8 Years 2 months 5 days after Eridani Landing
The Jovian detection net had been installed when Humans had begun to venture further into the solar system then Earth and Mars. Jupiter and its plethora of moons had naturally been the first stop on that journey, a veritable system unto itself many spent their entire lives exploring it ignoring the tension between the two far more inhabitable planets further in towards the sun.
Never as developed as Earth or Mars the largest planet in the solar system had played host to wave after wave of these insane explores and thrill seekers.
Neither Earth or Mars had laid claim to the planet or its moons. Each seeing it as an investment that was at least during a time of war far too much of a burden rather than an asset.
Both governments had however installed sensor satellites and information gathering systems around the planet, and around every other further gas giant in the solar system. Like the magnetic acceleration rails the destruction of such systems held little strategic value. Unlike the magnetic rails however these monitoring systems shared were no common protocols.
It was not a matter of trade or ship design for either government, and their fore despite a push to utilize common protocols before the war the plans had never come to fruition.
Even during the height of the Earth Mars war the outer planet magnetic rail launch systems had been open for either side to utilize. It was advantageous for both and the use of the systems was easily monitored. Should the computers reporting the use of one particular rail be tampered with the massive EM pulse was still detectable throughout the solar system and masking the use of one was impractical on an insane scale.
The satellites utilized by Mars within the Jovian system were destroyed during the Martian siege. Each in turn after it sent out active sensor pulse to measure the size of the invading alien army in orbit of Mars.
The Earth based system however remained dead, until nearly six years after the decimation of Earth and two years after the destruction of the Martian bunker a woman who had been assigned to sort records inside a hermetically sealed Terran bunker managed to decipher and access the Terran satellite network. She had after all been only a clerk, with little knowledge in the way of military communication protocols or security.
Even as her food had dwindled and she listened to the sky above her for help she learned and worked.
After gaining access she worked for nearly six months thinking that she and the other members of her bunker were the only ones left of humanity had set about installing protocols in every satellite, so that if a ship with the same energy pattern entered within the satellites cone of detection an alert would be sent out.
She had no hope of deciphering and using the more secure military networks, or the weapons that might still be operating so she settled for a more simplistic approach. All the satellites would do when they detected the alien ships was tag it, like any other object in the solar system. Ship, debris, asteroid, nuclear waste, every object eventually got a categorization and was tracked to insure collisions never took place.
She added a category to the list, and several days after doing so died when the seal for the bunker was breached. Had she been a little slower, put off learning and trying to gain access to the satellites for another few days her life would have been almost meaningless in the grand scheme.
Instead her contribution was the simple label.
ALIEN
Every automatic tracking system in the Solar system noted the new object as it moved almost alarmingly fast between Jupiter and Mars, on a collision course with the Martian moon Phobos.
The final warning cry was sounded.
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
Empire Patrol ship
“Theirs nothing sir, just a large radioactive dump by the looks of it.” Said [Smith] as he casually paged through the results of data the sensors were spitting out.
“Move us into optical range, I want a resolution of at least a [meter].”
[Hanson] turned around to look at the captain of the patrol vessel, “For that kind of optical resolution we would need to be in orbit. That’s not standard procedure for a patrol, we’re already far behind schedule as it is.”
“I’m aware, until we leave this system consider this a training exercise. You’re not to leave anything out of your logs. Our schedule is of no consequence.”
The two men looked at one another, [Smith] simply shrugged.
“Yes sir!”
“I want a full analysis of our weapons systems as well, and the shields are to be at full power until I say otherwise.”
[Hanson] turned to voice another objection but thinking better of it turned back to his console and followed his orders.
“Shields are at full, that’s going to limit our optical scanning range somewhat.”
“That’s fine. We’re only going to need a little data of that radiation leak for this exercise.”
[Hanson] focused the imaging array on the small asteroid. The area that was leaking radiation and was apparently the source of the trouble was currently turned away from them. Even with the plethora of equipment onboard the patrol ship scanning more than a few [meters] through solid rock at planetary distances was impossible.
It would be faster to wait for the moon to rotate towards them, which it would in a few hours.
Idly [Hanson] wondered if [Smith] was up for a promotion, these types of drills were usually only run when someone was up for promotion. Or perhaps he was?
Straightening up in his seat slightly [Hanson] hoped he projected a slightly more professional aura.
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
On the surface of Deimos, a small ship powered up for the first time in nearly eight years. Devoid of life or atmosphere the ship had at one point been operated by a Martian mining crew. That crew had only three months of rations, one member of the original crew managed to live for an entire year off of those meager supplies and other less than tasteful sources of sustenance.
They had watched on the small moon, watched as first the entirety of the fleets for both Earth and Mars were decimated by a single alien ship, and then as legions of alien vessels orbited their home raining down fire and death.
They had watched thinking they were the last humans alive. None had lived to see the alien ships retreat and disappear from the system. Ultimately fought to a stalemate at the cost of the last Humans alive on the Martian surface.
In the end, knowing his death was approaching the single remaining man had taken to modifying the small ship. Stocky and without any of armor present on Terran or Martian vessels and with a handgun it’s only weaponry the ship was useless in battle.
Unless it loaded with raw ore and heavy metals.
The mass of the ship was small compared to most other objects in the solar system, but even so it had the advantage of being able to change course in flight.
Slowly lifting from the surface of the small moon, using only tiny chemical rockets to do so the battering ram quickly made it to orbit. Ignoring the many navigational errors appearing on it’s display the vessel latched onto the tag that had been placed on the ship through the universal tracking system.
The last man alive on the shuttle had programed hundreds of scenarios into the ship which would cause it to launch, the tagging from the tracking system had been one of the first and least complex contingencies.
Following the programming of the man and ignoring all warnings the ship dumped the entirety of it’s stored energy into acceleration.
The ship launched from orbit, objects in the hold shifted slightly compressing under the acceleration. Solid rock and metal did not compress much however even under the 40 g’s of acceleration the craft was subjected too without the aid of Strange Matter compensation systems.
In fact, the only object to suffer any ill effects from the sudden acceleration were the remains of the man, which preserved in the vacuum of space were turned to a nasty jelly like substance on the back of the only remaining acceleration chair.
For a brief moment a ghastly skeletal grin was visible in the cockpit of the ship before that too crumbled under the force.
The final rock was thrown.
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
The Valiant
“Excrement,” muttered Edie.
“Excrement?” asked Maunt looking up from his own display and through the communication link at the human Commander who was in her command center working like he was to prepare for the incoming Empire ship.
“A cultural thing, a less polite way of saying that something is bad,” said the Human Scientist Dr. Leon from where he was sitting on the bridge of the Valiant.
“So it goes without asking, but you have detected the active sensor pulses as well?”
“We detected a spike in electromagnetic emissions from the patrol ship yes. They appear to be directed at the opposite side of Phobos at the moment. The few satellites we’ve got in orbit aren’t picking up any additional transmissions. So it’s got to be focused on us.”
“That’s a standard penetration scan, it’s usually followed by optical analysis of a target. Although all of this is already far outside the normal scope of a patrol. For them to even move away from the tachyon beacon and into the inner solar system shows they already think you are here,” Maunt frowned, “and unless the Empire has made a leap forward in sensor technology they will not be able to detect the network of caves and bunkers you have constructed.”
“So if you weren’t sitting on top of us we would be invisible?”
“More than likely, still we cannot simply disappear. They would easily detect us in orbit or the FTL jump we would make.”
“I don’t suppose you have a cloaking system?” asked Edie.
“Those are rare even in the Empire, only three ships have had such systems installed that we are aware of,” muttered Maunt.
“Wait, cloaked ships are a real thing? I was making a joke!”
“Very real, but rare.”
“Hiding anything in space is difficult, but these cloaked ships are undetectable?” asked Dr. Leon. Leaning over from where he was sitting.
“To us at least. The Empire might have more advanced sensor technology which would detect the ships but our intelligence is limited.”
“So you do get information from inside the Empire?” asked Edie.
Maunt looked at the human commander his ears going straight to the sides for a moment before slowly drooping back to their normal relaxed state.
“As friendly as we are, I’m not going to divulge classified information. I’m already going to be in enough trouble as it is. I hope you can understand.”
The human smiled and did a quick roll in the air, it seemed to be something that the humans in low g environments did out of nervous habit. The humans were nothing if not comfortable in the low gravity of the moon they inhabited.
“I suppose so.”
“We’re going to have to come up with a new strategy. I would once again like to reiterate that evacuation on the Valiant is possible.”
The human steadied herself and slowly put her feet on the floor of her command center. Maunt knew what he would be thinking in her circumstance, and why she had been reluctant up until now.
“I know from a tactical stand point that’s the best option. Still…” she trailed off and lightly hit the headrest of the chair in front of her several times apparently thinking.
“You feel as if you are abandoning your post?”
“Something like that. We know theirs’s still people on the moon, even if they’re not talking to us at the moment.”
“We have modulated and sent the data packet’s you gave us. We still cannot find any error’s in your communication systems though. I’m not sure what the problem might be,”
Edie shrugged.
“No point worrying about it now. They’ve got supplies to last years and right now them being silent is a good thing. No it’s the other groups we’ve lost contact with over the years. Miners out near Jupiter, the deep space exploration team that went out to investigate Kuiper belt objects had a self sustaining system for god’s sake! We lost contact with them only a month after the Martian siege ended! They technically should have been able to outlast all of us!”
“What can you do for them now?” asked Maunt after a moment his voice low.
Edie blinked, “What?”
“You can’t do anything to help those people at the moment, you have no ships and no supplies with which to provide aid. All you do have is a weapon, a formidable one to be sure but you are defending a Hamalin Castle!”
“Hamalin castle?” asked Edie ruefully.
Maunt cursed under his breath, “An idiom, it’s an old story from our home world. A man fighting to defend against a tribe without hair, a tribe without honor. He fought to defend his castle even after it had been plundered. He fought and threw away the lives of his men for nothing. Despite how heroic his sacrifice was; it is something that was almost worthless.”
“And that man’s name was Hamalin, we have similar stories. I get what your saying. That doesn’t make it any easier.”
She closed her eyes and groaned. Maunt waited watching the human commander. He noticed for the first time that she was young, even know if a human’s aging were similar to that of his own species she would have only just been given command of a small squad. Instead she was making decisions in regards to her entire race. When she had first been trapped, she had to have been little more than a child.
“Can I ask we wait until we know for sure you’ve been detected? We’ll evacuate personnel and move critical equipment to your ship now if you’ll allow it. A skeleton crew will remain to operate the gun. If they’ve broken protocol like you say though, I’m betting the jig is up”
“Of course, but if the patrol vessel manages to get off a message we’ll have little time to respond. We cannot perform an FTL jump this close to aa gravitational field. Any skeleton crew that you leave behind to operate the weapon might very well be stuck on the moon,” said Maunt ignoring the oddness at the end of her statement. Getting around all of the cultural differences was going to take a while.
“I doubt I’ll lack for volunteers.” Said Edie a smile spreading across her features.
Maunt smiled as well and his ears went in a lazy circle, “Then you’re just as insane as my own people. We’ll be opening the lower cargo bays, you’ll be able to move any equipment you want through there. Our databanks can also host whatever information you wish to share. Do label anything that might be military related so we can isolate it from the civilian data servers.”
“We’re going to encrypt anything military related.”
“I’m aware. Still as a matter of safety. We’ll keep everything isolated for now, if the media and data from three hundred years is any indication you’ll have quite a lot to barter with if you include entertainment data as well.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
She closed the communication channel and Maunt leaned back in his chair.
“You know that weapons not going to do much, right?” asked Klyn from where he was standing with Dr. Leon and the human solider Chang.
Klyn had talked quickly enough for the translator to miss his statement.
Maunt glanced over at him, “True. It will have some effect on the patrol ship. I doubt it would be able to damage much of anything else.”
Klyn frowned, “Why not argue and tell them the skeleton crew will die for nothing then?”
“What would you do if we have been backed into a corner for years, unable to fight, watching as the impending doom of your species crept closer?”
“Go mad probably, and blow the hell out of the Empire. Even if it was almost pointless,” conceded Klyn.
He sighed and turned back to look at the two humans.
“Want to fill us in on that?” asked Chang.
Klyn blanched and his ears went down as he tried to think of something to say.
“Your weapon is almost useless,” said Maunt.
“Yeah we kind of got that when we threw what was literally the entirety of two planets militaries at the single ship a decade ago. We’ve made improvements.”
“They won’t be enough,” said Klyn.
Dr. Leon shrugged, “Maybe, but it’ll be something. This is our world and even if we’re reduced to throwing sticks at nukes I doubt that’ll change much.”
Maunt winced at the mention of nuclear weapons but said nothing instead simply shaking his head.
“You humans might be even more insane than we are,” said Klyn.
“That a good thing?” asked Chang smiling.
“I don’t know.”
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
Tertiary Complex
“You need to stay in the bed!”
Allen looked over at her and rolled his eyes, “The nano-machines have repaired the damage, it’s bruised tissue. That’s all.”
Ranlin violently shook her head back and forth causing her ears to flap, “I don’t care how efficient your machines are at healing broken bones, you can’t go from being in a hospital bed to moving heavy equipment!”
“We’re in a gravitational field that makes things almost weightless, hell if I had been hit by that panel on Earth I would have been paste on the bottom of the elevator shaft. Here I got away with a cracked rib. I’m fine!” Insisted Allen.
“You sure?” asked Ranlin her voice taking on a much lower volume.
Allen blinked at the sudden shift, “I’m sure.”
“What is it that you’re moving up to the ship?”
Allen brought up his Link, “We’re transferring data into your ships that’s going quickly enough. Most of the human manufacturing equipment and tech still needs to go up. Especially the nano-machine fabricator, it’s essential to human space exploration and you’ve never developed anything close to it!”
“Are you sure you want to move equipment? Now that you’re healthy?”
Allen frowned, “What else would I be doing? That alien patrol ship is going to be here in less than twelve hours!”
“So everyone should be in their best state of mind when it arrives, right?” asked Ranlin.
“Right, but I told you it’s just some bruising. If I aggravate it, I’ll help move something smaller.”
“So you’re healed, but what about me?” asked Ranlin.
Allen blinked and Ranlin watched as his skin went first almost completely white, and then a burgundy so deep that were it not for his hair she would have though him Dorvakian for a moment.
“Uh, now?” he asked his voice cracking.
“Unless you really don’t like me.”
Allen reached up and ignoring the pain in his rib from the movement scratched at the back of his head.
“I’d never say that, but I’ve hardly gotten to know you! I mean, first I was under the influence of your pheromones, and then I was on your ship, and then we were here, and now we’re getting ready to evacuate!”
Ranlin shifted in her seat, “I’m aware. This has not been what I imagined either. I was hoping for something perhaps a little more. Romantic?”
“Now you want to jump a guy in a hospital bed?”
Ranlin’s ears moved back and forth, “Among my people no stigma is placed on a male and female simply enjoying one another when a mating cycle comes to fruition. From what I understand of human culture, or at least what it was 300 years ago this is not the case for you? You feel as if every sexual encounter should have some deeper meaning?”
“Somewhat, I guess.”
Allen frowned as Ranlin turned away nodding in understanding.
“That’s what we would say in public, but in truth there are plenty who would wish our culture could be more like yours,” ventured Allen, “but most of our cultures, going back thousands of years have treated sex as something you only ever do with one person. Women were bartered and married to men of power and it was expected that man be their first and only partner. Hell even after we stopped doing that religion and culture still focused on humans finding their one true love.”
Allen sighed.
“And we still believe it to an extent, most people are still looking for that one.”
“So is that a no? I’m not your one?” asked Ranlin.
“Can we just say, after this we actually try to get to know one another? Figure out if you are?”
Ranlin smiled, “So we have sex now, and figure out the rest later?”
Allen laughed and blushed further, “I guess? From my cultural perspective saying it like that would be pretty horrible.”
Ranlin nodded and getting up from her chair went to the hatch of the infirmary, carefully closed it and finding the human light controls slowly dimmed the lights until everything was dimly lit. Sighing she opened her eyes fully, the light had been far to bright for a few days now.
“Uh, damn you were serious about right now.”
“It’s an urge, a drive in my biology I have been resisting. To my detriment, imagine feeling the need to breath but knowing you won’t die even if you should never take a breath again. It’s uncomfortable, and you’ve offered me a breath.”
“I guess I can understand that? It’s that strong?”
“Most females would not hold off for so long, as I said there is no stigma in my culture in regards to sex.”
“Then why didn’t you grab a guy on your ship?”
Ranlin shrugged, “I’m curious.”
“Curious?” squeaked Allen as she moved up towards him.
“Well, the Vakurian lover wrote several detailed accounts of her couplings with her mate. They were not lacking for details.”
“Ah, well here’s hoping I can live up to that? I have been in the hospital.”
Allen poked at his ribs.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Said Ranlin.
Allen swallowed his nerves as she slowly crawled up on top of him, in no way feeling like he was going to have much control here.
Not that it would be a bad thing.
Ranlin pounced.
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
Empire Patrol Vessel
The patrol ship shook and listed to the side for a moment the gravitational field destabilized by the impact.
“Report!” shouted [William] as he stood up from his seat heart pounding.
“We were just hit by debris, a vessel of some sort with no thermal signature impacted out shields. Judging by the energy levels the ship hasn’t had much power for several [years]. We detected it several [seconds] before impact and the ship automatically rerouted power to the aft shields to compensate.”
“Damage?” asked [William].
“One shield capacitor burned out, our total shield strength is now only 90% of designed limits,” said [Smith].
“You’re sure the debris was unpowered?”
“I’m sure, it’s just random junk. Chemical battery discharges but no thermal signature indicative of life support. We’re unlucky is all.”
[William] frowned, “Perhaps we were lucky.”
“Sir?” asked [Smith}.
“Nothing, when will we have visuals on the radiation leak?”
“A few [minutes].”
“Try to restore the shields to full power.”
[Smith] nodded and turned back to the power distribution systems for the patrol vessel, feeling unreasonably nervous. He could sense that the captain was on edge, but only because of a random strike?
It was unlikely sure, but in systems, especially those populated by class C junk it wasn’t unheard of.
Still [William] had been nervous since they had detected the radiation leak on the small asteroid and the information on the system itself was rather sparse. [Smith] had been looking it up when they had moved in further towards the star. It was almost as if most of the information on the system had been doctored in some way.
[Smith] straightened up in his seat, perhaps their really was something to be afraid of in this system?
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
Tertiary Complex
“Allen! What the hell are you doing!?” shouted Edie as she pushed off of the wall of the corridor and shot towards the medical compartment.
The door was locked, and flagged not to be opened by the forward panel.
Ranlin stared at the warning for a moment, on a public door it should have been impossible for such a warning to even be applied without her authorization. Plainly Allen or Ranlin understood more about the computer systems than they had advertised.
Using the master key Edie quickly unlocked the door and floated inside. The lights in the compartment were dimmed and the atmosphere was far warmer than was standard for the base.
“What the…” muttered Edie.
A violent hiss was issued from the darkness and Edie froze, backing away from the sound almost on an impulse.
“Ranlin!” shouted Allen.
“Illumination full,” shouted Edie.
The lights in the medical ward responding to her command quickly snapped to full giving Edie a full view of everything that had happened in the compartment.
Edie was greeted to the sight of Allen literally holding back the alien woman, a woman who at the moment had very little if any clothing on. She had apparently jumped up from the medical bed and was struggling with Allen, looking as if she were ready to claw at Edie.
“Uh huh,” said Edie as she crossed her arms.
Ranlin shook her head, “really?” she groaned, “Now?”
“You two need a minute?”
“Uh. I’m not sure what I can say,” muttered Allen.
“Well we’re all adults here. I’m sure the eggheads are going to be freaking out over the dangers of cross species mating. Your head good?” asked Edie.
Ranlin winced and slowly nodded, “We’re usually given a week or so during the peak of our mating drive to sate it. Let our instincts run wild, I’ve been holding off until now.”
Ranlin groaned again and slowly sat back down on the bed, apparently unconcerned about her state of dress, “I’d really like you to leave and lock the door behind you to be honest. A door I had locked if I remember correctly.”
“I’m the commander, I get a master key. We’re on a clock as it is, the two of you can finish this later we’re packing everything up and need all hands on deck.”
“Idiom?” asked Ranlin as she slowly reached for her clothing.
“We need everyone working,” clarified Edie.
“Ah,”
“Your Captain also wants to speak to you, he’s on the comm in the command center.”
Ranlin nodded, “Alright, thanks.”
Pulling on her pants she pushed off of the wall and hopped through the door, pulling her shirt on as she drifted through the air.
Leaving Allen and Edie alone.
Allen pulled the blankets of the bed up slightly, “Uh.”
“Really?” she asked.
Allen shrugged, “I got a big does of her pheromones, and she’s been kind of fixated on me since we met. She’s I don’t know what do you want me to say? We’re both adults.”
“We’ve got alien ships bearing down on us and we’re evacuating. The two of you couldn’t hold off until we weren’t about to die?”
“Given my week so far I’m lucky to not be dead already.”
Edie sighed and put a hand to her nose pinching at it and trying to clear her head.
“I need you to help cut some equipment out of the wall so we can move it, the scientists have already labeled everything they want prioritize anything that’s unique we might not have time to move everything. That alien patrol ship is traveling faster than if it had been fired from a magnetic rail.”
“Alright.”
Allen looked down at the sheets he was in and then back at Edie, “you going to let me get dressed?”
“Get to work!”
Edie turned and jumped out of the medical ward of the base.
Moving quickly through the corridors and making it to the command center she found Peter and half of the military personnel of the base, which was thirty-three in total milling about.
“What’s going on?” asked Edie.
“We’re sorting out who’s going to be on the skeleton crew,” said Peter.
“Theirs’s an issue sorting it out?” asked Edie.
“You’re going to have to pick who’s going up to the alien ship everyone has volunteered to stay.”
Edie rolled her eyes.
“We need ten people for the skeleton crew, including me so nine volunteers. Everyone else is going up to the alien ship in case we do end up having to evacuate, or this patrol ship is more powerful than we think it will be. We can’t ask Maunt to sacrifice the lives of his own crew, which includes something on the order of 400 civilians to stick around and save the skeleton crew if things get messy. Everyone understand?”
“We get that, what’s it matter?” asked Peter.
“Whoever’s the top ten in the simulations right now will stay behind if they volunteered, everyone else is to evacuate to the alien ship. Peter, I need you to get in contact with Chang and have him start sorting out what our crew might be able to do on that ship in the way of battle readiness.”
“Roger, can I talk to you in your office?” asked Peter.
Edie frowned, “Sure, everyone else move!”
The line broke and scattered to continue helping with the evacuation of the base. Edie watched for a moment as one of the control consoles of the command center was pried free before tuning back around.
Edie glanced back at her second in command and pushing off of the nearest chair shot towards the small hatch that led to her office.
Opening the hatch and darting in she deftly grabbed onto her desk and killing off her velocity turning to look at Peter.
“What?”
“You need to go up to the alien ship,”
Edie frowned and swung around the desk to stand behind the chair.
“I’ve told you what the plan is.”
“Bullshit, just because you’re in command you don’t have to play the sacrifice card.”
“Peter.”
“You’re the one who’s kept everything here together, you’re the face the aliens know, and to be completely frank you’re a better leader than you give yourself credit for. You were moving up the ranks on the fast track to be a ship Captain, Me?” Peter shrugged, “I just wanted to shoot a gun and blow stuff up. Being in command was never in the cards for me.”
“You’d do fine Peter.”
“Theirs a difference between doing fine, and being a great leader.”
Edie snorted, “You’re not sagely. Thanks for calling me great though. Still not changing my mind.”
Peter shrugged, “My point is I’m staying down here with the skeleton crew. You’re going up to the alien ship.”
“We’re arguing over this, even though it’s unlikely that the Patrol ship will be able to fight back. The Valiant can destroy it on their own. We’re just helping.”
“True, but then I don’t want to argue this if we have to do something similar in the future.”
Peter pounded on his chest with one hand, “I’m a grunt, you’re a leader. You’re more important and I can’t let you play the sacrifice.”
“Can’t let me?”
“Nope.” He popped the last syllable as he spoke.
Edie put her head in her hands, “I’m half tempted to put this down as insubordination.”
Peter smiled, “See that’s just my roguish charm. All the heroes in the movies get to go against military command.”
Edie opened her fingers to glare at the man.
“Really?”
“Really, now Commander you need to pack up all the stuff here in your office, and I need to go make sure the Cannon’s ready to fire. You’re going up to the alien ship.”
Putting his toe under the bag he had brought into the room Peter flicked it towards her desk. It hit Edie in the face and she quickly tore it away.
“Pack!” said Peter as he turned and placing his hands on either side of the small hatch launched himself out into the air of the command center.
Edie watched as he spun away. Picking up the large bag she held it out and looked around the office that she had commandeered nearly a decade ago.
The photos on the wall by the doorway hatch were still the ones of the commander who had been in charge of the base before the war, he had been a family man. A picture of a small Martian girl in her first space suit jumping up and down in the red dirt of the only planet she had ever known was the main focus.
Her little face was visible through the clear acrylic of the helmet, a laugh and joyous face that was now frozen in time. Edie had never had the heart to take down the photos, or really any of the other small objects that had been left in the office.
She had never had anything to add, and it had also felt as if she were borrowing the place.
Picking up her tablet Edie put the bag in the trash, and on impulse carefully pulled the picture off the wall. Drifting backwards she set it on the desk.
Snapping the lights off Edie slowly exited the compartment and swinging the hatch closed behind her quickly sealed it.
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
Empire PAtrol Vessel
“Sir!” [Hanson] looked up from his display and quickly moved the optical image to the main hologram.
“That’s one of our ships!”
[William] looked at the vessel, and almost felt his heart stop.
His briefing on the more dangerous class C species, one of the most classified briefings he had ever attended had included all of the species that were thought to have survived in some way or another. C1764 had been the focus due to their more recent addition to the listings. For reasons that were classified beyond what had been included in the information he received.
All he had been told was that they had some sort of non-weapon technology that outclassed the Empire. None of that was important at the moment however.
“That’s not one of our ships, that’s a vessel that was hijacked by another class C species nearly [300] years ago.”
Before either [Hanson] or [Smith] could process that revelation, another impact, one far larger than the one that had hit them hours before registered on the shields.
[William] was thrown from his chair and to the floor, [Smith] joined him. [Hanson] managed to stay in his seat.
“Shields down to 20%, what was that!?” he shouted, and then his eyes widened. “Energy weapons fire!”
[William] pulled himself up to his chair, and sent the small message he had hoped wouldn’t be needed but had queued up for hours.
The class C races were working together! If that information wasn’t relayed back to the Home World than it would place the military at an extreme disadvantage.
The patrol ship shook again and [William] winced. The energy blast had felt softer than anything he had experienced before. Getting back into his seat [William] noticed that the static from the shot was taking longer than normal to dissipate though, he could still see it on the forward window inlaid on the bridge.
[William]’s eyes widened as that static clawed its way inward, eating away at everything around it.
He barely managed a small shout before, as if sensing the weakness, the effect moved forward and consumed the rest of the ship in a blink of the eye.
8 Years 2 months 6 days after Eridani Landing
The Valiant
“You didn’t say you had ray beams,” said Edie as she stared at the cloud of dust floating in Martian orbit.
“We have ray beams.” Deadpanned Maunt.
Edie chuckled and sat down, “Report!” she barked into the communication console in front of her. Maunt looked over her shoulder at the Human control center. Lights were flashing in a dramatic fashion and the sound of several alarms was filtering through the open communication line.
“About what we expected to be honest, a good quarter of the capacitors blew themselves up discharging like that, and the thermal sensors are reporting that we cracked the barrel of the gun somewhere.”
“The actuation assembly?” asked Edie.
“Surprisingly solid, looks like the repairs worked.”
Edie sighed and leaned back in her chair, “Well that’s good. The fusion reactor? No feedback through the power mains?”
“Nothing that the power regulators couldn’t sort out. Blew few small fuses here and their but the gun’s already switched to backups. The targeting computer’s freaking out through and we never managed to rig up the backup.”
“Alright, we can begin the power down sequence and start a full diagnostic-“
“Commander!”
Alarms on the bridge of the Valiant began to sound as well.
“The satellite network is freaking out! The Civilian band is throwing out a thousand or so new impact warnings, painting objects in high orbit! The military network’s going haywire as well, although it’s not able to tag whatever the hell it is!”
Edie looked up at the main holographic display on the bridge of the Valiant.
“The tagging systems were never designed to handle anything this big.” She breathed.
At least 50 ships, each larger than the one that had attacked Earth and Mars ten years ago, larger than any of the ships that had been in orbit during the Martian siege were on the Valiant’s main display.
“Excrement,” muttered Maunt, “All power to shields, all civilians to quarters, helm prepare to break orbit!”
“They performed an in system jump! They really want to kill off your species!” said Klyn as he adjusted the Valliant’s weapons and shields.
“In system jump?” asked Dr. Leon.
“Half of their armada could have ended up embedded in the planet.” Said Klyn.
The alien captain turned to Edie.
“I’m sorry, we don’t have time for your remaining crew to evacuate. That’s an entire Fleet out there!”
Edie looked up at Maunt, and then back down at the communicator.
“Peter,” she trailed off.
“Well shit commander, move so we can start taking pot shots at the bastards.”
Edie forced out a small chuckle, “I guess there are enough that even you might be able to hit them without computer aide.”
“I’m a better shot than you Commander.”
“That’s still not saying much, I like my spray and pray.”
The two fell silent.
“You had better not beat yourself up over this.”
“You had better take down at least one of those ships with you.”
“I’m planning too.”
The Valiant shook, and Edie glanced up.
“We’re leaving, every targeting scanner is on us and they’ve begun firing,” said Maunt his voice level.
“Understood.”
Edie glanced back down at the communication.
“You had better make sure we win in the end.”
The communication went slightly red and glancing up Edie saw that the Valiant had jumped into FTL, or at least that’s what she assumed given the light show going on outside the windows.
The image on the screen flickered and went slightly more red, before it cut out and went blank.
“Fuck!”
Edie threw the small communication device down on the deck of the Valiant. No one said anything as it shattered, and no one said anything at Maunt slowly got up from his seat and slowly began to clean it up.
“Fuck.” Repeated Edie as she got down on her hands and knees helping the other Captain.
Peter looked around the stripped down and abandoned command center. Only two of the reaming crew were in the room with him, everyone else was out maintaining the gun.
They had been silent, watching as the alien ship had moved up and away from them avoiding several shots from the other alien’s armada of ships. Several shots landed on the shields and were absorbed in a flash of light and a splash of plasma.
Their was another bright flash and the ship was gone.
Peter watched the empty monitor for a moment. The camera panned to the side to point at the mass of ships. Gouts of plasma and energy were already streaking down towards them. Peter winced as the entire complex shook and dust was thrown up into the air.
“Anyone got anything dramatic to say?” asked Peter.
“Suck it!” shouted the man at the main firing control, David as he activated the charging sequence. The cannons capacitors, fed by the fusion reactor and by the now mangled nuclear reactor quickly filled dimming the lights in the rest of the facility as they did so.
A tungsten rod was loaded into the barrel and the outer airlock was opened venting air from the entire assembly. The men working around the weapon were buffeted by the sudden pressure drop from poorly sealed hatches.
The capacitors discharged, dumping their energy into the magnetic acceleration rings of the weapon in sequence. The rod of heavy metal was launched at a cataclysmic velocity, parts of it heated so quickly by the magnetic induction that they were converted to plasma and carried along with the rest of the mass.
Soaring away from the captured asteroid in orbit of Humanities second home the projectile hit the shields of the lead Empire ship and was easily absorbed.
“Very eloquent,” deadpanned Peter.
David shrugged, “ready to fire again in ten seconds.”
“Better.”
The base continued to shake underneath the onslaught of the alien weapons, but designed to heat and destroy the rock above was providing some measure of protection.
An atmospheric breach alarm sounded for a moment and Peter felt a small gust of air before that was clamed, the bulkheads sealing off the damaged section.
“The landing bay?” asked Peter, it was the most exposed portion of the complex after the firing assembly itself.
“Yeah. It’s sealed up again, firing!” said Tai from the other station.
Peter watched as another ineffective shot landed on the alien ships.
“How many minutes, ten?” asked Peter.
“Go with something odd, like seven and a half.” Said David
Peter chuckled, “Seven and a half minutes it is.”
Setting the timers for both the nuclear fission and fusion reactors, as well as the small nuclear weapons stored on the base Peter sat down in the command chair and frowned.
“Even in low g this thing is uncomfortable, why didn’t we ever exchange it with one of the chairs in the meeting room?”
“No Idea. I saw it on the repair schedule a few times.” Said Tai as he turned around to look.
The compartment shook again, and Peter heard another decompression.
“Everyone good?”
“The front half of the cannon just got hit. The entire barrel’s melted. You want me to try and punch through the slag with a round? It’ll be the biggest shotgun in history.” Asked the man at the firing console.
“No, might detonate in our faces. I’d rather we not kill anyone through incompetence.”
“Just thermonuclear explosions?” asked David.
“Yep.”
The three men waited, and watched as the timer counted down.
“Think I have time to replace the chair?” asked Peter.
Tai looked around at it, “No, those bolts take forever to remove.”
“Oh, pity.”
The base shook again and Peter watched as the timer counted down below a minute.
No one said anything as it spun down past thirty seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
8 Years 2 months 8 days after Eridani Landing
The Station
In the depths of space, on a highly elliptical orbit eccentric to the orbit of Mars the ruminants of an enormous complex a small ancient computer switched on as coherent signals of sufficient strength passed over it’s arrays for the first time in several years.
The algorithm checked the patterns of the signals, and although unable to completely understand what was being communicated quickly determined that the signals were from some sort of intelligence.
Analyzing the signals for several more minutes the computer determined that given current power reserves and resources it was not yet time.
The system began to power down once more, the single human frozen in the petri dish remaining frozen in time undisturbed.
The gatekeeper wasn’t needed yet.