The Lost Fleet: Into the Darkness Read online

  “I’ll plot exit points far enough out so those shouldn’t pose a problem,” Kelsey promised.

  “Very well,” Kathryn said, satisfied with Kelsey’s response. “Captain Travers, get me Admiral Strong on the comm. We have a decision to make.”

  -

  “Interesting,” commented Commander Malen as she studied the course Kelsey had plotted on her computer screen. “I’ve never jumped to a T Tauri star before.”

  “There may be protoplanets in orbit,” added Ariel as she studied the data on the stars Kelsey had designated. “As long as we stay on the far outskirts of the systems we should be okay.”

  “I’m not certain how well our sensors will function in the nebula,” Kevin added. On one of the main screens of the Command Center, the pulsing red nebula glowed ominously. “The radiation and hydrogen clouds will have some effect.”

  “Can you compensate for the radiation?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Ariel.

  “Some,” Ariel replied with a frown appearing on her face. “I can set the system to take into account the potential aberrations caused by the radiation. If I do so, it will extend our sensor range but what the sensors show might not be one hundred percent accurate.”

  “Don’t modify our short-range sensors, but I do want to extend our long-range sensors to the maximum.”

  “What about our special Alton sensors?” asked Malen. She was referring to the ones that allowed them to see ten light-years around them, even when they were in hyperspace.

  “Unknown,” Ariel answered. “We’ll know once we enter the nebula how the radiation and the hydrogen clouds will affect them.”

  “Very well,” replied Jeremy, knowing they’d done everything they could in preparation.

  Looking at one of the viewscreens, he could see the Distant Horizon being displayed. The 2,600-meter ship looked awesome and quite deadly on the screen. It was comforting to know Rear Admiral Barnes was on the ship along with Kelsey and Katie. The Distant Horizon was the safest place for them to be.

  “Angela, contact all ships and tell them we’ll be jumping in one hour; we’ll be relaying the first coordinates shortly. All ships will go to Condition One twenty minutes prior to exiting hyperspace.”

  “Afraid we’ll be jumping into a nest of Simulins,” muttered Kevin, his eyes focusing on Jeremy.

  “Possibly,” Jeremy answered. “We don’t know what lies ahead of us. I want to get to our destination, set up the vortex generators, deploy the probe, and then get back out as quickly as possible.”

  “Do we call off the mission if we encounter the Simulins?” asked Commander Malen.

  “I don’t know,” answered Jeremy. The Simulin threat was constantly in the back of his mind. “We’ll deal with that scenario if and when it occurs.”

  This was something he was greatly concerned about. Once they started deploying the small capacitor stations and the vortex generators, the fleet would be vulnerable to attack. Jeremy was committed to not leaving anyone behind as there would be shuttles deployed from many of the task groups’ ships aiding in the operation. It would take time to get everyone back aboard their respective ships if the Simulins showed up, time they might not have.

  -

  Time passed as the fleet prepared to jump. Systems were checked and jump coordinates were confirmed.

  “Ready to initiate jump,” Ariel informed Jeremy. She was in constant contact with Clarissa and knew her counterpart was ready to depart on their mission.

  “Order the Distant Horizon to jump; we’ll follow,” ordered Jeremy as he took a deep breath and settled back in his command chair. He could sense the heightened level of anxiety in the crew. They were jumping into the unknown and there was no way to tell what was waiting for them.

  “Distant Horizon is jumping,” reported Kevin as his sensors picked up a spike in energy readings.

  On the main viewscreen, a blue-white vortex formed in front of the exploration dreadnought. The massive ship accelerated into its center and instantly vanished.

  “Counter is running,” reported Commander Malen.

  Two minutes later, the Avenger and the rest of the ships of the task group followed the Distant Horizon into their respective vortexes. They were entering the nebula and would soon find out if the Simulins were waiting. If they were, there was a possibility that some of the task group might never see Gaia again.

  Chapter Seven

  The Avenger came out of the spatial vortex in the vicinity of a class M T Tauri star. It was a mass of slowly coalescing gas, which someday would become a main sequence star.

  Jeremy frowned as the viewscreens on the front wall of the Command Center remained covered in static. This was a major problem each time they dropped out of hyperspace in the vicinity of one of these stars.

  “Detecting high levels of X-ray and radio emissions,” reported Kevin as he worked diligently at his sensors trying to clear up the static coming in on his scans. He looked at Ariel in annoyance as his efforts seemed to be having little effect.

  “One moment,” Ariel said as she began adjusting the ship’s systems as well as the stealth energy shield. On the front wall, the screens gradually cleared until all showed views of space.

  “Sensors are not indicating any signs of artificial objects or other ships besides ours in the system,” Kevin reported as the information finally began to come in. “There are some areas our sensors are not penetrating due to high levels of radiation and clouds of hydrogen gas being drawn into the star.”

  “Communicate that to the other ships,” Jeremy ordered. He knew only the Distant Horizon had the capacity to use all if its sensors normally in these conditions since it was designed for this type of work. Ariel was doing everything she could to help Kevin operate his sensor console.

  “One more jump,” Commander Malen commented as she ordered the ship to go back to Condition Two.

  Toward the end of each jump, all the ships in the fleet were going to Condition One just in case they jumped close to a Simulin ship. So far that hadn’t happened; there had been no sign of the Simulins.

  Jeremy nodded. The long-range sensors, which normally reached out for ten light-years had been nearly useless from all the radiation and ionized hydrogen gas in the nebula. Things had gotten worse as they neared the center of the nebula where most of the blue giants were located. The fleet was traveling through areas where the density of hydrogen gas was lower as well as the level of radiation.

  “I have the Distant Horizon on the comm,” Angela reported. “Kelsey says it will take her a few minutes to confirm the next set of jump coordinates as we’ll be jumping into a blue giant system. She also says their sensors confirm this system is clear.”

  “We’ll have to use our regular defensive shield in the target system if we want to cancel out the effects of the intense ultraviolet radiation,” Commander Malen added. “The stealth shield is capable of blocking some of it, but not enough.”

  “Inform all ships,” Jeremy ordered. He knew the Distant Horizon with its extra thick armor would be the least affected. However, once they started work in the system the shuttles, capacitor stations, and vortex generators would all be easily detectable by Simulin warships if one happened to enter the system. The work shuttles had been equipped with minimal shields to protect them from the radiation. “We’ll stay here for one hour. If any ship is having system malfunctions of any kind, we need to know before the hour is up. If not, then we’ll jump to the blue giant.”

  Angela busied herself at her communications console and then turned back toward Jeremy. “Messages sent.”

  “This last jump will be sixty-eight light-years,” Ariel said as she checked the figures on the navigation computer. “At our current hyperspace speed it will take us eleven point three hours to reach the blue giant.”

  “How far ahead of us can our long-range sensors scan?” Jeremy asked.

  “Only two or possibly three light-years,” Ariel responded, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. She had learn
ed over the years how to change her facial expressions to mimic normal humans. “It will depend on the density of the hydrogen gas we’re passing through as well as the level of interfering radiation being given off by the blue giants.”

  Kevin shook his head and gazed at Jeremy. “I almost wish we’d gone to the black hole instead.”

  -

  The hour passed and the fleet prepared to jump. On the Distant Horizon Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes took a deep breath as the familiar blue-white vortex formed in front of the ship. The crew was anxious, as they knew this jump could bring them into contact with the Simulins if they were using the blue giants to power some type of intergalactic transfer system.

  “Entering the vortex,” reported Lieutenant Styles from the Helm.

  Kathryn tensed slightly as the Distant Horizon suddenly accelerated forward. She felt a slight twinge in her stomach as the ship made the jump into hyperspace. Looking at the large viewscreen, which covered the entire front wall of the Command Center, she saw the comforting colors of swirling deep purple, which signaled they were in the higher dimension that allowed faster than light travel.

  “All systems functioning normally,” Commander Grissim reported. Anne was busy at her command console checking the various ship departments.

  “Secure from Condition Two and take us to Condition Four,” ordered Kathryn as she began to relax. This would allow the majority of the crew to get some rest before they reached their destination.

  Leaning back in her command chair, Kathryn thought over what was ahead of them. She wondered what type of response there would be back home if they were successful in sending the probe through. Thinking about home, her thoughts turned to her father. She knew he would be shaken upon learning she would never be returning to Ceres. They would spend the rest of their lives apart, living in two separate galaxies. During her career in the fleet, there hadn’t been that many opportunities for her to spend significant quality time with her father. She regretted not making more of an effort as she would never see him again. Taking a deep breath, she decided it was best not to dwell on it.

  “Relief crew will be reporting in thirty minutes,” Commander Grissim informed Kathryn. “The command crew will report back one hour before emergence at our target star.”

  “Very well,” replied Kathryn, looking over at Anne. Colonel Grissim had served her well since she had come on board the Distant Horizon.

  Anne had spent considerable time on the StarStrike, Fleet Admiral Streth’s flagship. She was a well-trained officer and Kathryn felt fortunate to have her as the commanding officer of the Distant Horizon. Anne had been at the battle of the galactic center as well as most of the other titanic battles fought against the Hocklyns and the AIs during the war. She was a seasoned officer and had been tested under fire.

  “Make sure you get some rest too,” Kathryn reminded her. “We have no idea what may be waiting for us when we emerge from hyperspace.”

  “Colonel Leon will be reporting shortly with the relief watch,” Colonel Grissim replied. “I’ll return an hour before emergence.”

  -

  Kelsey looked over at Andram, who was sitting close to her at a science console. “What do you think we’ll find at the blue giant?”

  It had been hard being away from Jeremy since he was on the Avenger and she was on the Distant Horizon. They did talk regularly each time they dropped out of hyperspace. However, the time being separated reminded her of the years they’d been apart until the Distant Horizon had managed to make the hyperspace jump to the Triangulum Galaxy.

  “Probably nothing out of the ordinary,” Andram replied as he checked some data on his console. “It’s a typical blue giant and I’ve been on several exploration missions to stars similar to it before.”

  “What if the Simulins are there?” asked Kelsey.

  This worried her considerably. In their last battle with the Simulins, the Distant Horizon had come very close to being destroyed. If she hadn’t taken command and turned the ship over to Clarissa, the ship would have been.

  Andram turned and looked over at Kelsey. “There’s no sense worrying over something that might not happen,” he answered, taking a pragmatic view. “We’ll know for sure when we exit hyperspace. I would suggest for you not to worry. We’re on the most powerful ship ever built by either your people or mine. Why don’t you go get some rest? It’s been a long day and we all could use some downtime.”

  “You’re right,” Kelsey said with a long sigh.

  She turned back to her console to check a few things. As soon as her relief arrived, she would head to her quarters and try to get some sleep. Then later she would give Katie a call so they could eat together before returning to the Command Center. Glancing over at Katie’s computer console, she saw her friend was deep in conversation with Mikow.

  Clarissa had been listening to the conversation between the two. While she did she ran battle simulations with her and Ariel in command of the Avenger and the Distant Horizon. They’d also set up a program to control the strikecruisers Nemesis and Orion. Clarissa was excited about being able to command the ship in combat against the Simulins though she hoped that didn’t happen. If it did, then it meant the task group was in a dire situation. Both she and Ariel had sworn to each other they would do everything in their power to protect the Special Five. They would never allow any harm to come to any of them if it was within their power to prevent it.

  -

  Kathryn returned to the Command Center fifty minutes before the ship was scheduled to drop out of hyperspace. Without surprise, she saw most of the command crew were already at their duty stations.

  “Report,” she said, glancing over at Commander Grissim.

  “All systems are operating normally. Long-range scans are only reaching out a little over three light-years due to the density of the hydrogen clouds as well as the intense radiation. “This entire nebula is an H II region. The hydrogen gas is being ionized by the cluster of blue giants we’re about to enter.”

  Kathryn sat down in her command chair and looked around the large Command Center. Sensors and Communications were just to her right. Damage Control and the main computer station were to her left. In front of the command dais and slightly to the side on the left and right were two tactical holographic displays. Helm, Navigation, Hyperdrive control, and several science stations were in the front before the large viewscreen. The biggest station was Tactical, directly behind the command dais on an upraised platform. It was manned by eight officers who controlled the ship’s weapons as well as the Distant Horizon’s powerful energy shield.

  For the next half hour, the operations in the Command Center were relatively normal. Kathryn watched a timer on one of the two tactical displays counting down. When it reached thirty, she turned toward Commander Grissim. “Take us to Condition One; I want Devastator Threes in the missile tubes. We’ll hold back on our antimatter missiles until we determine whether there’s a threat to the task group.”

  Commander Grissim nodded and instantly sounded the Condition One alarm while making the appropriate announcement over the ship’s comm.

  “Admiral, our long-range sensors are picking up some possible artificial constructs in orbit around the star,” reported Captain Reynolds as he worked at his console trying to call up additional information.

  Kathryn’s eyes narrowed sharply. “What type of constructs; are we talking about ships?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Reynolds replied. “Our sensors are just barely picking them up. The only reason I know they’re artificial is because our sensors are detecting ten of them and they’re all in the same orbit spaced an equal distance apart around the star.”

  “Andram, any ideas?” Kathryn didn’t like what she was hearing. Any type of artificial construct probably meant a Simulin presence.

  Andram looked over at Shilum and the two had a quick conservation over their mini-comms. Then Andram turned toward the admiral. “Some type of energy collecting satellites is our bes
t supposition. If the Simulins are using the cluster of blue giants to power an intergalactic transfer system they would need some method of powering their operations. We may be looking at the Simulins’ version of the AIs’ capacitor stations.”

  “We could target them as soon as we exit hyperspace,” suggested Major Weir from his tactical console. The major examined the data on the location of the ten objects. “If we make four short hyperspace jumps we could take out all ten of them with our sublight missiles.”

  “Using that tactic, it would take twenty-six minutes for some of the missiles to reach their targets,” warned Clarissa as she quickly ran several simulations. “There is a possibility the energy stations will send out a hyperspace message if one or more of the units stops functioning.”

  Kathryn leaned forward in her command chair. They would exit hyperspace five minutes before the rest of the task group. “When we depart the vortex I want the stealth shield activated,” she ordered. “As well as detailed scans of those objects before Admiral Strong arrives. If we deem they’re not a threat we’ll drop our stealth shield and activate our main defense shield to stop the radiation.”

  “Our ship’s armor will protect us,” Colonel Leon informed the admiral. Petra had managed to take a short break before returning to the Command Center. “We would probably be safe for at least twenty minutes before the radiation begins to penetrate the outer hull. I’ll order Doctor Keil to have her radiation meds on standby just in case.”

  -

  The minutes seemed to pass slowly as all eyes in the Command Center kept glancing at the countdown timer in the large holographic tactical display. Talking was minimal as everyone waited for the ship to exit hyperspace.

  “Two minutes to drop out,” called out Lieutenant Parker from his hyperdrive console.