, two arms, two legs, the usual senses. I can't find out whether or not they're mammals."

"Any word on how many planets they control today?" asked Cole.

"No, sir," said Christine. "We have almost nothing on them for the past five hundred years."

"So we know, or can assume we know, that Rubino V is their headquarters world, but we don't know for a fact that we won't face reinforcements from other worlds. I almost said other nearby worlds, but I suppose we don't know that, either."

"No, sir."

"And we don't know if the two thousand ships they sent through the wormhole was an attack team or their entire Navy."

"That's correct, sir."

"How far is Rubino from Deluros?"

"Forty-seven thousand light-years, sir," said Christine.

"That's a long walk home from the battlefield," commented Cole. He turned to Jacovic. "Is there anything I should be asking that I’ve missed?"

"There are things we won't know until the battle begins, and there are things you have to decide, sir, but there's no question that you have neglected to ask."

"Okay. Pilot, get us the hell out of here," said Cole. "Same way w came."

"There's every likelihood we'll meet the returning ships after we emerge from the hole," noted Jacovic.

"Better to meet them at that end than this," said Cole. "Pilot, the second we're out of the hole, get to the far side of the star, inside the orbit of Deluros I." He turned to Jacovic. "That's the safest I can make us. We'll see if it works." The ship shuddered as it entered the Stutz Wormhole. "Come down to my office with me."

The Teroni accompanied Cole to the airlift, and a moment late was sitting opposite him, with the desk separating them, in the office

"You wished to speak privately with me, sir?" said Jacovic.

"Yes," said Cole. "I wish I could offer you a drink, but you don and I probably shouldn't."

"I am not thirsty, sir."

"I know," said Cole. He leaned forward. "I just want to make sure we're on the same page, or if not, what page I need to be on."

"I do not understand, sir."

"Slang," said Cole. "You said there were things we couldn't know before the battle begins. I can think of a few. Let's compare notes."

"First, you cannot know the size of their fleet," said Jacovic "Second, you cannot know if they have weaponry on the planet that is superior to the Level 3 and 4 cannons in their ships. Third, you cannot know if they will be supported by any allies."

Cole nodded. "I also don't know if their allies are oxygen breathers," he said. "I'd hate to fly by a planet with a chlorine or methane atmosphere, pay no attention to it, and have them attack our flank once the battle's started."

"True," said Jacovic. "Some races are so outre that it is all but impossible to discern their presence until they leave their planet."

"How much attention we pay to that possibility will depend on the size of the fleet we assemble. Remember, we've got to come back here within a Standard day or the mouth of the wormhole will be somewhere else."

"I know," said Jacovic. "And that leaves you even less time to make your decision."

"I know," said Cole. "Do we punish them or annihilate them?"

"It is the kind of decision that makes me glad I am no longer a Fleet Commander," said the Teroni.