Slipspace: Harbinger Read online

  “This is a hologram,” she asked.

  “Yes, but it’s a real-time image of what you would see if you could look through every bulkhead from here to the hull.”

  Nira looked around and; saw the projectors in the wall inside the recessed frame of the window. Her breath caught in her chest and it was all she could do to gasp as she attempted to find the words. “Cody,” she started. “This...” She turned to him. “Are you going to get in trouble for this?”

  He shook his head. “Captains prerogative to make some minor cosmetic changes to the cabin.”

  “Minor…” She looked again and surveyed the work. If she hadn’t known she might never have noticed. But at the same time, the view port was just an illusion and she remained boxed into this monster. It might not be enough for her. But then again, it might. “Cody, thank you. I truly appreciate this.”

  He kissed her and excused himself back to the kitchen.

  Nira stepped into their bedroom and noticed that another window had been installed over the head of their bed. She changed out of her scrubs and into a dinner dress. Tonight was their first night in deep space, and she would have preferred a quiet evening alone. Just the two of them. But it was not to be. Given the pending mission, Cody had decided that a hosted dinner for the officers would be more appropriate. She would have worn the dress regardless, to commemorate their first night together with a flair of elegance. Now, instead she would wear it as this evening’s hostess.

  “They’ll be here in a little bit,” Cody called.

  “I’ll be out in a moment!” Nira responded as she teased her hair before stepping out.

  He had set the table, preparing places for each of his officers. She offered to assist, but Cody shooed her away.

  “What’s on the menu tonight?”

  Cody looked up from his dishes, and did a double take. “You look magnificent.”

  Nira blushed at the compliment and would have responded, but for her own entrancement at the sight of her husband. Even the scar on his lip, of which he had always been so self- conscious, called to her. The crackling of the pan re-captured his attention. “Dinner tonight is a dish from Earth. Weiner schnitzel, steamed vegetables, and spaetzle”

  “I can’t wait.”

  October 12, 2832

  19:00

  Mjöllnir – Captain’s Quarters

  “THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING,” Cody, said as his officers sat down to his dinner.

  “Thank you for sharing your table with us, Captain,” Melor responded.

  Nira took a sip of her wine as Cody sat forward to speak.

  “Of course. I feel it’s good for a ship’s senior officers to know each other outside of their duty shifts. It had been my hope to do this in a more relaxed, less formal environment, but circumstances, unfortunately, dictate otherwise.”

  Labonne swallowed her food and spoke up. “About those circumstances, Captain. What is going on? Why are we only hours out of dock, and running drills all day?”

  Aler chimed in, “What’s going on at Artez that requires us to traverse the Alliance to get there?”

  Cody held up a hand to stop their questions. Nira could not blame them. Both he and Cassie had been mum on the orders they had received earlier this morning. She knew better than to ask.

  “I apologize for not being able to bring you all up to speed earlier. In this matter, Commander Amado and I felt that it best to keep this compartmentalized lest we stir up a panic over nothing.”

  He motioned to Cassie to continue.

  “Earlier this morning, Alliance Central Command lost contact with the Artez Colony. The communications office received a dispatch reporting strange and unknown energy signatures coming from Slipspace.”

  “At the time,” Cody continued, “Central Command didn’t pay too much attention to it. Apparently Artez Sector Command has been very quick to call home at the slightest irregularity only to find something innocuous, harmless, or something else that should have been easily identified by either the colony or the sector slip-station. This was interpreted as just another in a long line of incidents, a theory that was assumed true when Artez never followed up with a more urgent call.”

  “The boy who cried wolf,” Foster remarked.

  “For lack of a better word, yes,” Cody responded.

  “But,” Cassie took over, “when Cent-Com tried to follow up with Artez a few hours later, they were unable to make contact with the Colony, the gate, or any of our assets in their sector. It’s as if Artez has fallen off the grid.”

  “We’re being sent to check it out,” Aler asked.

  “Precisely.”

  Nira frowned. There had to be closer ships. “Why us? If we’re on the far side of the Alliance, surely someone closer should be responding if something is going on?”

  “There are only a handful of other ships in that area, and all are needed for their current assignments,” Cody continued, as the rest ate. “Our involvement is twofold. First, in case there is something actually going on, the brass wants us to show the big guns and plant the flag. If there isn’t, then our presence is intended as both a show of force to any would-be attackers as well as a sign of solidarity: that we take Artez’s concerns seriously.

  Nira, who had been silent for a while, turned to Cody to ask, “What are we expecting to walk into when we arrive?”

  “No one knows for sure.”

  October 12, 2832

  21:00

  Mjöllnir – Captain’s Quarters

  WITH THE MEAL finished and the guests departed, Nira, at Cody’s insistence, relaxed. She flopped down on the couch and activated their monitor. The menu displayed, presenting the various entertainment packages available from the ship’s media library. She switched over to the civilian broadcast news package received from the Slipspace communications network. The broadcast opened with the story on the Mjöllnir’s launch. The pictures flashed to a repetitive montage of shots from within the ship's public areas. They transitioned to exterior images as the vessel pulled forward, gliding out of the dry dock berth amid an array of spotlights, civilian spectator ships, and media drones as they all crowded to get the perfect view of the ship. Over the video, a reporter was droning on in an editorial, implying the mere existence of the Mjöllnir would strike fear into any enemy, making them think twice before threatening the sanctity of the Alliance. As such, the launch would usher in an era of safety and security for the Alliance not seen since by the civilized races since before the Ralgon war.

  Cody finished the dishes and came from the kitchen, still wiping his hands dry with a dish towel. He sat down and sidled up beside her, watching the footage as it looped again for the fifth time.

  “It was a good launch,” Nira said.

  “Thank you. I just wish I didn’t have to thrust the ship into active duty. I think everyone would have preferred a longer shakedown cruise to break the systems in.”

  The news transitioned into politics and sports and Nira deactivated the screen. She stretched her neck as the soreness rose to the surface once again. “Could I ask you a favor, Cody? I hate to ask for more after all you’ve done tonight, but my neck is killing me; would you be willing to take a look at it?”

  Cody smiled and stood up. “Shouldn’t be a problem,” he said, as he extended his hand.

  Nira took it as she stood.

  “Go on and get ready, I’ve got a couple of things to finish up out here. I’ll be done in a minute.”

  Nira leaned in, stretched to her tiptoes and kissed him. When their lips parted, she smiled and ran her hand through his hair. “Don’t keep me waiting too long.”

  Cody kissed her again and they parted.

  Nira returned to their bedroom, dimmed the lights, stripped out of her dress, and slid into bed.

  Within minutes, Cody entered, and went to work without delay. The feel of his hands working the muscles around her neck and shoulders always brought painful comfort to her. His smooth hands dug in with rough aggression as he f
ought to work the out the knots. Nira winced in discomfort and smiled as she felt the muscles relax. Tomorrow would bring far more stress. But under his hand, her body was mere putty; formed and manipulated into whatever shape or form desired. Tonight was no exception.

  The tortuous pleasure ended all too soon and when Cody joined her in bed, she rolled to her side and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he replied.

  “My hero, how can I ever repay you?”

  Without a further word, she rolled him onto his back and began to climb on top of him. He caught her, stopping her cold. She cocked her head in confusion.

  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, babe. But we arrive early tomorrow morning. It’s going to be a long day for both of us, and I need to get some sleep.”

  Nira did not respond. Instead, she curled her bottom lip and pretended to pout. Cody smirked and reached up to kiss her.

  “Next chance we get, I promise.”

  Nira smiled and rolled off of him. She slid to his side to cuddle and he put his arms around her, holding her close. With his free arm, he reached up and turned off the lights.

  October 13, 2832

  06:30

  Mjöllnir - Captains Quarters

  MORNING CAME TOO SOON for the Amados, much to Nira’s chagrin. Together, she and Cody made their way through the endless corridors. With the Mjöllnir just a few minutes out from Artez, the decks were buzzing with activity as the crew prepared for as many contingencies as could be planned.

  They exchanged a brief kiss before going their separate ways- Nira towards the Med-deck and Cody to OpCom as Cassie’s voice echoed through the ship’s public address system announcing their pending arrival and setting the ship at condition two. He stepped through the hatch and found the ship’s command center no exception to the activity about the rest of the ship. The traffic on deck paused to give the Captain room to move to his station and log in.

  “Give me a sit-rep,” The Captain ordered.

  Cassie stepped to the opposite side of the central station. She betrayed no anger or frustration. Any animosity she had towards him lay buried behind as much professionalism she could muster.

  “We can’t find an exit aperture. According to navigational charts, we’re well within range of the outer guide-buoys, but there’s no sign of them. We’ve also tried to raise the gate on comms, but no luck.”

  “Deploy a replacement buoy,” he spoke to Cassie. “We’ll have to make a blind exit. Hopefully it won’t be in the middle of an engagement.”

  He paused and reviewed the data. “Still, best be prepared.”

  He stepped away from the console and turned to the deck. “Sound General Quarters! Set condition one throughout the ship!”

  The order relayed through the chain of command. The Mjöllnir’s klaxon rang out only seconds later and the already busy decks burst into further action. Two minutes later, Cassie turned from her console.

  “All rail positions are manned and armed. Main cannons are charging. ECM is charging and calibrated full negative; frequency coverage at ninety seven percent. Replacement nav-com buoy has been deployed. ETA to Artez...,” she paused to check her watch. “Three minutes.”

  “Good work.”

  “Captain, we’re close enough to pick up preliminary data,” the navigator reported. “Without the buoy, we’re without detail, but I’m detecting over one hundred separate energy signatures. The data is too obscure to plot an exit trajectory.”

  The display in front of Cody updated, a wave of distortion sweeping out from center, erasing old information and leaving new data in its wake.

  “There go my hopes of not walking into a fight,” Cody muttered. “Pilot, overshoot the combat area! Tear us an exit to normal space and double back!”

  “Aye, Skipper!”

  The deck rumbled as the ship tore itself into normal space. Without the aid of a functioning gate, the transition came with far more violence. The ship shuddered and bucked, throwing both Amados off balance, and a few crewmen to the deck. Cody and Melor exchanged looks of tepid relief. He noted that even as an emergency maneuver, one within the ship’s tolerances, the blind exit always carried dangerous risk.

  Power transitioned to the Mjöllnir’s sub light engines as the pilots brought her about and proceeded on course at flank speed.

  As they approached the edge of the zone, the first signs of debris floated past the ship. The pilot and navigator avoided it with ease but soon found the ship surrounded by hull fragments from broken fighters. This was no surprise as fighter wings always took high casualties.

  “ECM to full, activate all fixed weapon positions and roll the Gryphons onto the tarmac,” Cassie ordered.

  Cody continued to study the out-of-focus holograms on the central display. The objects still showed as general spheres, indicating the sensor’s inability to obtain a full resolution scan.

  “Can we clear up this interference any time soon?” Cassie asked.

  In response, Melor turned to a secondary console. “I’m trying, Commander. There are a lot of cross signals out there preventing us from getting a full resolution scan on the area.” She transferred a data module from one console to another. The device whirred to life as she accessed its programming. “However,” she muttered as she worked, “I have a couple of algorithms up my sleeve. I’m bringing them online right...”

  At the same time, all screens and displays showing the battle zone refreshed to show its data at full resolution. Melor, Aler, and both Amados looked to the center and watched.

  “My God,” Cassie muttered.

  No one responded. Everyone’s eyes locked on the displays and the sensor returns. Op-Com fell silent save for the humming of the ship’s engines and the beeping of the computers. No one moved, as they stood locked in a trance of awe and horror. The Mjöllnir’s engines powered down as they arrived at the coordinates. What should have been a fully functional slipgate was little more than a field of burning hulk and slag.

  “The station...it’s just gone,” Cassie said, to no one in particular.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Melor turned back to her console. “Sensors are detecting no weapon signatures, no power signatures...”

  “This isn’t a battle zone,” Cody stated. “It’s a graveyard.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  October 13, 2832

  08:30

  Mjöllnir - War Room

  CODY AMADO TOOK his seat and surveyed his officers. Melor sat forward, her head hunched over the table, the palm of her hands pressed hard into her temples. Nira sat back, her chair pushed away from the table. Her eyes watered and though she tried to suppress them, the tears fell. Aler and Foster were pouring over the tactical data, trying to glean any clue they could. Cassie paced back and forth. Only Colonel Labonne was absent from the conference. She had launched with the rest of the Gryphon’s first flight and had asked to remain on mission for the conference. Cody had agreed, and allowed her to attend via a video communications link that displayed her face in a small partition of the larger wall display. They had been on site for only two hours, but by the looks on his officers’ faces, he might have thought it closer to two weeks.

  He felt the pressure too, the pain of the loss and the news he was about to deliver would not help in the least. He opened his mouth but closed it again for the third time. There would be no good way to make this announcement, and any attempt to sugar-coat it would make him sound indecisive in a time of crisis. Passing the buck to Labonne would be irresponsible. The burden rested with him and him alone.

  “The Artez colony is gone, too. So far, no survivors.”

  Nira gave up all pretense of composure. Aler looked up for a moment but was drawn back to the tactical analysis by Foster. Melor’s head fell to the table with a dull thud. As she had been the one to report this to the Captain in the first place, Labonne made no reaction to the news. His sister stopped pacing and turned t
o face Cody, though she would not meet his eye.

  “How many...?” Cassie started.

  “There were three light cruisers assigned to this system, as well as a full fighter compliment. Our last known manifest also placed five civilian vessels...” Aler began.

  “How many?” Cassie demanded, cutting him off.

  “Based on the manifests we have from Alliance archives the population of this system was,” Cody paused to take a breath, “two hundred forty-six thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two souls.”

  The room fell into eerie silence. Even those who already knew stopped and took a moment of respectful observance.

  “Of that, sixty-six hundred were either on the station, on the civilian ships, the cruisers, or fighters. The rest, were colonists.” He swallowed. “At this point, the running theory it was the same thing that took out the station.”

  “How’s that?” Cassie asked, taking her seat at the table.

  Cody turned to the wall display and the open video feed to Labonne’s cockpit. “Colonel?”

  At once every set of eyes in the room turned to see what she had to say. She keyed a sequence on her ship’s console and two sub- displays on the Mjöllnir’s wall went dark, replaced by the blinking word ‘standby’.

  “My pilots have taken thorough scans of the larger debris. We’ve isolated a radioactive decay signature that doesn’t correlate to anything we have in the data banks.” She paused a moment as the first screen stopped blinking and a wave form analysis appeared in its place. The screen next to it blinked into action. A matching protocol appeared and processed the data; but to no avail.

  “I sent a flight to check on colony itself. I’m uploading the images they sent back to me.”

  The main partition displaying Labonne’s face receded into its own corner as images of the planet’s surface appeared in sequence. Where once green grasses, lush forests, and crystal clear waters showed the planet’s natural beauty, there now remained only brown dust. Settlements and growing cities that once stood as a monument to the new civilization were reduced to little more than debris and rubble. The pictures cycled through to a series of pictures of the planet’s hemisphere taken from orbit that told all. The once Earth-like planet was dead.