Starbound (32 page)

“Marine details on all critical ship's systems, Master Chief. Security alert for the duration of this mission. Passes and personnel checks required at all secure stations,” he said.

“Aye, sir. May I also recommend silent running and a catchnet over all com traffic?” said Marker.

“Noted and logged, Mr. Marker. I'll leave it to you and Commander Babayan to implement.”

“Aye, sir,” they both said.

“Anything else to report?” said Maclintock to Babayan. She nodded affirmative.

“Admar Harrington's network has reported that while we were waiting for Mr. Cochrane to arrive a courier jumped in to the Sol system from Carinthia on a diplomatic mission to High Station Earth. The courier ship had one passenger, Prince Benn Feilberg. He was sent with the Union Secession papers drawn up by the Carinthian Regency government. Those papers were rejected by the Union Council because they were not approved by the grand duke himself, which is a requirement of the Concord Agreement that has never been amended,” she said.

“Political posturing,” I said. “What of Prince Benn?”

Babayan looked to me. “He immediately caught an Earth shuttle for Quantar. Apparently there was no return ticket to Carinthia on the courier ship.”

I felt bad for the prince, who was now clearly in exile. But I took comfort that Karina would at least have some family support soon at the North Palace.

Maclintock took reports from the rest of the officers present and then turned to me last before addressing the room at large.

“As you all know, Commander Cochrane here is set to take operational command of
Starbound
once we reach Pendax. However, I think that is too long to wait. Nothing like getting a few extra hours in the Big Chair, in my opinion. Therefore . . .” At this he stood up, and I stood with him. I hadn't expected this.

“Commander Peter Erasmus Cochrane, I do now solemnly and without reservation, relinquish command of
H.
M.S. Starbound
to you, pursuant to orders issued by Grand Admiral Jonathon Wesley on Union date 01.26.2769. Do you accept command?” Maclintock said.

“I do, sir,” I replied. He shook my hand.

“Congratulations, Captain.”

The other officers stood and applauded then, and Maclintock did, too. I stepped up to the center seat.

“Prepare for the jump,” I ordered. “All stations to be locked down fifteen minutes prior to green-go. And since we have sixteen hours in jump space, expect a full inspection of all stations en route.” I looked to each face around the table, especially to Marker and Layton, Babayan, Longer, and Jenny Hogan, my friends.

“Dismissed!” I snapped, and they were gone.

Maclintock shook my hand one more time.

“Good luck, Peter. I pray we won't need it,” he said.

I met with Serosian after completing one formal inspection of the ship and two informal ones. Maclintock was staying out of the way in his stateroom and letting me run the ship my way, and for that I was grateful. I entered the Historian's quarters after my last run-through, after ordering the command staff to take a full eight hours' break before their duty shift tomorrow when we arrived at Pendax.

Serosian greeted me in the outer room of his chambers, the one furnished like a library. I sat down heavily in a leather club chair and he joined me.

“And how was your first day in command?” he asked, cheerily enough.

“A task. One that I enjoyed thoroughly,” I said, smiling.

“And you should,” he replied. “You won't ever have a first day in command again.”

“True enough.” I leaned forward and rubbed at my eyes. I was tired. In the last forty-eight hours I'd gotten married, been given command of a Lightship, traveled the length of my home solar system, and was now halfway to a star system I'd never been to but was probably going to have to defend. And then there was the small point of my mission to Levant and the orders to destroy the artificial jump ring there.

“You've had a busy day,” Serosian commented dryly.

“Is it still the same day? I'm not even sure.”

“It doesn't matter. You should get some rest at any rate.”

“Noted,” I said. Then things got quiet again. I
was
tired.

“Do you remember why you came here?” Serosian asked.

“Yes,” I said, nodding. “I wanted to ask about the gravity weapons systems. Will they be available to me?”

Serosian nodded in reply. “All of them. At their full capacity.”

“And if we have to use them?”

“I will make them available at your command, Captain.”

“Good,” I said. “Let's hope it doesn't come to that.”

“You must be concerned about having to face Dobrina on the battlefield,” he said. As usual, he read my concerns easily.

“Of course I am. But I have no intention of using mass-destruction weapons on her, or on any Lightship. Those ships are Union property, and we'll do all we can to protect them and their crews. But I have no such problem with using them on Imperial ships, if and as necessary,” I concluded.

“You sound very clear.”

“I am.”

He went silent at this, usually a sign of his disapproval or of his opinion that I had missed something important. “What?” I finally asked him.

“So the human crews on the dreadnoughts, they have no value to you?” he asked. “Or perhaps just less than Union lives?”

I replied quickly. “The Imperial ships have shown no regard for
our
lives. Are you forgetting they took the entire crew of
Impulse
and turned them against us? They're an aggressor, an enemy, and until they show us a different face I will regard them as such.”

“Human lives are, perhaps, too precious a thing to waste,” Serosian said. I had no idea what that meant, and now it was my turn to go silent. After a moment he added, “I just want to make sure you aren't acting out of some sense of revenge for
Impulse
, and for the lives you lost at the Jenarus station.”

“I'm acting based on what behavior I have seen from the enemy. Until that changes, my approach will remain the same,” I snapped.

He nodded, which signified clarity if not assent. “Perhaps we should discuss more pleasing subjects. How are you feeling about your sudden wedding to the Princess Karina?” He was probing me. I sat back in my chair.

“And now you sound like my psychology professor at the Academy,” I said back. The fatigue was getting to me. When Serosian said nothing more I continued. “Marrying Karina wasn't what I had
planned, but I knew the possibility of a political marriage was always out there. I made the same commitment to Janaan at Levant and I would have kept it had things worked out differently. But they didn't. And now I have Karina, and we have each other.”

“And Dobrina?”

I shrugged. “My feelings for her were never the issue. Were I left to choose, I might have chosen her. But that's over now, and we all have to move on.” At that I stood to leave.

“We may need every weapon at our disposal to win this battle, my friend,” I said.

“I will do all I can to help you, Peter,” Serosian said.

“Thank you,” I replied, then paused, looking at my friend. “Have you been all right since the jump incident at Jenarus? Resting well?”

He smiled slightly at my concern. “My mind, my decision making, has been unaffected. But I'd be lying if I said that the experience hasn't affected my emotions. It's as if my subconscious mind is still sorting through the experience. My dreams are troubled, my body rhythms disturbed. But I am able to function. There will be time to sort it all out after the crisis is over,” he said. I found myself unsure if he was being truthful to me. He looked tired, but then we all were, not least of all me.

“I hope that's so. Good night, Serosian,” I said.

“Good night, Captain.” Despite my fatigue, I smiled one last time at that, then headed out the door to my cabin, to
rest.

At Pendax, and Levant

W
e jumped into Pend
ax space sixteen hou
rs and six minutes a
fter our entry into
jump space at Candle
. Jenny Hogan was he
r usual efficient se
lf.

I sat in the captain's chair with Maclintock on my right, as my guest. Officially he was about to become commodore of the fleet, and I his underling. But for the moment, I was the ranking officer aboard.

I ordered us in to the rendezvous with
Valiant
, and after an hour we met near an outer gas giant of the Pendax system and Maclintock made the transfer over via shuttle. It was strange seeing our two Lightships together, but we were not alone. Harrington's Wasps and merchant destroyers had set up a picket line of defenses between the main planet and the still-under-construction High Station Pendax, situated near the jump point. She was marginally operable from a military standpoint, but months away from being ready for commercial traffic. We would surely be outgunned by a combined Imperial and Carinthian fleet, especially so with my orders to leave Pendax and take
Starbound
to Levant to destroy the artificial jump gate apparatus. But those were my orders, and I intended to follow them.

Once Maclintock and his crew were aboard
Valiant
we said our goodbyes via longwave, and within the hour I had us back on course to the jump point, where we made our hyperdimensional transformation again. I had mixed feelings about returning to Levant. I had made a good friend in Prince Sunil Katara, and an even closer one in his sister, the Princess Janaan. I wondered what her reaction would be to my wedding to Karina.

I spent the traverse working the crew steadily, but not too hard. We needed the rest that traverse space provided, and we would likely not be getting many breaks once we got to Levant. I hoped for a quick and easy mission, just get in, destroy our targets, and get out.

That's what I hoped for, anyway.

The crew was ready when we jumped in to Levant space, all personnel at battle stations and the ship on full alert.

We found the system quiet and empty of traffic except for the Levantine home-built defensive destroyers and the five Wasps deployed to protect the planet. I immediately opened a visual longwave to High Station Artemis and General Salibi, the commander of Levant's defense forces. His familiar dark and ruddy face appeared on the main plasma display of the bridge.

“Good to hear from you again, Commander,” he said in his ever-improving Standard.

“It's captain, now, General.
Starbound
is mine, at least for the time being,” I replied over the com.

“Congratulations! That's fantastic news! I'm afraid the prince will be disappointed though. I think he had you in mind to command
Resolution
,” said Salibi.

“I'm afraid the prince may be disappointed in much of the news we're bringing,” I said. I then filled him in on the tactical situation at Pendax, and more importantly, my mission orders for Levant. As I expected, he wasn't happy.

“Of course we'll clear traffic around the jump ring and the base on Tyre. Are you sure you have to destroy them? I'm sure Prince Katara doesn't want to lose such a prized asset,” Salibi said.

“Unfortunately, those are my orders, General. The Admiralty feels the gate could be used for ingress of an Imperial fleet into your system, and that's a risk we can't take right now,” I said.

“Understood, Captain. How much time do we have?” I looked to Duane Longer. He showed me six fingers.

“Six hours, General. We have a new hybrid impeller drive that gets us around in normal space much faster than before. We'll commence combat operations as soon as we arrive at Levant.” Salibi looked unhappy at that.

“We'll be ready. Our defense forces will be deployed to protect the planet,” he said.

“Acknowledged. Just be sure we have clear firing lanes.”

“As you say, Captain.” And with that we said our goodbyes and the line was cut.

I gave orders to the crew to begin firing drills on both the Tyre (or L-4b) and jump ring scenarios. I wanted us to be prepared so we wasted no time in completing our mission. Pendax was where I wanted to be, for a whole host of reasons. The optimal scenario had us sweeping past Levant's larger outer moon, L-4a, and taking out the jump gate ring above Levant itself, then picking up the inner moon, L-4b, and destroying the projector to complete our mission.

After two solid hours of firing drills that hit close to 96.2 percent efficiency, I ordered a thirty-minute break and then left Babayan the con with orders to repeat the drills again until we got it completely right. From the bridge I headed to the captain's stateroom. When I arrived, my belongings had been unpacked and placed around the room, no doubt the work of one of the yeomen. A proper captain's jacket was laid out on the bed, and I tried it on. It fit nicely; the two
captain's bars at the collar and three gold bands at the wrists felt right. I hung up my old commander's jacket in the closet just in case, but I hoped I'd never have to wear it again.

After a quick lunch I downloaded the latest intel packet from the Admiralty, but it really contained nothing new. Everything was as it had been, and everyone was on pins and needles, waiting.

A few minutes later and my com chimed in, a private communication was incoming from the planet, from Prince Katara. I smiled. I knew what was on his mind.

“Good to hear from you again, Highness,” I said cheerfully over my desk com.

“Don't try to flatter me,
Captain
,” he said the last with emphasis.

“What can I do for you, Sunil?” I said.

“You can damn well get me the Lightship I was promised! Keeping us out of the fight to save the Union was never part of our agreement!” he said.

“
Resoluti
on's
not ready,” I replied. “It's really as simple as that. She's almost operational, mechanically, but her crew isn't ready yet. You know that.”

“All I know is what
you
tell me, Peter. Our sailors are the best in space!”

“Well, that may be, Sunil. But learning to run a Lightship is a much bigger task than being aboard one of your Levant Navy destroyers. It's a steep learning curve for the best of them,” I said.

“Spare me your platitudes, Cochrane. You're doing everything you can to keep us out of this fight,” he said. I could tell his ego was taking a hit.

“You're right about that,” I said. “But believe me, this is one fight you want to avoid as long as possible. Let us do our job and secure your world.”

“But you're taking away our greatest asset!”

“The Admiralty considers the jump gate and generator on Tyre (I
deferred to the local name for Levant's inner moon) to be more of a threat than they are an asset, Sunil. It has to be disabled, unless you want an Imperial fleet jumping into your backyard?”

“Of course we don't. But our planetary defenses—”

“Are strong enough to fend off anything they have: HuKs, destroyers, perhaps even a dreadnought now that we've hardened your weaponry. But you can't fend off a full fleet. You know that,” I said again.

“If we had
Resolution
—”

“Then
S
tarbound
wouldn't need to be here. But you don't, so we have to be.” The line got quiet then and I could practically feel the prince's somber mood. He hated being left out of the fun and losing his precious Founder Relic.

“And how is the Princess Janaan?” I said, breaking through the silence.

“She doesn't know you're here. Or about your promotion. Or . . .” his voice trailed off.

“Or about my marriage. But you know, don't you, my friend?” I said.

“We have a good intelligence network, Peter.”

“Indeed you do.” The prince hesitated a second before asking the next question.

“Will you be happy with her? This Carinthian princess? More than you would have been with my Janaan?” he asked. I didn't know how to answer that. There was no right answer.

“I don't know,” I finally said. “But what's done is done, and we all have to make the best of it.”

The line stayed silent again for several moments.

“I'm sure she would want to hear from you directly,” said Sunil. I sighed.

“I'm not sure that's possible,” I said honestly. “Time being what it is—”

“There is always time for what's most important, my friend,” he said. “Call her. She will need to hear it directly from you.”

I didn't want to do it, but I knew it was the right thing to do, for her anyway. “If you'll send me her longwave contact ID—”

It popped up on my display screen before I was finished speaking.

“Good luck, Peter. I expect you to be here when we christen
Resolution
,” he said.

“One way or another, I will be, Sunil. I promise. And good luck to you as well.” With that I signed off, leaned back in my desk chair, and sighed.

I called up Janaan's longwave ID and activated the com, sending a signal with my personal ID directly to the princess's line. After a few seconds she answered.

“Hello, Peter,” she said. “I understand congratulations are in order, on many fronts.” Apparently the princess had as good an intelligence network as her brother.

“Hello, Princess,” I said.

“Please, Janaan.”

“Hello, Janaan. This isn't easy to say—”

“Stop, please. Before you go on, I have to see your face.” A request for a visual connection popped up on my display. I accepted it and the face of the Princess Janaan of Levant appeared on my screen. The screen was dark and grainy, but even through the distance and local interference I could still see her features. She was as beautiful as ever.

“Princess,” I started. I told her all that had happened, as truthfully as I could. She listened patiently and without comment until I had told her everything. The war. My command. Karina. Then it was her turn to speak.

“I understand your choices, Peter, but I had hoped for a different outcome. Please understand that I will always care for you,” she said. She looked downtrodden at the news.

“And I for you, Princess.”

“Thank you for saving my people,” she said. “We will always be in your debt.”

“And I will always be in yours, Janaan,” I replied. She was having a hard time holding back tears, and frankly, so was I.

“Do you love her?” she finally asked. What could I say to that?

“Not yet,” I admitted. “But that doesn't change my commitment.”

She wiped away a tear at that, then quickly said her goodbye, and I let her go. It seemed the least painful thing I could do.

I rubbed at my own tired eyes, then pulled up the latest drill reports. 97.5 percent. Still not good enough. I called up to Babayan and ordered her to run through the firing drill again. Then I went to my water basin and ran warm water over my face, trying to rub the tears out of my own eyes.

We received the all-clear from the Levant Navy and Artemis Station twenty minutes before we reached optimal firing range on the jump gate ring. In our last run of drills we'd taken out the jump gate ring and then the generator base on L-4b within twenty minutes of each other. But that was a simulation. I hoped for a similar result in real life.

At ten minutes to firing range on the jump gate ring I ordered us to battle stations and all nonessential personnel to stand down in place. I wanted no distractions. Serosian preferred to wait things out in his cabin, only coming to the bridge if he was needed. I would have preferred him to be there, but his habits were his own, and often hard for me to fathom.

We used the gravity well of the outer moon of Levant's pair, Sidon, the bigger of the two, to swing us around to the planetside face of the ring construct. It was kilometers across, big enough for a small fleet, and I doubted a round of coil cannon fire could destroy it, so I
had opted for a volley of multiwarhead low-yield atomic torpedoes, fired in a mix of ten every thirty seconds for two minutes. The resulting detonations should provide sufficient yields to break the ring into at least four pieces, enough to take it out of service permanently. Historians and Union Navy technicians had mapped the ring technology, so we could put it to use in the future if need be, but only if there was a certainty that we could control it.