Progeny (The Progenitor Trilogy, Book Three) (7 page)

‘Uh huh,’ said Isaacs. ‘So what, we can read their mail now?’

‘Alas, no,’ the Speaker replied.  ‘We do not, as yet, understand the Shaper language and nor do we have any knowledge of the methods that they doubtless employ to encrypt their transmissions or the workings of any of their communications protocols.  Even if we did succeed in doing so, it is likely, given that they are machine based life-forms, that they would not find it too difficult to change them relatively quickly.’

‘So what use is this new found knowledge to us then?’ said Isaacs.

‘The Shapers are a hive-mind.  They are in constant contact with one another.  If we can detect their transmissions, then we can detect their ships at range,’ the Speaker replied.  ‘We have taken the liberty of also reprogramming and recalibrating Port Royal’s hyperspace sensor array.  I think you’ll find the results quite impressive.’

A map of the Achernar system appeared in the air in front of the Speaker.  The current position of Port Royal was marked with a green icon on the edge of the system, within the Kuiper belt.  The orbits of the various planets and their attendant moons were sketched in hair thin ellipses about the massive central star, a rapidly spinning, oblate blue giant that seared the inner planets.  Humans had therefore colonised the verdant moons around the sixth planet, Tethys, and it was to there that the Speaker drew their attention.

‘This simulation is a product of our modified hyperspace sensors and observations by Port Royal’s telescopes,’ said the Speaker.  ‘Here we see the system shortly after we successfully completed our jump from Spica.  You can see the huge number of warp signatures indicating vessels moving to and from the moons of Tethys.  As I’m sure you’re already aware, shortly after we arrived the fleet of renegade ships under the command of our old friend Admiral Cox arrived in the system and made straight for Orinoco, where they proceeded to attack the orbital station…’ As the creature spoke, a group of red icons entered the system and made a bee-line for the sixth planet.  It continued.  ‘The loyalist fleet, already waiting for them, responded and took down a number of Cox’s ships in the opening minutes of the battle.’  The icons indicating neutral vessels scattered and many simply vanished, before the tightly packed red icons were met by two groups of blue icons appearing from opposite directions.  A number of the red icons quickly disappeared. ‘By this point the
Uncaring Cosmos
had succeeded in tuning its newly modified sensors to longer ranges and managed to capture the final stages of the battle,’ said the Speaker, as an approaching group of additional red icons in a massive claw formation appeared within the image.  The Speaker paused the simulation and then zoomed the image inwards so that the battle was more clearly magnified. A faint tracery of lines could be seen linking each of the newly displayed ships to one another, whilst further lines extended from the larger ones back out of the image in the direction of the galactic core.

‘Shapers,’ said Isaacs.

‘Yes indeed,’ said the Speaker. ‘At this stage they are still within hyperspace, but we can see them nonetheless at a distance of billions of kilometres.  That faint tracery of lines represents their network of communication traffic between one another.’

The Speaker resumed the simulation and the blue icons quickly winked out.

‘If we’d only seen them coming earlier,’ said Isaacs. ‘We could have warned them.’

‘Yes we could,’ the Speaker replied.  ‘Even though the Commonwealth would have been unable to repel an attack of that magnitude with that number of ships available to them, it might have saved the lives of their crews.’

‘So, we can see them.  But how the hell can we kill them?’ said Anna.

‘The Arkaris’ spatial distortion weaponry and the dark energy weapons of my people are quite capable of taking down Shaper vessels as these are able to bypass their shields and in the case of the Arkaris’ weapons, affect the molecular fabric of the Shaper craft in this and other dimensions.  Human vessels, relying on kinetic, laser and directed energy weapons, however, are likely to be much less successful.’

‘Well, that’s great,’ said Isaacs.  ‘So, even if we give them this information, it’ll just let them know that the Shapers are coming for them and that there’s nothing that they can do about it.’

‘I suspect that this may already have happened,’ said the Speaker, and switched the simulation forward a few hours.  The projection now clearly showed a formation of renegade Commonwealth vessels departing the system, shadowed by a fleet of Shaper craft. ‘Judging from their trajectory when they left the reach of our sensors, they were headed for your home-world,’ the Speaker added. ‘Enough time has elapsed by now for them to have arrived.’

‘Shit,’ said Isaacs. ‘So that’s it?  We’ve lost already?  So much for the human race,’ he added bitterly.

‘You should not give up hope,’ said the Speaker.  ‘Before we left Spica I received word from my government that a contingent of gunspheres was to be despatched to Earth to aid in its defence.  It seems that they have finally come to their senses after all.  Hopefully they acted in time.  However the fleet will likely be rather small as we require the bulk of our forces for the defence of our own systems.  Doubtless the Shapers will move against the Nahabe in time.  If you encounter the Nahabe fleet in the Solar System you should also ensure that this information reaches them too.’

‘Pardon me if that doesn’t fill me with confidence,’ said Isaacs.  ‘So what, we get all the way to Earth, only to discover that it’s too late?  Can’t we pick up anything from the hypercom network nodes in this system, any news?’

‘Not without our connection giving away our current position, no, and we are too far out from the inhabited worlds to pick up any general broadcasts of any kind, especially with that blue giant star in the centre of the system generating so much electromagnetic radiation.  It would be like trying to spot a candle next to a star-ship engine’s exhaust.’

‘We need more information.’

‘We just don’t have time.  I gather that you have been investigating the possibility of making use of the engine stealthing device in our inventory.’

‘Yes, that’s correct,’ replied Isaacs.

‘My advice would be to approach the Solar System with caution.  Do not head straight for Earth.  Skirt the outer system and use the device to conceal yourselves. If it looks like Earth has fallen, or it’s too dangerous to approach, you should leave immediately.  On no account must you let this information fall into enemy hands.  If you are about to be captured, you must destroy it.  If the Shapers realise that we can use their communications traffic to track their ships they are likely to change their methods and the advantage that we now possess will be lost.  I would of course have preferred to send the
Uncaring Cosmos
to complete this mission, but she is still too badly damaged to move.  Yours is pretty much the only ship left in one piece and certainly the only one suitable for the job.’

‘I don’t get it though,’ said Anna.  ‘Surely the Arkari could make more use of this technology in the short term.  You said it yourself: their weapons are able to hurt the Shapers more easily.’

The Speaker said nothing for a moment.

‘Well wouldn’t it?’ insisted Anna.

‘Our... passive hyperspace sensors have picked up... unusual readings from Arkari space.  The signals were very faint at such great range, but it appears that there has been severe space-time disturbance in a large number of their systems indicating the presence of numerous wormholes and sudden spikes that point to what we think may have been the deployment of weaponry powerful enough to devastate entire planets.’

‘The Arkari have been attacked?  By the Shapers?’ said Anna, open mouthed.

‘Difficult to ascertain for sure, but it seems very possible,’ the Speaker replied.

‘Okay, I get it,’ said Isaacs.  ‘Mission of utmost importance.  Fine, I’ll get the job done. You can rely on that.’

‘I hope so, Mr Isaacs,’ said the Speaker. ‘For all our sakes.’

Several hours later, Maria called them in their quarters with the news that she and her team of mechanics had finished installing the stealth module into the
Profit Margin
as well as overhauling the ship.  Isaacs and Anna made their way down to the still airless bay and inspected her.  They found Maria and Farouk standing in front of the vessel in scuffed, armoured pressure suits, admiring their handiwork.  Isaacs took once glance at his vessel and exploded.

‘What the fuck have you done to my ship!?’ he cried and gesticulated at the large, gleaming panels now extending from shoulder mounted recesses over the vessel’s power-plant like ungainly insect wings. ‘Was that really necessary?  It looks like something from the twentieth century for fuck’s sake!’

‘Thank you for all your hard work, Maria, would have been nicer,’ replied Maria sarcastically.  ‘Yeah it’s necessary.  I told you, that thing generates a lot of heat.  Those things are to dump the excess heat away from the ship.  Don’t worry, those nice fairy wings we added retract back inside the hull when they’re not in use.  There are another two on the underside, but you can’t deploy them whilst the ship’s resting on its landing gear.’

‘Uh-huh.  Okay, I guess,’ Isaacs replied, testily.  ‘So these things retract once I turn the stealth module off?’

‘Not straight away, it depends how much heat has built up.  They’ll retract once it’s safe to do so without frying the power-plant.  Shouldn’t be more than a minute or two at the most.’

‘Okay...’

‘Oh, and you need to avoid doing any hard manoeuvring whilst these things are deployed, or else you risk twisting them.’

‘Great. So, this so-called stealth module in fact makes us
really
visible for short periods to anyone with infrared sensors, or indeed eyesight – so that’s everyone – as well as stopping the ship from making any evasive moves whilst they retract.  Fantastic.’

‘Quit your moaning,’ Maria shot back.  ‘You’re just upset because I messed with your shiny boy’s toy, even though you asked me to.’

‘Yeah, I did.  I guess I should thank you for the hard work.’

‘I guess you should.  Use this thing sparingly.  Plan your jumps.  It’ll pay off.’

‘Well I like it, Cal,’ said Anna.  ‘It makes your big bad ship look like a pretty butterfly.’  She smirked.  Isaacs scowled back at her.

They grabbed their things and clambered aboard the
Profit Margin
, taking care to secure the data that the Speaker had given them in the safe in Isaacs’ cabin.  As she worked the controls to close the ship’s boarding ramp, Anna noticed that Isaacs was staring at something on one of the cockpit consoles.  It was a woman’s bracelet: a simple, cheap thing. The silver plating was coming off it in patches.  It wasn’t one of hers.

‘Anita’s?’ said Anna.

‘Yeah,’ Isaacs replied.  ‘Poor kid.’  He failed to meet her gaze.

‘We never did find her body, did we?’

‘No, no we didn’t.  I expect there’ll be a few things of hers left about the ship.  I’ll um... we should...’

‘Look Cal, I know about you and her, but it was a damn shame what happened to Anita.  It wasn’t right or fair.  She was so young...  I don’t mind you being upset about it.’

‘No, no it wasn’t fair,’ Isaacs replied, his mouth compressing into a narrow line.  ‘But you know what?  The Shapers can be killed too.  It’s payback time for Anita, and all the others as well.’

The
Profit Margin
carefully nosed its way out of the shattered bay doors of Port Royal, manoeuvring thrusters firing in short, corrective bursts to angle the sleek craft through the hole left by the impact of the Shaper warship.  Outside, the pale, distant light of Achernar played across the badly damaged, roughly spherical hull of the
Uncaring Cosmos
.  The crippled Nahabe warship huddled close the Hidden Hand base, the numerous wounds in its skin attended by swarms of Nahabe in their sarcophagi as well as larger maintenance craft. Beams of light and the occasional flashes of cutting gear played across its surface.

The comm. crackled into life.  It was the Speaker.

‘Captain Isaacs, we are currently relaying sensor data from our systems to your ship.’

Isaacs cast his eye over the relevant screen and scrutinised the map of the system he saw there. There were a large number of angry red dots scattered throughout.

‘As you can no doubt see,’ the Speaker continued.  ‘There are a large number of hostile ships still within the system.  It is imperative that they do not discover this base.  Even with your newly fitted stealth capabilities, it is important that you take precautions.  We do not know who may be watching.’

‘Duly noted,’ Isaacs replied.  ‘Here’s what I was thinking.  I use a quick burst from the ship’s thrusters to get her clear of Port Royal, we drift for a while, then we engage the stealth module and jump away.  We’ll plot in a series of jumps in a looping course that will take us on a heading at a tangent to the most direct route to the Solar System at first before swinging back around.’

‘Yes, I think that’s wise.’

‘What if we don’t succeed? What will you do?’

‘We suspect that Port Royal’s drive core has been lost in the Spica system, so we are forced to remain here for the time being.  Hopefully the
Uncaring Cosmos
can be repaired, in time.  If so, we will use it to evacuate Port Royal and take this information back to Nahabe space.  It is my intention to try and persuade my government to fight more than a defensive war.  It is my belief that our military could make a real difference, particularly if they are able to cut the Shaper’s supply lines into this part of space.  Good luck Captain Isaacs.’

‘You too,’ said Isaacs. ‘I think we’ll both need it.’

With that, he fired the
Profit Margin’s
main engines briefly and the ship sped away from Port Royal.

Engines off, the
Profit Margin
drifted, until the Hidden Hand’s base was lost in the blackness at the edge of interstellar space.  Isaacs kept a close eye on the sensor console.  So far, none of the Shaper craft or their renegade human allies had turned their attention towards his ship.  They remained within the inner system.  Oddly, a number of civilian ships were also visible traversing the system and jumping for other destinations within this part of space.  This surprised him.  Had normal traffic begun to resume already?