The Void War (Empire Rising Book 1) (10 page)

“But that is not all. When we entered the first system we did so under stealth. I thought that the wisest course of action as we didn’t know anything about the Void or its planets. By chance one of our recon drones managed to pick up a Chinese destroyer lying in stealth in the system. It was patrolling a direct route from the Cambridge shift passage to the habitable planet. What’s more, when we surveyed the habitable system closest to Chinese space, we encountered a light cruiser, three more destroyers and a number of freighters that were constructing a repair and resupply base. On our way out, we then detected another Chinese fleet jumping in. There were over thirty ships and my sensor officer is convinced that one of them was the new Chinese battleship. It is my assessment that the Chinese fully intend to keep the Void a secret and claim it all for themselves. If they do, they will get an advantage over us we may never be able to pull back.”

James had found himself staring at the closet painting on the wall as he had finished his last couple of sentences. As he looked back to his uncle, his head was bowed deep in thought. The implications of their find were potentially colossal. Ever since the Russian attack on New France, the expansion race had increased three fold. The nuclear detonation on Earth had reminded everyone that it was foolish to have all their assets on one planet. Further, each space faring nation knew that if it was left behind the military and economic might of their rivals would curtail any further expansion. If any one space faring power could ring in another with colonies and military bases, there would be no more room for expansion. The UN Interplanetary Committee sought to limit this threat somewhat and give lesser nations an opportunity to found their own colonies. However, the threat still remained. Naval intelligence estimated that China had eighty percent of its survey ships operating around the British border trying to accomplish just that. And if China was willing to ignore the UN, all the success Britain had had over the last two centuries could come to a sharp end.

Without looking up, Somerville keyed his COMS unit and spoke to his secretary. “Janet, I want you to contact Admiral Russell and get him to meet me in my office immediately.”

As he reached for the datapad, Somerville glanced at James. “You can go out and wait in the receiving room. I need to read this before Russell gets here. I will say this though, it appears you have done a very good job, excellent in fact, but this is over your head now.”

Nodding, James got up to leave. Admiral Russell was head of the Royal Space Navy Intelligence and had served with Somerville during the New France campaign. James knew Russell was his uncle’s closest friend and rumors around the fleet were always talking about them being as thick as thieves. Together they had successfully steered the RSN’s and Britain’s expansion over the last thirty years.

*

An hour after Russell had entered his uncle’s office James was called back in. Russell then spent twenty minutes grilling James, ferreting out every scrap of information he hadn’t included in his report. Finally, he sat back in his chair and relaxed, clearly satisfied that there was nothing more he could learn.

His uncle spoke for the first time since James had re-entered the office, “your move with the Chinese destroyer was brilliant – an extreme long shot to be sure but brilliant none the less. Clearly you’ve got more potential in the navy than your father ever intended you to have when he made you apply to the academy.”

“Thank you sir, but you are as much to thank for that maneuver as me. I got the idea from one of your sea faring novels. A Captain in one of them played a similar trick back in the days of sail and cannons.”

Russell did not even try to hide a chuckle, “you made the boy read those awful things, they have almost no bearing on historical reality.”

Ignoring Russell’s comment, Somerville smiled with satisfaction, “well, I guess those books came in handy after all then. My esteemed colleague and I feel that as you made the discovery you have the right to know what we’re planning. Plus, we’re going to be making extensive use of you in the coming weeks. I have already dispatched a corvette to Britannia warning Rear Admiral Jensen to prepare her fleet for departure.

We are going to have to form a larger task force from the defenses at Cook and New Edinburgh but that will take time. If our plan is approved, Jensen is going to have to move into the Void first and secure V2 with what she has got.

As you can guess we don’t plan to just roll over and let the Chinese take what they want. Russell has an idea that might just win us some time. We’re going to have to get you before the UN Committee on Interplanetary Affairs though. They have a session tomorrow so if I can pull a few strings expect to be summoned.”

The COMS unit on Somerville’s desk chirped for attention. Reaching over he spoke into it. “Yes Janet, what is it?”

“Sir, your guests have arrived, shall I show them in?”

“By all means don’t keep them waiting.” Somerville replied. Looking up he caught James’ eye with a piercing stare. At that exact moment Russell appeared to have grown a sudden interest in one of the wall paintings. “We are about to entertain some distinguished guests. I want you to be on your best behavior. Is that clear Commander?” His uncle asked him.

Being caught off guard by the sudden shift, James could only nod.  As the doors opened realization dawned on him. In walked the Prime Minister of Great Britain, closely followed by the King, His Royal Highness King Edward XI

James had to fight to keep down the anger that welled up inside him. The King was the source of all his problems. If it would not have earned him a court marshal and a prison sentence his uncle would already be pulling him off the King. Grinding his teeth, James tried to calm down.

Noticing James’ difficulty, his uncle stepped in front of him to greet the Prime Minister. “Prime Minister Fairfax,” Somerville said as they shook hands, “it is a pleasure to host you in my private office. “My King, it is good to have you here as well. You all know Admiral Russell and this is my nephew, Commander James Somerville.”

The Prime Minister offered his hand to James but King Edward didn’t move. Before the tension got any higher Somerville showed his two guests to their seats. “As you know this is a highly unorthodox meeting but matters have arisen that I think need to be dealt with swiftly and in secrecy - at least for now. Commander, can you give us a summary of your discoveries out beyond Cambridge?”

James had been wondering why he was still here and so he had to shake himself as he turned to his audience. As he was recounting his discoveries one more time he made a point of only addressing the Prime Minister. Finally, after a couple of questions he was allowed to take his seat.

Somerville then stood and took over. “I think it goes without saying what the Chinese are planning and that we can’t let them control the Void. Russell’s office has managed to identify the large ship Commander Somerville picked up among the fleet he observed entering V17. It is their colony ship,
Henna
. Officially, it left Earth orbit two months ago to carry out some extended space trials. We thought nothing of it, as the Chinese had no colonies to establish. However, it now appears they were already putting in motion plans to claim the entire Void for themselves. To prevent this Russell and I have a plan. The Politburo has made a mistake in not going public with this and it gives us a chance. With your permission here’s what I plan to do.”

Twenty minutes later their conversation was interrupted by Somerville’s COM beeping again. In frustration he answered, “What is it?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you sir but the frigate
Surprise
has just been sighted approaching Earth. She appears to have significant battle damage and has already sent us a full report. I’ve transferred it to your console.”

Ignoring his guests Somerville turned to his console and after a few seconds handed Russell his datapad. Both men quickly scanned through the information.

Russell was the first to look up and break the suspense. “The Chinese have attacked convoy 3.2 as it was returning through Chinese space after visiting the Reading system. All nine of our freighters were lost along with a light cruiser,
Resolution,
and the flak frigate
Renown
.”

“What happened,” interjected the Prime Minister, “our ships have strict orders not to provoke the Chinese.”

“No blame can lie on Captain Turner,” Russell interjected, “it appears he handled himself well, giving his life trying to protect the convoy. A Chinese fleet jumped into the system just behind our convoy. They were clearly on transit to another destination, as they didn’t try to enter the system’s mass shadow. Yet two fast attack cruisers broke off from the fleet and pursued the convoy as soon as they saw it.
Resolution
and
Renown
managed to take out one cruiser before the other destroyed them and the freighters. It seems Commander James isn’t the only one with a trick or two up his sleeve. Commander Lightfoot of the
Surprise
managed to trick the second cruiser into plasma range and destroy her.

“What’s more,” Somerville added as he finally looked up, “the fleet they encountered can only be the one James encountered approaching V17 in the Void. The convoy was attacked over five weeks ago. It has taken
Surprise
this long to creep through Chinese space with all her battle damage.”

There was a pause in the conversation as everyone imagined the difficulties of commanding a damaged ship through hostile territory for over six weeks. It was a wonder
Surprise
had made it back at all.

King Edward broke the silence, “So what does all this mean for your plan then Admiral?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Somerville replied, “but I think we can use this to our advantage. If you will excuse me gentlemen I have to deal with this quickly. We need to keep
Surprise
under wraps until tomorrow if we can.”

The Prime Minister and King both got up to leave. As Edward XI walked out of the office he paused at the door, looking back at James he left a parting shot. “Don’t think this changes anything boy.”

After the discovery of the shift drive and the Alpha system, international tensions on Earth threatened to spiral out of control. Before the discovery of Beta, Gamma and Delta it appeared that whoever controlled Alpha controlled humanity’s gateway to the stars. The UN Interplanetary Act was passed to try and bring order to the scramble into space.

-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD

11
th
January 2465. UN Interplanetary Offices, New York.

James sat in his assigned seat next to Commander Lightfoot. From his position he had a clear view of the UN Interplanetary Committee. Each of the thirteen representatives sat in a raised semicircle overlooking the audience chamber. Below them was seating for the various applicant parties. The clear divisions in the seating indicated that the designers had envisioned the committee handling complicated disputes with up to four parties involved. In front of him, occupying most of one of the seating areas sat his uncle, surrounded by a host of his aides and legal representatives. After the formal proceedings that announced the beginning of a session, James watched as his uncle stood and approached the council members.

“My esteemed fellows, I have two vitally important issues to bring before this committee today. To that end and in agreement with Mr. Blake, the British representative on this council, I wish to present a request for this session to be a Closed Session.”

After receiving a nod from the Chairman, Somerville returned to his seat. His words had been enough to begin the protocol for holding a closed session. Now he had to wait and watch the cogs of the committee spin into action.

The UN Interplanetary Affairs Committee was made up of representatives from each of the space faring powers, along with four representatives from the long list of countries that had applied for colonies themselves. To hold a closed session of the committee, the proposal needed three representatives to approve the request.

The committee had been formed after the disputes over the Alpha system had almost erupted into nuclear war back on Earth. The Interplanetary Act had formalized the claiming rights of planets and how future interstellar borders would be drawn up. Over time the power of the committee had grown. They were now responsible for the administration of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta systems, as well as the colonies at Beta and Gamma. It also provided a mechanism for countries that did not have the ability to fund large exploration fleets to have access to their own habitable worlds. This last function had given rise to the UN Planetary Allocation Lottery. It allowed any sovereign state to apply, provided they could demonstrate they had the financial capability to start and maintain a colony beyond the Sol system. If they passed the checks, they went into the lottery system, the UNPAL.

The space faring powers had agreed that every third habitable planet they discovered would go to the PAL and be allocated to whoever the lottery system picked. With two exceptions, no class 1 planets would be given away and the space faring powers reserved the right to hold onto strategically important planets. Instead they could offer up another planet as a replacement.

Somerville had already contacted his direct opposites in the United States Space Fleet and the German Interstellar Marine. The Americans still had a good working relationship with the British, even to the point of sharing R&D projects. The Germans were even more concerned about Chinese military buildup than the British. They also shared a border with China and, having a fleet not even two-thirds the size of the British, the Chinese had been pressing them hard over the last two decades. In the end both representatives had proven easy to persuade. He hoped that both of his counterparts had found the time to ensure their representatives on the committee would cooperate. He hadn’t informed them of his topics for discussion today and so they were operating completely on faith.

Smiling, Somerville relaxed as first the US representative seconded his proposal and the German representative followed suit. The Chairman of the committee, Japanese representative Akiyama, stood and addressed Admiral Somerville.

“It seems you have gotten you wish Admiral. I now declare this session closed. No communications with the outside world will be permitted and any information disclosed to the committee will remain confidential until a decision has been reached on whatever matters you are bringing before us.”

“My thanks Akiyama-Tono,” Somerville replied adding the proper honorific.

Again he approached the committee, this time bringing his datapad that allowed him to access the large holo-display in the center of the room.

“It is with great displeasure that I have to report an act of war by the Chinese Fleet. Exactly forty-six days ago, a Chinese fleet attacked a British convoy returning from a supply run to our colony in the Reading system. A mining colony awarded to us by this committee. The Chinese fleet destroyed a light cruiser, a frigate and eight freighters. A ninth had to be abandoned after the battle. In total one thousand two hundred and forty eight men and women were mercilessly killed.”

As he had been speaking, Somerville had been watching the Chinese representative. His quickly hidden shock was a clear sign that the Politburo hadn’t informed him about the incident. Somerville couldn’t help looking back at Admiral Russell and winking. If the Politburo had kept their orders to fire on British shipping a secret then maybe they had also kept the Void itself from the Chinese representative. 

“I have with me today Commander Patrick Lightfoot. He is the commanding officer of the frigate HMS
Surprise
. With a great deal of skill and not a little luck, he managed to escape from the Chinese attack, rescue the crew of the ninth freighter and get his damaged ship back to Earth. I’m now going to call on him to talk you through the battle.”

As Lightfoot approached the holo-display Somerville keyed in the command to begin the recording of
Surprise’s
sensor feeds from the Damang system. Calmly and methodically Lightfoot talked the committee through the entire engagement. Only when he spoke of
Resolution
and
Renown’s
charge towards the Chinese medium cruisers did he show any passion.

The whole chamber watched in silence as Lightfoot finished recounting his ordeal. Somerville had found it impossible not to see himself in the same position with his old ship
Adventure
. Stuck over sixty light years behind hostile territory, nursing home a heavily damaged ship that had lost its radar absorbing coating. It truly was amazing that Lightfoot had managed to avoid detection all the way back to Earth.

Finally, after a few brief clarifying questions Lightfoot returned to his seat beside James. Exchanging glances with his peer James readied himself, as he knew he would soon have to repeat Lightfoot’s briefing to the committee. First though, his uncle had to conclude this part of the hearing. As James watched he stood up taking Lightfoot’s place.

“So there you have it ladies and gentlemen of the Committee,” Admiral Somerville began, “all our evidence has been presented. I wish to request that this Committee demand a clarification from the Chinese government regarding their actions and that immediate reparations be paid to the Royal Space Navy and to the families of all the deceased.”

“Just one moment Admiral,” Akiyama interrupted. “I think it would be appropriate for us to get an independent review of the information you have presented before we come to any decisions. You and Committee member Feng Liao may each select one of the military attachés not involved in this dispute to present their view on this incident.”

Somerville had expected this complication but it didn’t concern him greatly. The evidence spoke for itself. The Chinese approached his convoy first. They fired the first missiles and they refused to acknowledge any of the hails
Resolution
had sent them throughout the engagement. He could call on almost any of the attachés and expect the same result.

Just to make that very point, he called for the Argentinian attaché after Feng Liao had requested the Indian. Argentina and Britain had never had the warmest of relationships and it hadn’t defrosted any since both governments had extended their influence to the stars. India too did not enjoy good relations with Britain. They saw the British support for French expansion as a direct threat to their own. In reality, the British saw the French as the best stop gap against Russian aggression and so did all they could to help strengthen France’s colonial empire.

Somerville tried not to look bored as both the Indian and the Argentinian attachés came to roughly the same conclusions. The Chinese were clearly the aggressors. Without a declaration of war, their actions were illegal under UN law. Reparations were a justifiable demand given the circumstances.

Satisfied that the first part of his plan was about to be accomplished, Somerville addressed the committee again. “Chairman Akiyama, unless Representative Feng Liao would like to add anything to this hearing I request that the committee move to vote on my request for reparations.”

Akiyama looked over to Feng Liao and when he didn’t move Akiyama turned back to Somerville. “Very well, we will take a vote on your request.”

Somerville almost had sympathy for Feng Liao. A closed session meant that the matters presented had to be decided before the committee could retire. Feng Liao had been caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn’t contact his superiors to warn them about what was going on and, because his superiors had not informed him about the attack on the convoy, he could not present any counter evidence to delay the proceedings.

As expected, the vote was a foregone conclusion. China did not have any strong allies on the committee and the evidence had been overwhelming. The committee agreed to seek a response from the Chinese government regarding their intentions towards British shipping. They also demanded that reparations be paid for the ships destroyed outside a state of war.

Taking a deep breath Somerville prepared himself for the next stage. Everything so far had just been building up to this. He hoped the main blow to the Chinese was about to come.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the committee. I would now like to bring my second matter before you all. As you know, section two point three of the Interplanetary Act stipulates that all discoveries of new systems must be presented and approved by this committee. To that end I wish to inform you that yesterday HMS
Drake
returned from surveying space beyond the Cambridge system. She returned to report that she had discovered a dark matter bubble containing no less than fifty-six star systems, four of which are habitable.”

There were audible gasps from some of the aides to the committee members and even from Somerville’s own people. He had informed them about the first order of business but he had been keeping the Void under tight wraps.

Akiyama took a moment to compose himself and then gestured towards Somerville. “Do go on Admiral, I think we all want to hear about this.”

Somerville nodded, “of course Chairman.”

Tapping on his datapad brought up a map of the border between Chinese and British space. Cambridge was clearly visible. As Somerville manipulated the map a shift passage appeared linking Cambridge to a large sphere containing fifty-six blinking dots.

“As you can see this dark matter bubble, which we have been calling the Void, has a diameter of approximately twelve light years. Fifty-six star systems are contained in the bubble. There are no other known shift passages leading into the bubble although
Drake
didn’t get a chance to fully survey all of it before Commander Somerville returned to inform us of his discovery.  Speaking of whom, I have brought the Commander along to give you a rundown of his findings. You will find all the details in the standard discovery report I am sending to you all now but I thought you would like to get an overview first.”

Without turning around Somerville motioned for James to come forward. James took this for his cue and so he got up and approached the speaking area in front of the committee.

As he did with Lightfoot’s presentation, Somerville stood to the side and allowed his subordinate to carry out the presentation uninterrupted. As James went on, Somerville began to relax. Things could have become tricky if Feng Liao had known about the Void and the Chinese presence already there. His silence meant he truly did not know anything and couldn’t question the data his nephew was presenting. Of course it was all true, it just left out a few critical details. The Chinese for one and the extent of the valstronium deposits for another!