The Lost Fleet: Into the Darkness Read online

  “Tactical, standby,” ordered Kathryn, feeling her pulse beginning to race. “Captain Reynolds, I want our sensors scanning as soon as our systems stabilize.”

  “I’m ready,” the captain replied. His fingers flew nimbly over his console as he made some adjustments.

  “Captain Travers,” I want a comm link to the Avenger as soon as it exits its vortex.”

  “Yes, Admiral,” Travers replied.

  “One minute to dropout.”

  Kathryn took a deep breath and prepared herself. Were they about to jump into a system controlled by the Simulins and would they shortly be engaged in combat?

  “Clarissa, if you detect an imminent threat to the ship you have my permission to take whatever actions you deem necessary to prevent the Distant Horizon from being damaged.”

  “Yes, Admiral,” Clarissa replied as she stood a little straighter, surprised at the words. Perhaps the admiral was beginning to have faith in her ability to defend the ship.

  “Dropout!”

  Kathryn felt a twinge in her stomach as the ship returned to normal space. Her eyes instantly went to the main viewscreen, which was covered in static. After just a few seconds, it cleared.

  “Stealth shield is operational,” reported Commander Grissim.

  “Weapons are online and ready to fire,” reported Major Weir.

  “Sensors are operating,” added Captain Reynolds. “We should have good readings on the nearest artificial construct shortly.”

  “Communications, search all channels to ensure no hyperspace message is being transmitted by the objects,” ordered Kathryn.

  “I have one of the objects on the viewscreen,” Andram said.

  On the screen a large, nearly circular object appeared. It was metallic and covered with what were obviously energy collecting dishes of some advanced type.

  “How large is that thing?” asked Commander Grissim. In many ways, it resembled an AI capacitor station except the collecting dishes were much smaller.

  “Twenty kilometers,” reported Captain Reynolds as the results from his first sensor scans began coming in. “It’s also emitting a massive energy signature.”

  “Any signs of Simulin ships?” asked Kathryn. It was hard to imagine the Simulins would have collecting stations like these around the star and no warships close by.

  “None detected,” answered Reynolds, as more scans came in. “It’ll be a few minutes before we have the entire system scanned.”

  “What about planets?”

  “None,” reported Reynolds. “I’m not even picking up a debris field.”

  “No protoplanets or anything, just radiation,” uttered Commander Grissim, shaking her head. “Not a very hospitable place.”

  “I would suggest we stay away from the construct,” said Andram as he gazed at the object on the viewscreen. “If we come too near it might send a message to the Simulins.”

  “Then you believe this is a Simulin creation?” asked Kathryn, her eyes focusing on the Alton.

  “Yes,” Andram replied, his eyes narrowing. “It’s obviously some type of very advanced energy collection station in close orbit around this star.”

  “How does it transmit the energy it collects?”

  “Unknown,” Andram answered. “We may find out before it’s necessary for us to leave.”

  “Spatial vortex detected!” called out Captain Reynolds. “It’s the Avenger.”

  Over the next few minutes, all the ships of the task group arrived. They took up position around the Distant Horizon and a quick conference was set up for all ship commanders.

  -

  Admiral Jeremy Strong gazed with deep concern at the object being displayed on one of the ship’s main viewscreens. “You mean to tell me there are ten of these in orbit around this star?”

  “Yes, Admiral,” Rear Admiral Barnes answered. “Andram feels they will not send out a message to the Simulins as long as we don’t interfere with them.”

  “We should destroy them!” boomed Grayseth. “They may be scanning us right now. We could have a Simulin fleet already en route. They are a danger to the hunt!”

  “These objects do indeed resemble our capacitor stations,” commented the Command AI. “My science AIs agree the objects will not send out a message unless we approach too close or interfere with their operations in some way.”

  “I agree with Grayseth,” said Commander Zack Davidson of the strikecruiser Nemesis. “We have eleven warships. We could destroy all ten stations before they could send out a message.”

  “Possibly,” Jeremy said as he thought over what needed to be done. “However, so far we’ve detected no hyperspace message from the objects. I want to begin immediately to deploy our own capacitor stations and the vortex generators. The sooner we complete our mission and launch the probe the better off we’re going to be.”

  -

  For the next four hours, crews in shuttles worked diligently as the four small capacitor stations containing Fusion Five reactors were towed out from one of the Distant Horizon’s flight bays and placed in position. Once the four were aligned and tested, the six vortex ring generators were brought out. It took another two hours to place them and run the necessary tests.

  During the entire time, all eleven ships stayed at Condition One with sensors on full, constantly scanning for any sign of an opening spatial vortex, which might indicate the arrival of a Simulin warship. Comm systems were monitoring all hyperspace communication channels in case one of the Simulin energy stations sent out a message about the presence of the task group.

  The space around the small capacitor stations and vortex generators was busy with dozens of small shuttles deployed. Even a few humans and Altons in special spacesuits, which protected them from the star’s radiation, were jetting around making minute adjustments to the systems of the capacitor stations and vortex generators.

  -

  Kathryn walked over to Shilum and Andram, who were standing in front of one of the science consoles monitoring the work. “How soon before we can deploy the probe?” She was feeling anxious as the time passed. At any moment she was expecting a Simulin warship to show up and bring the work to a halt.

  “Shortly,” Andram replied. “We’re still making some minor adjustments to align them properly so we can establish an intergalactic vortex which will link with the black hole at our galaxy’s center. The gravity inside the cluster and from this star is sufficient to establish an anchor to allow us to open the vortex even with the hydrogen gas in the surrounding nebula.”

  “The probe should come out in the same location as the vortex that sent us here,” Shilum explained.

  “I hope Admiral Jackson is still there,” Kathryn said.

  “He will be,” Andram replied. “My people still have many months worth of studies to do on the intact capacitor station.”

  “Contact!” called out Captain Reynolds as an alarm began sounding on his sensor console. “Spatial vortex opening at eighteen million kilometers.”

  Kathryn’s shoulders slumped; she knew this was going to happen.

  “Simulins,” said Commander Grissim as she went to her command station. She glanced up at the nearest tactical display as a red threat icon began glowing.

  On the viewscreen an eleven hundred-meter ship suddenly appeared. It was bulbous in form, with large, metallic looking pylons stretched out in front of it. There were six of the massive structures extending for at least two hundred meters out from the main hull of the ship.

  “Confirmed,” reported Clarissa, as she took her customary place next to the admiral. “It is a Simulin escort cruiser and it’s already scanning us.”

  “How soon before we can launch the probe?” demanded Kathryn. She had a sinking feeling their time had just run out. The Simulins had shown up at the worst possible time.

  “Twelve minutes,” answered Andram as he rushed back to his science console and began touching various icons on the computer screen. “Shilum is finishing the last few adjustment
s to the vortex generators. We’ll need a few more minutes after that to maneuver the probe into the vortex.”

  Kathryn took a deep breath and activated her mini-comm to put her in contact with Admiral Strong. Somehow, they needed to buy twenty minutes of time if they wanted to succeed in their mission. If the Simulins managed to knock out even one of the capacitor stations or a vortex generator, the probe wouldn’t be able to make transit.

  -

  Jeremy gazed at the one of the primary viewscreens at the Simulin ship, which was now approaching the task group at a high rate of speed. “Ariel, you have command of the Avenger, the Nemesis, and Orion. I want that Simulin ship destroyed. We need to buy the Distant Horizon twenty minutes to finish the vortex ring and send the probe through.”

  “Yes, Jeremy,” Ariel replied as she accessed the computers on the two strikecruisers. She’d already emplaced a program as well as a special hyperspace communications channel to allow instant communication so she could control all three ships. “Preparing for a microjump. We will come out just in front of the ship and have a window of six point two seconds to fire our weapons before their current speed puts them out of range.”

  “Do it,” ordered Jeremy as he buckled his safety harness around him. He knew from past experience, with Ariel controlling the ship that they could be in for a rough time. They had to get the probe launched; there was no doubt in Jeremy’s mind that if they didn’t, they would never get another opportunity.

  “Jumping,” reported Ariel as she concentrated and blue-white spatial vortexes suddenly formed in front of all three ships. Using their helm controls, she accelerated the warships into the heart of the swirling anomalies.

  -

  Almost instantly, the three Federation ships appeared in a triangle formation just in front of the rapidly moving Simulin vessel. Even so, the computers on the enemy warship reacted and power was sent to its powerful energy weapons. The tips of the six spires glowed and then massive beams of white energy speared the Nemesis. The strikecruiser’s shield had just come up and met the powerful onslaught. The screen glowed bright and then one of the beams penetrated, blasting a huge glowing hole in the side of the strikecruiser. Emergency bulkheads slammed shut and warning alarms sounded as secondary explosions rattled the ship.

  From the Avenger and Orion particle beam cannons and power beams fired, hitting the energy shield of the Simulin vessel. Two particle beams penetrated, with one cutting one of the long spires in two and the second striking just above the ship’s engineering section. The Simulin ship seemed to stagger and its sublight drive flickered as power became intermittent. Then three power beams penetrated the weakened shield, blasting huge holes in the bow section and setting off secondary explosions deep inside. Large sections of the ship’s hull were blown off to drift away from the vessel.

  Two seconds remained as Ariel fired a Devastator Three missile through a hole in the energy shield caused by a particle beam. As the Simulin ship flashed by the three Federation vessels, a huge fiery explosion consumed the ship as the Devastator Three missile detonated. Moments later only a glowing field of spreading debris and gas marked the location of the enemy vessel.

  -

  “Enemy vessel destroyed,” reported Ariel, as she checked on the status of the Nemesis. The ship had taken major damage but was still operational. “There was an attempt at communications via a hyper channel, but I blocked it. I don’t believe the Simulins got a message off.”

  “What about the Nemesis?” Jeremy asked with concern in his eyes. On one of the primary viewscreens, he could see the glowing hole in the side of the ship. The Nemesis had been an important part of Fourth Fleet from the very beginning. It pained him to see the damage the ship had suffered. He knew there had to be numerous casualties.

  “Commander Davidson is checking on damage and casualties now,” Ariel reported. “He may need to transfer some of his injured.”

  She was highly disappointed and upset that one of the ships under her command had been damaged. She’d been stunned at how rapidly the Simulins had responded to the microjump. She would take that into consideration in future battle scenarios she ran.

  “Can the Nemesis still jump?” asked Jeremy. He didn’t blame Ariel for what happened. She’d destroyed the Simulin ship and he knew they had powerful weapons.

  “Yes,” Ariel replied. “The engineering section is still intact.”

  “Jump us back to the task group,” Jeremy ordered. “We need to get that damn probe launched before more Simulins show up. I suspect next time it won’t be just one ship. Once we’re back, we’ll make arrangements to transfer some of Commander Davidson’s injured to other ships.”

  -

  “Capacitor stations are online,” reported Shilum as four icons on her computer screen began blinking green.

  “Powering up the vortex generators,” added Mikow from her computer station. On her computer screen, the six small vortex generator icons turned from amber to a steady green.

  “Generators are online,” Katie reported. She was at the computer console next to Mikow.

  “Probe is exiting the flight bay,” Commander Grissim reported. On one of the viewscreens a small twenty-meter wedge shaped vessel appeared.

  “I’ve downloaded the visuals and telemetry from the recent battle with the Simulin vessel,” Colonel Leon reported. “Probe systems are all functioning normally.”

  “Stand by to activate the power transfer,” ordered Kathryn.

  She’d watched the battle with the Simulin warship tensely and had felt ill when the Nemesis had been damaged. The Simulins were just too dangerous and they had technology at least on a par with the AIs. The injured hadn’t been transferred from the vessel as of yet. They were planning to make a short hyperspace jump to another T Tauri system where it would be safe to evacuate the wounded. Kathryn had already told Doctor Keil to expect an influx of critically injured.

  Warning alarms suddenly began sounding on the sensor console. Kathryn’s eyes shifted instantly to the one of the tactical displays as numerous red threat icons began to appear. She leaned forward and looked over at the sensor console.

  “Simulin vessels at two million kilometers,” reported Captain Reynolds. “All are of battlecruiser size!”

  Kathryn let out a deep breath. Battlecruiser size meant the vessels were seventeen hundred meters in length and much more powerful than the escort cruiser they’d just destroyed.

  “Our other ships are moving to shield the vortex ring from attack,” reported Clarissa. “We need to send the probe through now. We don’t have the ships to withstand a Simulin attack from that many heavy vessels.” On the screen, twenty red threat icons were now visible.

  “Activate power transfer,” ordered Kathryn, leaning forward in her command chair. “Stand by on all weapons, we may have to fight.”

  “Simulins have turned toward us and are accelerating,” reported Captain Reynolds. “Contact in six minutes.”

  “Can we get the probe through the vortex in that amount of time?” asked Kathryn anxiously.

  “Barely,” replied Andram with an intense frown. “If everything goes right.”

  -

  In space, the four capacitor stations glowed brightly and energy beams suddenly lanced out, striking the six vortex generators. For a moment nothing happened, and then a beam of light spread from one vortex generator to the others until all were connected. The light seemed to spread as the space between the generators became full of swirling energy. Then a signal was sent from the Distant Horizon and a white spatial vortex formed.

  -

  “Vortex is established,” reported Andram as his hands hovered over his science console.”

  “Probe is nearing the vortex,” added Colonel Leon. Petra held her breath as the wedge shaped vessel seemed to take forever to reach the swirling area of white light. Then the probe touched the vortex and instantly vanished.

  “Probe has entered the vortex,” reported Clarissa as she used the ship’s s
ensors to closely monitor the proceedings.

  “Simulins will be in range in two minutes,” reported Captain Reynolds.

  “How long do we have to leave the vortex ring on to ensure a safe passage?” demanded Kathryn. On the main viewscreen, the swirling white vortex was still evident.

  “Another minute and a half,” replied Shilum. “If we shut it down before then the probe could appear anywhere in our home galaxy or possibly not make it at all. We would be cutting the gravity anchor.”

  “Inform Admiral Strong,” ordered Kathryn as her breathing quickened. They were going to be cutting it close.

  Kathryn glanced over at the nearest tactical display seeing the rapidly approaching red threat icons. “Standby on the hyperdrive, make sure all ships have the emergency coordinates.” They’d set up some emergency jump points in case the Simulins found them. The Nemesis would have to wait to have her injured attended to. Kathryn swore to herself, knowing this was going to cost some lives.

  “One minute to combat range,” Captain Reynolds said in an even voice.

  “Prepare a spread of Devastator Three missiles,” ordered Kathryn. She knew the powerful missiles couldn’t bring down the Simulin shields, but it might be enough to buy them the time they needed to jump out.

  “Shutting down the vortex ring,” Shilum reported.

  “Set the self-destructs,” ordered Kathryn. There was no way they were going to have time to save any of the valuable units. “Are all shuttles back aboard their respective vessels?”

  “Affirmative,” answered Clarissa. “We have several extra that came on board since they didn’t have time to make it to their own ships.”

  “Admiral Strong says we’re to jump in twenty seconds,” reported Captain Travers from Communications.

  “Set the clock,” ordered Commander Grissim.

  “Combat range,” called out Captain Reynolds. “Simulins are firing.”

  “Launch missiles!” ordered Kathryn, holding her breath. She watched as the countdown timer reached zero. “Jump!”

  The ship shuddered as several Simulin energy beams struck the shield. Two of the vortex generators exploded as they were targeted. Then all the other units vanished in brilliant fireballs as their self-destructs activated.