Stephen Berry - The Battle for Terra Two

The dark within the circle rippled, growing even darker. After a moment, the rippling subsided. "Fascinating," said T'Ral.

"What?" said D'Trelna as K'Raoda came onto the bridge.

"There's a coherent signal now. It's the inverse of the readout we got when they snatchedV'Tran's Glory. And the inverse of the readout from the Maximus portal."

"Any fluctuation in the signal?" asked K'Raoda. "None."

D'Trelna nodded. "Ship's status, Commander K'Raoda?"

"All sections at battlestations."

"K'Lana, did our shuttle launch?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let's do it, then. Forward, point three, T'Lei." Seen fromNew Hope, Implacable slipped away down a black hole.

"A'Tir," said K'Tran into the commnet, "they're gone.

Any luck?"

"None." She was wearing a white radiation suit. Removing the helmet, she handed it to an Engineering tech."Implacable's. Engineer is too good to be Fleet."

"He isn't," said K'Tran. "Chief Engineer of the R Tar Line. They drafted his ass. What did he do?"

"Tied a tickle line from the engines to the destruct programming. We try to move…"

K'Tran's eyes narrowed. "But we can jump?"

"There is no barrier to our jumping," she said wearily. "Only to disengaging that magic black cube."

"But we can't jump with it in the drive."

"Correct."

"I'll disengage the destruct programming," he said, reaching for the complink.

"Don't!" she said sharply. "He's looped the destruct programming back into the tickle line. Try to change destruct programming from current parameters and you'll trigger it."

K'Tran took his hands from the terminal. "I see."

"There's another problem. We've needed a good port overhaul for a long time."

"The better ports would not have us, Number One."

"We've got measurable power-core leakage. Nothing biologically hazardous, but enough to maybe spark a backsurge. If that surge were near the tickle line…"

"Got us by the shorts, hasn't he?" said K'Tran, running a hand through his hair. "What can we do?"

"Cut power down to emergency levels. Vital equipment only. Cold concentrates, cold showers, minimal life support."

He gave the necessary orders, turning back to A'Tir as the lights dimmed. "I'm going to get Commodore Fats and his friends, Number One. It would almost be worth dying to strand them in an alternate reality."

"Nothing's worth dying for."

"Yes, well, I'll find a way."

"You do that," she said, stripping off the radiation suit. The brown Fleet-duty uniform beneath was rumpled, the underarms dark with sweat. "I'll be showering with the last of the hot water.''

K'Tran sat a long while in the command chair, his thoughts growing even darker and colder than his ship.

"Clean," said S'Til, pocketing her detector.

L'Wrona leading, the commandos, Hochmeister and Harrison swept into the tunnel, a long black line moving warily, rifles ready, wind screaming ahead of them down the dark tunnel.

Should have kept my starhelm, thought John, flashing his light ahead. Oblong-shaped, a good twenty feet across, the tunnel rose at an easy angle, disappearing beyond the range of the slim utility lights.

"No sediment," said L'Wrona, flicking his light along the pipe bottom's pristine concrete. "Admiral, isn't this used?"

"No," said Hochmeister, walking to the captain's left.

"It was dug for an atomic reactor-prematurely. The reactor was never approved for construction by the Reich. The pipe doesn't breach the complex, so it's unguarded."

"How many reactors has the Reich allowed outside of Germany, Admiral?" asked John.

"I've read your dissertation, Major Harrison," said Hochmeister, eyes and light sweeping the wall to his left. "You had an entire section on that issue-over thirty pages." He looked at John. "You're the alternate Harrison, aren't you?"

"Assuming we get out of this, Admiral," said L'Wrona, "I'm sure Fleet Intelligence could find a post for you."

"Everyone's offering me jobs I don't want, Captain," said Hochmeister. "First the bugs, now you. I'm needed here-civilization's roving proconsul."

"You call what I've seen civilization?" said John.

"Germany, all of Europe, is quite civilized, Mr. Harrison," said the admiral. "We've recovered from fascism, rebuilt from the war, aided less fortunate allies, kept the bear at bay. I shudder to think what this world would be like had we-or the Soviets-let the atomic genie out of its bottle."

"Equality, perhaps."

"Ah! Here we are." Hochmeister's light picked out a seemingly random scattering of feldspar along the left wall. "As best I could tell, this is the portion nearest the breeding vault. From here," he shifted his light to the right, along the tunnel, "the pipe runs up and away from the vault."

"Your guesses seem very close, Admiral," said L'Wrona. "We'll go with this one."

"Set your blastpak, S'Til."

"N'Tron," called the commando officer. "Blastpak." The corporal hurried forward, shrugging the flat orange pack from his shoulders. Taking it, S'Til knelt and set it against the wall. Unfastened, the top revealed a miniaturized console, complete with screen. The screen glowed green as S'Til pressed a button: entertargetinginstructions, it responded.

"Narrow focus, S'Til," said L'Wrona. "Edge down the blowback-we haven't got much cover."

"You wouldn't know how thick the wall is, would you, Admiral?" asked S'Til, looking up at Hochmeister.

"No idea," he said. "They weren't about to show me blueprints."

"The wall is four-meters thick, Lieutenant," said a voice from beyond the small circle of light.

L'Wrona swung his utility light around. Twenty-four blasters followed the beam.

"Beyond the wall," said Guan-Sharick, stepping forward as the light found him, "is eight meters of granite, honeycombed with breeding chambers." The transmute's eyes glowed red in the beam.

"Admiral Hochmeister," said John, rising from the prone firing position, "Guan-Sharick. Guan-Sharick, Admiral Hochmeister."

"You look just like Shalan-Actal, Guan-Sharick," said the admiral.

"Appearances can be deceiving, can't they, Admiral? Or should I say Colonel?"

"You're well-informed, Guan-Sharick."

"True."

"One more thing, L'Wrona." The transmute looked at the Margrave. "The growth accelerant Shalan-Actal's using in the nutrient cell walls-it's highly volatile. A few well-placed shots and the cavern will torch."

The S'Cotar was gone.

Everyone looked at L'Wrona. "Use the bug's figures.

S'Til," he said after a few seconds. "The rest of you, back off and take cover." Outside, the blizzard roared higher.

"Well, what have we here?" said K'Tran, his breath fogging the tactics scan.

"Incoming ship," said A'Tir, looking over his shoulder. She rubbed her hands, red from the cold, then reached over, making a careful adjustment. More data flowed into the readout. "R'Dal-class dreadnought-latest thing out of the yards."

"He's signaling, Captain," said S'Kal. Still wearing a commander's uniform, the big red-bearded corsair was the only other person on the bridge.

K'Tran stepped to the Engineering station, turning on the bridge lights and bringing the heat up. "Get your jackets off," he ordered, stripping down to his tunic.

"There," he said, sitting back in the command chair, as warm air flowed from the floor vents. "Put him on, S'Kal."

"Commodore D'Trelna?" asked the young captain whose face appeared in the monitor. K'Tran noted the double row of battle ribbons on her tunic.

"No, Captain," he said. "I'm Captain T'Ral. You're our reinforcements?"

"The first part of them. Another dreadnought and two cruisers were jump-scheduled a watch after us."

"And you are?"

"Captain G'Ryn, commanding the R'Dal-class dreadnoughtVictory Day."

"Welcome to the Terran system, Captain," smiled K'Tran. "My first officer says you're authenticated and cleared for insystem."