Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

The star system’s fourth planet was a distant Pluto-like object, of no apparent worth or interest to the present venture.

Even so, if Archangel or its heavy missiles didn’t unduly trouble Maddox—he had been briefed on the monitor and its Laumer-Point guarding mission—the dark beacons littered throughout the inner system most certainly did. One could as easily call the beacons satellites. Even though they orbited the F-class star, the sensor satellites were small, little bigger than Maddox’s flitter. The appellation “dark” meant they were constructed of stealth material, making them difficult to spot. There were over one hundred satellite-beacons orbiting the void between Loki Prime and the other planets on either side of it.

The danger was this: if a beacon registered the Geronimo, and the scout failed to give the correct security clearance, the sensor satellite would activate the nearest drones.

Like the star-orbiting satellites, masses of drones moved around the nuclear fireball. These weren’t heavy drones as Archangel carried, and that was a relief. These were smaller but carried nuclear warheads just the same.

If a beacon’s automated sequences decided the scout was an intruder, it would send a radio signal to the drones nearest the Geronimo . The missiles would thereupon accelerate at their ship, attempting to destroy it.

In essence, the Commonwealth of Planets had turned the majority of the void around Loki Prime into a mobile minefield, constantly searching and seeking to destroy the unwanted.

Still, all those factors—the SWS monitor and the space minefield—didn’t trouble Maddox too much. The Lord High Admiral’s computer disc had explained the exact situation. The real trouble was the extra destroyer on patrol around Loki Prime. The starship and its designation clinched it.

Fifteen hours ago, the lieutenant had turned to Maddox in shock. “Sir, that’s the Saint Petersburg out there.”

A week ago, in the Solar System near Earth, the same destroyer had tried to beam them out of existence. What was it doing here, and maybe as importantly, how had it beaten them to the Loki System?

Maddox had brought up the destroyer’s specs. The warship had two medium laser batteries and fifteen point-defense cannons. Each of those cannons fired bigger shells than the Geronimo’s two guns. The vessel had reflective armor plates, and at a moment’s notice, it could raise a deflector shield. The destroyer had a regular crew of forty-seven officers and ratings. It also happened to be one of the new fast models able to outrun the Geronimo . Unlike the massively round monitor, the destroyer was long like the proverbial cigar-shaped starship. It also contained sensor pods to strengthen its ability to sniff out hidden foes.

The Saint Petersburg could outpace and outfight the scout. First, despite its extra sensor pod, it had to find Geronimo . And that might not be as easy as the destroyer commander believed.

As Maddox sat in the wardroom thinking, he watched an image slaved to the scout’s sensors. The destroyer presently slid behind Loki Prime. The opposing vessel wasn’t in Low Loki Orbit, but it could reach there quickly enough.

Drumming his fingers on the table, Maddox wondered if he should attempt sending a computer virus against the satellite-beacons. Maybe he could capture several, force them to fire drones at the destroyer. Of course, that might alert the Archangel’s commander. Still…

Which of Geronimo’s crew had the knowledge to attempt such a delicate task? If Doctor Dana Rich were aboard, maybe she could try it with a high chance of success. The Commonwealth authorities must have known desperate people trying to free their friends from the prison planet would try something like that someday. There would be rigorous safety precautions and security clearances to overcome.

Maddox shook his head. Trying to capture satellite-beacons through computer viruses would likely backfire on them. He had to slip onto the planet and sneak away with his volunteers. He had to do that while Saint Petersburg patrolled the area.

The destroyer’s officers and crew must believe they were doing their duty. It was the orders from above that would be suspect. The New Men must have infiltrated someone into Star Watch High Command.

How do we defeat an enemy with better ships and a superior intelligence service? What’s their weakness?

If they were still human, they had weaknesses, right?

An intercom buzzed. Valerie spoke through it. “Captain, if you could come to the bridge please.”

Maddox headed there. The lieutenant liked to refer to the control room as the bridge. She was pure navy.

Entering the chamber, Maddox asked, “What seems to be the problem, Lieutenant?”

“Sir,” she said. “It’s time to make a course correction. Saint Petersburg is behind Loki Prime, and we’re soon exiting our optimum time of opportunity.”

She meant their velocity and heading. It was easier in terms of fuel and likelihood of remaining hidden to make corrections out here rather than when they were close to the planet. It would take them longer to reach Loki Prime if they braked now, but that couldn’t be helped.

“Ensign?” asked Maddox. “Are you ready?”

“Do you really think this will work?” Keith asked.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Maddox said. “Engage.”

Keith glanced at Valerie before he turned on the special system. Instead of braking normally with fusion-generated thrust, he turned on the stealth system, dumping gravity waves.

The vessel shook, enough so Maddox grabbed his instrument panel. The others did likewise. A strained sound came from the engine room, where the massive gravity generator worked.

“How much longer are we going to do this?” Keith asked. “It’s shaking our scout apart.”

“Thirty seconds longer,” Valerie answered, studying her board.

The shaking worsened and so did the noise.

“I don’t know how this will fool anyone out there?” Keith shouted.

“Steady as she goes,” Maddox said, even as his body trembled from the ship-wide vibration.

“Get ready to shut down the stealth propulsion system,” Valerie said. “Three, two, one… shut it down.”

Keith tapped the controls. The shaking quit and the noise rapidly dwindled to normal. The pilot looked up with a grin on his face. “Nothing to it,” he said.

A light flashed on Valerie’s board. She studied it, tapped some controls and swallowed uneasily. “A beacon noticed us, sir,” she said.

“Is it demanding our security clearance?” Maddox asked.

“Yes,” she said, looking up troubled. “What do I do, sir?”

“Give it our code,” Maddox said. “Let’s find out if the Saint Petersburg had the authorization to change the Loki security systems.”

“Begging your pardon, sir,” Valerie said, “but you might want to reconsider that. Even if we pass the security clearance, the beacon will alert Archangel . That’s standard operating procedure.”

“I see,” Maddox said. That hadn’t been on the Lord High Admiral’s disc. Maybe Cook believed he would have already known such a thing. He hadn’t. Maybe a rules stickler had her uses.

Valerie glanced at her board. “The beacon is demanding recognition clearance now, sir. It will alert Archangel any moment.”

“Answer it,” Maddox snapped. “Give it our clearance. Then type in SSA-452-B75-Alpha afterward.”

“What is that, sir?” she asked, as she tapped in the information required by the beacon.

“I’d hoped to only have to use that last code on the orbitals,” Maddox said. “It’s a Star Watch Intelligence clearance, demanding a three day delay on procedures.”