Operation Chimera (9 page)

“The Chimera Cluster,” Driscoll said. “We’re headed right for the hornet’s nest.”

“Why? There have been expeditions to the Cluster before, but it’s always been deemed too damn dangerous,” Teague said. “Why now?”

“As I said to the whole ship, we make war to end it. Our mission is to do what we can to turn the tide of this conflict, by whatever means necessary. I don’t know if you’re fully aware of this or not, but we’re not winning the battle. Not by a long shot.”

“I heard about the losses at Cablan…” Robin said. Her voice faded away. The Draxx had gone there and bombarded the planet’s surface from orbit until it was a smoldering cinder. Nothing had escaped.

Why had they done it? For no good reason―simply because they could. And because Cablan had been a Terran Union colonial world. The Union expanded by peaceful co-operation and settlement. The Draxx did the opposite. They spread throughout the galaxy like a tumor.

“Yes, there are losses on a planetary scale, too, but I’m referring to the burden on our fleet. Our manpower. We can’t continue to fight them the way we have been. If we’re going to gain the upper hand we need to get dirty. Take the fight to them.”

“So that’s our mission. We’re troublemakers, sent in to disrupt them in any way possible,” Teague said. “Try and cause them as much grief as we can manage?”

“In a nutshell―
almost
. As you’re aware, we know from telemetry and astrological data that there is a vast Draxx presence within the Cluster. We also know that the area disrupts sensors, communications. It’s unstable in there. Dangerous,” Driscoll said.

“So we’ve sent our biggest, most powerful vessel in the hope it’ll be able to withstand the rigors of the Cluster itself…”

“As well as carry enough muscle to give the Draxx a shock or two. Yes,” Driscoll said. He pushed himself away from the conference table, crossed his arms. “There’s another side to our mission though, Robin. They’re up to something in there. We just don’t know what.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our intelligence reports have picked up on a whiff of something happening in there,” Driscoll said, jabbing a finger in the direction of the holographic Chimera Cluster floating over the table. “A construction of some kind. It’s worried top brass enough that they’ve sent us to investigate. As you know, probes can’t penetrate very far into the Cluster. They needed a ship. That’s us. I want to know what it is they’re building in there. And more importantly, if it’s something we can destroy.”

“Who knows about this, sir?” Teague asked.

“High-ranking Admiralty, myself, you… that’s about it. We didn’t want anyone untrustworthy to get a hint of it prior to reaching the Cluster. After all, once we’re inside, it’s highly unlikely we’ll be able to make contact with Command. We’ll be on our own, unless we can concoct some way of breaking through the communication disruption. So once we’re in there, if there’s a Draxx sympathizer aboard, they’ll be plain out of luck.”

“Funny you say that. Before coming aboard, I did some research on the Cluster. There’s been a lot of work around identifying the exact nature of the blanketing effect the region has on our comm systems,” she said. “I believe there may be a way of going around it. Just something I’ve been trying to wrap my head around.”

“Be sure to discuss it with the communications officer at some point, see if you both can’t work something out. Get S’lestra in on it, too,” Driscoll said. “The Union has never developed anything to counter the effects of the Cluster because there’s never been cause to go in there… until now.”

Commander Teague peered up at him. The deep green glow from the holo-display made him look like a gargoyle. And yet, still his eyes shone.

“I want you to relay our orders to each department head in turn. By the time they tell their own people, we’ll already be inside the Cluster. If we do have anyone untrustworthy aboard the news won’t do them much good.”

“Agreed,” Robin said.

Driscoll regarded the empty coffee cup, as if he regretted dispatching it so quickly. “Okay, Commander. Let’s get on it.”

Teague stood, saluted, and set off on her rounds among the ship’s departments to brief the section chiefs.

As soon as Driscoll entered the bridge, Frank’s voice flooded the air.

“Captain, we are approaching the Union-Dominion border.”

Driscoll cleared his throat. “Understood, Frank. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Sir, is that where we’re headed? Enemy territory?” Lieutenant Hardy asked.

“Yes. To get to where we’re going, it’s a necessity. When it comes to this mission, the usual regulations don’t apply,” Driscoll said. “Keep her steady, Lieutenant. We’ll be giving any systems occupied by the Draxx a wide berth.”

“And if we run across a Draxx ship along the way?” S’lestra asked.

“We do not engage. Not until we reach our destination. I don’t think we will come across any, however. We’d have to be crazy to travel at Jump speed through enemy territory, the size we are. Even though we are fitted with the latest sensor-scrambling technology. They’ll never suspect us, much less be actively looking for us.”

S’lestra grinned from ear to ear. “Sssometimesss a little crazy isss good. The Draxx don’t underssstand it.”

“Precisely. By the time we’ve been and gone, those cold-blooded devils will be scrambling to know what it was that shot through the sector. With the
Manhattan
’s new design affording us a level of stealth never before seen on a Union vessel, we should appear as a phantom on their screens.”

Teague arrived on the bridge.

“Hardy, how long until we arrive at the end point?” Driscoll asked.

He checked the readout at his station. “Another ten minutes, sir.”

“Good. Now the Commander’s re-joined us, it’s time I bring you up to speed on our mission. As of this moment, Commander Grey is briefing the flyboys downstairs as to where we’re headed and what to expect. Our destination lies deep within the Chimera Cluster.”

“
Inssside
the Chimera Clussster?” S’lestra said, eyes widening. A ripple ran the length of her sensory strands.

“Yes. We are the first mission to penetrate further than ten million kilometers in over forty years. Helm, be aware that Command has made the exit point of our second Jump an area of significant electrical anomalies. With any luck, this will mask our signature from detection and let us slip in there. I trust you’ll take the necessary precautions.”

“Aye, Captain,” Lieutenant Hardy said.

Prior to enlisting, Hardy had been a freighter pilot for nearly seven years. He’d been in the Union fleet for just under two years now. Fastest graduate from the Academy on record.

Hardy turned to face navigator Cochrane. “Hope I don’t mess this up. Otherwise we end up as scrambled egg―”

“As per the spec, we exit the Jump prior to entering the Cluster. Once inside, we initiate a second Jump to our co-ordinates,” Commander Teague told them firmly.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Hardy said.

“Sir,” Ensign Blair addressed Captain Driscoll. “The Chief wishes to speak to you in private. He says it’s urgent.”

Driscoll’s lips pressed into a tight line. “Tell him to meet me in my quarters, Ensign.”

“Captain?” Commander Teague asked, curious what would pull him from the bridge at such a critical phase of their mission.

“This won’t take long, Commander,” Driscoll said. “You know where to reach me if we encounter any trouble. You have the reins”

Driscoll was ready for him. The buzzer sounded from the other side of the door.

“Come in,” he called. The door to his quarters opened. Chief Macintosh stood there, not much different to how he’d looked eight years before when they’d served together aboard the
Resolute
.

“Chief. Come in,” Driscoll said.

The door closed behind him. The Captain’s quarters were filled with shadow, save for a few lamps here and there turned low. Driscoll could still smell the antiseptic tang of the atmospheric systems. It would be a while before the Captain’s quarters smelled like somewhere a man slept and rested.

From opposite sides of the room, they sized each other up.

“Nicholas,” the Chief said.

“David.”

Macintosh’s face was impassive. “I thought I better come up here, iron a few things out. I’d have seen you sooner.”

“Shoot,” Driscoll said. “Get it off your chest.”

“You know if I could’ve got another posting, I would have,” Macintosh said. “But I couldn’t, not in such a short space of time. And besides, I was pretty much ordered to remain with the
Manhattan
as her Chief of Engineering.”

“I didn’t want anyone else, either,” Captain Driscoll said. “You’re the best. I know we’ve had our differences. But despite what’s gone on in the past―”

“
Differences
? I’d say they’re a lot more than that, Nick, wouldn’t you?” the Chief spat. “Last time I looked, I was not the one responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent men and women.”

Driscoll didn’t say anything.

I should’ve expected this at some point.
It’s been coming a long time. Years I’ve avoided this confrontation. Now’s the time to face it.

“Last time I looked, I wasn’t the one with the blood of his shipmates on his hands…” Macintosh continued.

Now, he snapped.

“The last time I assessed the situation, I was your Captain,” Driscoll said, his voice louder and more stern.

Does he not think I’ve thought about these things, too? Does he not realize the pain it has caused me over the years to think about what happened? About the colleagues I failed to protect when the time came?

The Chief looked away. “You are.”

“Look, I never pictured us working together again, but here we are. And we both have to deal with it. This ship needs you down there—” he pointed in the exact direction of the engines— “and me up there. It’s just the way it’s worked out,” Driscoll explained. “I tried my best, but there was no one who could replace you. And you know the ship inside out.”

“You should’ve chosen another ship to order about,” Macintosh said.

A klaxon fired briefly somewhere, sounding like a distant horn in a fog. For a split second, they might have been a battleship on the open sea.

“There’s not going to be a problem, is there, Chief?” Driscoll asked.

The Chief shook his head. “No. No problem. I’ll keep things professional because I know you’ll do the same. Whatever I think of you, I won’t let that get in the way of me performing my duties.”

“You have my word,” Driscoll told him. “And for what it’s worth, I do appreciate it, David.”

“Good. Because let’s get one thing straight. They might put you up on some kind of pedestal. The tabloids might paint you as a hero. But me? I know the real Nick Driscoll. Maybe not the man you are now, but the man you used to be. A failure who let everyone under his command, apart from me, die. Until I see that you’re a different man, that’s who you’ll always be for me. That junior Officer who screwed up. All because you didn’t know when to call it a day. You didn’t know there are limits to how far you can push men, women and ships.”

Driscoll’s eyes became hard pits of darkness. “I do now.”

He sat motionless, staring through steepled fingers as the Chief turned on his heel and strode out. The dimness suited him; the memories returned, and he shut his eyes.

The
Resolute
had been a standard
Clayton
-class starship, tasked with patrolling the region of space known as the Daifon Warf that stretched from the Tykaran and Olva systems. Whilst the Draxx had a definite presence in the area, the
Resolute
’s real task was to watch for pirates and smugglers. The last thing they’d expected to see was a Draxx dreadnought come out of nowhere, guns blazing.

The crew of the
Resolute
fought valiantly, but the small ship was no match for the enormous Draxx vessel. The
Resolute
’s Captain ordered a message of surrender be sent to the opposition, at which they stopped firing. He then left in a shuttle craft to talk with the Draxx in person, however before he could dock they opened fire and destroyed the shuttle. They’d only been toying with their human prey. The Draxx had given them a few minutes of hope at survival before dashing it in a fiery bloom of plasma cannons.