Stars & Empire 2: 10 More Galactic Tales (Stars & Empire Box Set Collection) Read online

  “Hard to believe there are so many,” Greg replied with a nod. Jason and he had spent over four weeks alone on the Moon after their lunar lander had crashed. It was something Greg hoped he would never experience again.

  The two walked down the ramp and came to a stop, looking over at the second shuttle. Several technicians had two panels open on the side of the shuttle and were peering inside. One of the men seemed to be making adjustments or repairs to something.

  “I hope they know what they’re doing,” muttered Greg, shaking his head with his eyes focused on the technicians. “The Federation’s technology is a lot further along than ours.”

  “I’m sure Ariel’s helping them,” Jason reassured Greg. “Let’s get to the conference room and see what’s been going on since we left.”

  They passed through the double airlock and started down the short corridor, passing through the hatch. As they walked through the ship, one of the first things they noticed was that all the lights were on. Evidently, all the broken ones had been replaced. Even more surprising was that all the wreckage had been cleared from the corridors. In several areas, large metal patches had been welded into place to strengthen the walls.

  “They’ve done a lot of work up here,” Greg noted as they passed several technicians carrying tools and other equipment. “From inside here it’s hard to believe we’re in a crashed spaceship.”

  “If not for the outside, you wouldn’t know this ship is a wreck,” agreed Jason as they stepped through another hatch. This section of the Avenger had survived relatively intact.

  A few minutes later, they reached the conference room and after knocking, went inside. Colonel Greene, Lisa Gordon, Adam Simmins, and another man and woman they weren't familiar with were sitting at the long conference table.

  “Commander Strong and Greg; it’s good to see you again,” spoke Colonel Greene, standing up and walking over to greet the two men. He shook both of their hands before continuing. “I think you know everyone except Karl Stern and Andrea Oleson. Karl is a physicist and has several other science degrees. Andrea is a doctor and highly familiar with most of the strains of flu that have existed in recent years, including the Spanish Flu.”

  “Hello, Commander Strong,” a pleasant feminine voice spoke from the front of the conference room. “Nice to see you again, Greg. I’m excited that you agreed to come with Commander Strong on this mission.”

  Looking up, Jason saw a large viewscreen with an image of Ariel dressed in her dark blue uniform. “Hello, Ariel.”

  The dark haired girl on the screen nodded and smiled. Her dark eyes showed her pleasure at Jason and Greg being in the conference room.

  “If everyone will take a seat, I will go over what we know and what we hope to accomplish with this mission,” Colonel Greene said.

  Jason and Greg sat down and turned to face the colonel. They were both curious to hear what he was going to say. General Adamson and Tom Hays had both been a little evasive when asked specific questions about the mission. Both had said that Colonel Greene would brief them on what they hoped to accomplish if they could find and get into the Federation base on Ceres.

  “As you have been told, it seems that the humans that fled to our Solar System after the destruction of the Human Federation of Worlds realized they couldn’t colonize Earth.”

  “Because of the flu,” Greg said, recalling what Ariel had told them weeks back. “Their civilian ships became infected with it.”

  “We don’t think all of them were,” Doctor Oleson spoke with a serious look upon her face. She was thirty-four years old and had made medicine and the study of diseases her life. “They made an attempt to contain it to a few ships.” Doctor Oleson looked over at Lisa.

  “From what we have been able to learn from Ariel there was a concentrated attempt to contain it on the civilian ships,” Lisa continued. She had talked to Ariel considerably about this, trying to find out what had happened. “Once the doctors realized they couldn’t stop the spread of the disease, they made a drastic decision. All the infected colonists were moved to a few ships and placed in quarantine. The doctors and scientists that remained in the fleet did everything they could to disinfect their remaining ships to stop the spread of the deadly disease.”

  “It was the only thing they could do,” Doctor Oleson explained. “They had no immunity at all. The flu would run its course in less than 48 hours, usually resulting in death. The doctors in the fleet just didn’t have the necessary facilities or the time to create an effective serum. They felt a strict quarantine was their only option.”

  “So some of the colonists as well as their military personnel may have survived?” asked Jason, thinking about the ramifications. “Do we have any idea how many?”

  “No,” replied Colonel Greene, shaking his head sadly. “We think many probably died. Their attempt to disinfect their ships probably failed in some cases. Andrea believes that as many as sixty percent of the civilians may have died before they managed to control the spread of the disease.”

  “That still leaves nearly 16,000 survivors out of their civilian population, plus their military,” spoke Jason, recalling how many had been in the civilian refugee fleet. “Do we have any idea how many were in their military ships?”

  Colonel Greene was silent for a moment. “Commander, how big do you think the Avenger was before the accident?”

  Jason looked confused and then he answered. “The surviving section is about 400 feet long and 200 feet wide. I guess if you add the damaged section and the wreckage in the crater floor the ship might have been about 500 or 600 feet long.” Jason noticed Ariel smiling, and Colonel Greene was shaking his head.

  “You’re not even close,” Greene responded. He turned to Ariel and said. “Will you tell Commander Strong and Greg what the specifications are for a Human Federation of World’s light cruiser?”

  “A fully intact light cruiser would measure 600 meters in length, 150 meters wide, and 150 meters thick. It would have a crew of five hundred with an additional complement of seventy-five marines. The ship would be equipped with over eighty weapon emplacements and two Shrike missile pods. It would also be equipped with two medium bow laser batteries.”

  “Lasers,” Greg said his eyes lighting up. This was what he had been wanting to find out. “Can I see the lasers?”

  “They were destroyed in the crash,” explained Colonel Greene, shaking his head. “Nearly fifty feet of the bow of the ship is imbedded in the crater wall. The other weapons Ariel is talking about are kinetic energy weapons. The ship’s weapons are capable of firing large armor piercing rounds at extremely high speeds. This is far greater than anything we have ever been able to achieve. We’re still looking at their missile capability. Unfortunately, most of the missiles were destroyed in the crash. We only have a few heavily damaged ones to inspect.”

  “This ship was nearly 2,000 feet in length,” Jason spoke, astonished at the thought. “Where’s the rest of it? I don’t think even the wreckage out in the crater will account for that much.”

  “We’re still searching,” Colonel Greene replied. “It could be anywhere on the Moon’s surface. After the explosion in Engineering, many of Ariel’s sensors went off line. Commander Standel managed to get some of the ship’s maneuvering thrusters working and tried to bring the ship down for a landing, but the thrusters weren’t powerful enough. The Avenger crashed, and most of the remaining crew were killed.”

  “Commander Standel,” repeated Jason, recalling the mummified body they had found in the room next to the Command Center. “Was that the body we found?”

  “Yes,” Ariel replied sadly, with obvious pain in her voice. “He was a good commander. The Fleet Admiral thought very highly of him.”

  “Ariel believes that the Avenger broke apart as it came down,” Lisa continued. “The added stress from the maneuvering thrusters plus the damage already done to the Engineering section caused the ship to break in two. The rocket engine you found in the crater is part of the
maneuvering system, not the actual drive system for the ship. The ship broke apart just behind the flight bay. All of Engineering, the sublight drive, and the FTL core are gone.”

  Jason and Greg just looked at each other. If a Federation light cruiser was 2,000 feet long, how big were the first line jobs?

  “So what do you want us to do at Ceres?” asked Jason, looking over at Colonel Greene. “Ceres is a pretty large asteroid. It’s nearly 590 miles in diameter. It might not be that easy to find the base, especially if it’s concealed.”

  “I don’t believe that will be a problem,” Ariel spoke her dark eyes focusing on Jason. “I will furnish you with the Avenger’s identification codes. I believe that if we broadcast them at Ceres, once you go into orbit the base will make itself known.”

  “If the base is actually there,” Greg spoke with a frown. “If there is no response, we may not be able to find it.”

  “Assuming we find the base and can get inside, then what?” Jason asked. “What will we be looking for?”

  “We don’t believe there are any survivors currently alive on Ceres,” Colonel Greene spoke. “I wish there were; they could teach us so much. I firmly believe if there were survivors there would be some sign.”

  “Have you tried contacting them?” Greg asked. Turning his head to look at Ariel, Greg continued. “Don’t you have some way to contact the base now that you have power?”

  “I have been trying,” confessed Ariel, looking slightly guilty.

  “You have?” spoke Colonel Greene, looking stunned. “I thought you agreed not to do anything without first consulting with me.”

  “I am truly sorry, Colonel,” Ariel replied her eyes taking on a trapped look. “But there are commands buried deep within my program, which demand that I attempt to contact the nearest Human Federation of World’s base. That would be Ceres. I have been trying for over three weeks, and there has been no reply to any of my hails. I don’t believe there are any survivors on Ceres.” The expression of anguish and sadness on her face said more than mere words possibly could.

  Jason understood her sorrow. She was the last survivor of the Human Federation of Worlds. It was times like this that Ariel seemed almost human.

  “She has to comply,” Lisa broke in, seeing that the colonel was getting angry. “She is only obeying her orders, just as you are.”

  Colonel Greene took a deep, calming breath and then nodded his head. “Very well, I guess I can understand. Ariel, since they’re not replying, can you stop broadcasting?”

  “Yes, Colonel Greene,” Ariel replied in a softer voice. “In the absence of direct orders from the nearest base, my program is authorized to recognize another human as my commander. It is something I should have already done.”

  “Then do so,” ordered Colonel Greene expecting Ariel to name him since he was the highest-ranking military officer present.

  Ariel closed her eyes briefly and then opened them. “It is done. Commander Jason Strong is now my new commander.”

  “What!” Colonel Greene spoke in a stunned voice, his eyes widening in confusion. This was not what he had wanted or expected to hear. “Why Commander Strong?”

  “I trust Commander Strong. He meets all the criteria to be my new commander, even though the Avenger will never leave this moon. Commander Strong may state who his second in command will be.”

  Jason looked around the room. He didn’t know what to say.

  “You need to be careful, Jason,” Lisa whispered quietly, leaning over toward him. “I don’t know what Ariel would do if you declined. Tell her you accept and then name Colonel Greene as your executive officer. That should get us by for now until I can speak in more detail with Ariel later.”

  “I accept,” spoke Jason, standing up and facing Ariel. “Colonel Greene will be promoted to the position of executive officer. During my absence, you will obey all of his orders.”

  Colonel Greene rose and looking over at Lisa, turned to face Ariel. He had overheard what Lisa had told Jason. “I accept the position of executive officer of the Avenger.” He didn’t see what other choice he had.

  “Commander Strong’s recommendation has been noted and recorded,” Ariel replied.

  “Now, since that’s settled, let’s finish our briefing,” said Jason, sitting back down and looking over at Colonel Green. He still felt strange about taking over as commander of a crashed warship. “What do we do if we get inside the base?”

  “We want to see if any of their warships are still intact,” Greene responded in a serious tone. “We have one in particular we want you to look for. It’s the light cruiser Vindication.”

  “Why the Vindication?” Greg asked. “What’s so special about it?”

  He still couldn’t believe that Ariel had promoted Jason over Colonel Greene. This day was full of surprises. The AI had them over a barrel. He knew they couldn’t object. They needed the AI and the technical information she had in her memory banks.

  “It’s actually quite simple,” responded Colonel Greene, cocking his eyebrow. “The Vindication has an AI named Clarissa on board. We want you to activate her and then if it’s feasible, bring the Vindication back to the Moon.”

  “What!” Greg stammered his eyes growing wide in disbelief. “You want us to fly a 2,000 foot warship back to the Moon?”

  “There will only be eight of us,” Jason reminded the colonel. “I don’t believe eight people are enough to do that. Just manning the Command Center would take a larger group, not to mention Engineering and the other essential sections of the ship.”

  “It should be possible if Clarissa is still sentient,” Ariel replied with hope in her voice as she took over the conversation. “I will give you the command codes, which will clear you with her security systems. Clarissa, once she is brought back to full operational status, will be able to ascertain if the Vindication is capable of making the flight back to the Moon. With the absence of her crew, Clarissa is capable of flying the ship and operating all of the Vindication’s systems on her own. You will just be passengers enjoying the ride.”

  Jason shook his head in disbelief. He couldn’t believe what they were asking him and Greg to do. He leaned back and closed his eyes. This mission had just gotten a lot more complicated. He wondered what was next.

  -

  Jason was walking down a corridor searching for Greg. Lisa had told him that Greg had gone off to inspect the ship’s railguns. This didn’t surprise Jason at all. He knew how curious Greg was about the Avenger’s armaments. Ariel had finally agreed to give them access to the weapon systems several weeks previously. Several experts had already flown up from Earth to begin examining the advanced weapons the ship was equipped with.

  After talking to several technicians, who were working in this section of the ship, they indicated which direction Greg had gone. After a few more minutes of searching, Jason found an open hatch that led to one of the railgun turrets. Stepping inside, he found himself in a small room. Greg was hovering over what looked like a large, double-barreled cannon that occupied much of the space.

  “So that’s a railgun,” commented Jason, walking over to stand next to Greg and eyeing the railgun.

  “Jason,” Greg responded with a big grin. “Look what I found!”

  Jason could tell that Greg was genuinely excited at getting to examine this advanced weapon of the Federation. “We have those down on Earth,” Jason said. He had been fortunate to see several railgun demonstrations a few years earlier.

  “Not like these,” replied Greg, running his hand along one of the large barrels of the railgun. “I measured this thing and it’s capable of hurling 60mm projectiles. From what Ariel told me, these were used to destroy inbound missiles and enemy fighters. The ship was originally equipped with forty-eight of these twin railgun turrets.”

  “That’s not a very big round,” Jason responded as he looked closer at the railgun. He had expected something much larger and more destructive. He noticed the railgun was on a platform that could
be extended until the turret projected from the hull of the ship.

  “Big enough,” responded Greg, stepping back and looking down the length of one of the barrels. He had measured it earlier, and it was slightly over ten feet long. “Ariel said these were called defensive turrets and could fire five rounds every second. Since they’re double cannons, that’s ten rounds a second or six hundred rounds per minute. At the speed the rounds are fired that’s a lot of punishing power. Enough to destroy an inbound missile or a fighter.”

  Jason nodded; he could well understand how useful these defensive turrets could be in a battle. They could protect the ship from incoming missiles and attacking fighters while the big guns concentrated on their main targets.

  “Have you looked at any of the big turrets?” Jason asked, curiously. He knew the Avenger had a number of much larger railguns.

  Greg grinned like a kid who had just gotten his first puppy. “Just down the corridor and up one flight of stairs is a larger one. It’s a secondary offensive railgun. It’s four times the size of this one. If you want to see something truly amazing, there is an access hatch open to one of the upper hull primary railgun batteries. That thing can fire a shell nearly a meter in diameter. Whoever designed these ships obviously knew what they were doing.”

  “Perhaps,” Jason replied with a worried frown crossing his face. “But they lost to the Hocklyns. Evidently the weapons of the Federation weren’t powerful enough to save them from defeat.”

  Greg was silent for a moment as he mulled that over, then he responded. “We have 268 years before they reach us. Maybe by then our weapons will be better.”

  “I guess all that depends on what we find on Ceres. If there are intact ships inside the asteroid, it could save us years of research. Even with Ariel’s help, it’s going to be a bitch to build a ship like the Avenger.”

  Greg nodded. He looked back at the twin railgun. It was a masterful piece of equipment and engineering. Perhaps sometime in the future, his son would fly in a ship such as this. Greg let out a deep breath. It was just dawning on him how important this mission was.