Beyond the Shroud of the Universe (26 page)

“System entry,” Steropes said. “Passive systems only coming online.”

Even Steropes’ voice sounded muted, thought Captain Sheppard. “Roger,” the CO said. “Stealth up when able. Jump to the Jinn Universe when able.”

“Stealthing…now,” the duty engineer replied. “Making the jump…now.”

“System entry into the Jinn Universe,” Steropes said. “Still using only passive systems.”

“Stealth coming on,” the duty engineer said.

“Well, what do you think?” Captain Sheppard asked, unable to contain himself. “Did we make it through without them noticing?”

“Unknown,” Steropes said. “There was nothing by the stargate that would have picked us up, but I cannot say for sure.”

“Did you pick up anything that might help us figure out what’s going on there?”

“I’m still analyzing the data, sir, but it doesn’t appear any Jotunn ships, or those of their ally, were in orbit around Golirion or are here in the Jinn Universe. There were a number of Aesir ships near the stargate to Jotunn space, including at least one super dreadnought; their focus appeared to be in that direction. They were stationary, though; the ships were definitely
not
in combat.”

Captain Sheppard could hear a collective release of breath around the bridge, and the tension eased noticeably. “So, whatever it is Nightsong has planned, it hasn’t started yet.”

“No sir,” Steropes replied; “it doesn’t appear it has,”

“Want me to jump back to the other universe, sir?” the helmsman asked.

“Contact!” the DSO called. “I’ve got engine harmonics, and lots of them, from in-system.”

“Can you identify them?” Captain Sheppard asked.

“No sir, I can’t,” the DSO replied. “They look like engines, but they aren’t in the database, nor are they like anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“Solomon, are you seeing them?” the CO asked the ship’s AI.

“Yes, I see what the DSO is looking at, and I agree they are probably engine harmonics, but they are dissimilar to all known systems.”

“Any ideas, Steropes?” the CO asked.

“Long range photos coming in now on the front screen,” Steropes answered. “This picture is from the vicinity of the asteroid belt between the second and third planets.”

The front screen lit up to show a fuzzy image of the asteroid belt. Although the belt was “dense” by astronomical standards, with over 1,000 asteroids larger than 100 miles wide, and over 200,000 larger than half a mile wide, the average distance between asteroids in the main belt was still over several thousand miles. While the small scale image showed the belt as somewhat of a smear, the larger scale photos only showed a single asteroid. As the image focused in, Captain Sheppard could tell the asteroid in question was different than the rest.

“Steropes, is that asteroid…brighter…than normal?”

“Yes sir, it is,” the Psiclops replied. “I believe we are seeing a number of motors from behind.”

“So, there are unknown ships operating in the asteroid belt?”

“We are too far away to tell for sure,” Steropes said, “but I believe the ships are attached to an asteroid.”

“Attached to an asteroid?” the CO asked. “Why would they do that?”

“Initial analysis indicates the ships, if they are indeed ships, are pushing the asteroid in the direction of the third planet.”

“Are they trying to hit the planet with it?”

“It is too early to tell,” Steropes replied. “We will need to get closer and gather more data.”

“Helmsman, all ahead full,” the CO ordered. “Let’s find out what’s going on here.”

“Although we are still too far out to be sure,” Steropes said, “and a little variation in power could make a big difference, it appears the Jotunn’s ally is accelerating the asteroid toward an impact with the third planet in this system. By the time the asteroid gets there, it will be going at a significant velocity, and the damage will be substantial.”

“What do you mean by, ‘substantial?’” the CO asked.

“Are you familiar with the Chicxulub asteroid?”

“Isn’t that what killed off the dinosaurs on Terra?”

“Yes it is,” Steropes replied. “An asteroid hit the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico 66 million years ago, leaving a crater nearly 110 miles in diameter. The impact led to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs as well as a majority of the world’s Mesozoic species. Not only did it devastate a huge region in the area of impact, it also cast up a poisonous dust cloud that blocked the sunlight for some time, probably years. The lack of sunlight killed the plants, which in turn starved the dinosaurs.”

“How big an asteroid are we talking about?” the
Gulf’s
XO asked.

“It is estimated the asteroid that hit Terra was about six miles in diameter,” Steropes replied. “The impact of such a blow would have released the energy equivalent of 100 trillion tons of TNT. The asteroid you can see on the screen is over 10 miles in diameter, almost twice the size of the one that hit Terra; when this one hits, it will be devastating.”

“I know what they’re doing,” Calvin said.

“Oh?” Captain Sheppard asked. “What is that?”

“The Jotunn said they had initiated Ragnarok, right? If you remember, Nightsong said that, in addition to a major battle and some other natural disasters, Ragnarok ended in the submersion of their world in water. At some point in its travel, the ally must intend to jump the asteroid into our universe so they can hit Asgard with it, causing tsunamis that will fulfill the Jotunn’s prophecy of submerging the planet.”

“And this is their Ragnarok?” Captain Sheppard asked.

“Yes sir,” Calvin replied. “I looked it up, and the prophecy is fairly specific on some of the events. The sun becomes black while the earth sinks into the sea, the stars are supposed to vanish and flames touch the heavens. If an asteroid hit the planet like we’re talking about, it would bring about all of these events.”

“Okay, I understand the Jotunn want to get Asgard back from the Aesir,” Captain Sheppard said, “and they probably intend to wipe out the Aesir as part of their plans, but why would they bother with running the asteroid into Asgard? Just to make it look like some ancient prophecy is coming true? Why bother? Wouldn’t it make more sense if they jumped it into our system and slammed it into Golirion, killing all of the Aesir?”

“If I may answer that,” Steropes said, “hitting Asgard with the asteroid is very much in line with their racial psyches. The Jotunn believe in doing what they say and in fulfilling promises. If they were somehow able to destroy the Aesir, but Asgard was never destroyed by water, their prophecy would remain unfulfilled and their racial destiny would seem somehow incomplete; they would never have their ‘happily ever after.’ If they are able to pull this off, then all of the Jotunn will believe the prophecy was right all along, and their destiny is complete.”

“
And
, if the end of the prophecy is near,” Calvin said, “that means the Jotunn must be expecting to initiate the final battle the prophecy talks about too. That battle was supposed to result in the death of a number of major figures on both sides, so they must be planning to have it here, and have it soon.”

“That also makes sense,” Steropes agreed.

“I guess the main question I have,” Captain Sheppard said, “is, ‘Do we really care?’ If the Jotunn’s ally jumps this asteroid into our universe and hits Asgard with it, what damage will it cause on Golirion? Do we care about what they’re doing enough to stop them?”

“In most cases, sir, no we would not,” Steropes replied; “however, I believe the Jotunn’s ally has made a mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, sir, it has been noted on several occasions that time in this universe runs a little differently than in ours. While we always end up in the same place when we jump back and forth, it has been noted that the inhabitants have changed slightly. I do not believe our enemy has taken this into consideration. Depending on when they jump the asteroid into our universe, there is a good chance that Golirion will not have cleared the area of space they intend for the asteroid to travel through in its journey to Asgard.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think what Steropes is trying to say, sir,” Calvin interrupted, “is that the Jotunn’s enemy fucked up; they’re going to hit Golirion with the asteroid rather than Asgard.”

“I believe they will,” Steropes agreed, “and that collision will most likely end all life on Golirion.”

Thor’s Chambers, Golirion,
HD 69830 System, November 8, 2021

Captain Nightsong shook his head. “I’m sorry, my Thor,” he said, “but I do not believe the Terrans will be able to provide any assistance in our fight against the Jotunn.”

“That is unfortunate,” Calanon Aldaenon, who ruled the Aesir as ‘Thor,’ replied. “Our time to prepare is running out. The Jotunn have already broken through our blockade in Gliese 221.”

“What was accomplished while I was gone?” Captain Nightsong asked.

“We have recalled the fleet and brought our other battle station to this system; however, I do not know whether it will be enough to halt their advance.”

“I have fought the Jotunn’s new ally, and I am similarly unsure,” Captain Nightsong said, looking and sounding grim. He looked up and met the Thor’s eyes. “How sure are you that everything is in readiness aboard the battle station?”

“The Tyr has given me his assurance that all is in readiness.”

“But you haven’t been to the station to check on everything yourself?”

“No I haven’t,” the Thor replied. “Do you think it necessary?”

“I think a trip to the battle station would be extremely valuable for a couple of reasons. First, you would get to see the status of the station for yourself so you can confirm that all is in readiness. It will also let the troops see you, giving them inspiration for the battle to come. Who knows? That might be the difference between victory and defeat.”

“You think so?”

“I know so, my Thor. If I were you, I would go as soon as possible, too. I don’t think we have a minute to lose. If there is anything that needs to be fixed, we must do it
now
.”

“I can confirm they are going to hit Golirion instead of Asgard,” Steropes announced. “If they had jumped the asteroid into our universe before now, they might have missed the moon, but now I believe the moon will be impossible to miss. If they are allowed to proceed, it is likely Golirion will be destroyed.”

“We have to stop them,” Calvin said.

“I realize that,” Captain Sheppard said. “Steropes, what are we up against?”

“Almost everything on the asteroid appears to be automated,” Steropes said. “The enemy has mounted four large engines to the asteroid, which are being used to push it. There are also at least 30 other metallic items attached, which are spread out uniformly across its surface.”

“Do we know what those are?” Captain Sheppard asked.

“I believe so,” Steropes replied. “Those appear to be jump modules, confirming Lieutenant Commander Hobb’s guess that the enemy plans to jump the asteroid into our universe.”

“So, we just need to destroy the jump modules, and then we won’t have to worry about the asteroid, correct?” Captain Sheppard asked. “The asteroid will stay in this system and crash into the third planet or its moon here.”

“We could do that,” Steropes said; “however, there are two problems with that proposal. The first is that there appears to be intelligent life on the moon. The second is that there is a destroyer-sized ship flying in concert with the asteroid. I imagine if we attack the asteroid, the ship will defend it.”

“Those are two big problems.”

“Yes sir, they are.”

“Who are the people that live on anti-Golirion?” Lieutenant O’Leary asked. “Are they our new enemy?”

“Unfortunately, they are not,” Steropes said. “The society is pre-industrial, but they are definitely intelligent.”

“So letting the asteroid hit anti-Golirion is out,” the CO said. “Tell me about the ship.”

“The ship is similar in size to the time bomb-armed destroyer we previously fought, and its engines appear to function similarly, but it has some other projections the first ship didn’t have, and its hull is shaped slightly differently. It is either a modified version of the one we fought before, or an entirely different class of ship altogether.”

“Any idea on its capabilities?” Calvin asked.

“Unknown,” Steropes replied. “I imagine it will have a similar armament to the other version we saw, but I don’t know enough about the new race to say that for sure. There do appear to be more hatches on the side of this ship, but I won’t know whether they are torpedo launch tubes, lasers, or something else until they use them.”

“All things considered, I’d rather
not
let them use them,” the CO said.

“Not only that,” Calvin said, “but once we come out of stealth, they may jump into our universe to flee, and we will have to follow them to destroy them. I don’t want to get tied up with fighting the ship and lose track of the asteroid. It may already be pre-programmed to jump into our universe at a certain time or place. We need to take the enemy ship by surprise, and we need to do it soon.”

“Unfortunately, most of our weapons ports are covered by the stealth modules,” Captain Sheppard said. “We may not be able to take it out with the first salvo, or even damage it enough to prevent it from jumping.”

“How about this?” Calvin said. “What if we take a stealthed shuttle over to the enemy ship and plant some explosives on it? We could get back on the shuttle, remotely detonate the explosives and then we don’t have to worry about the enemy ship any more. Then, we just shoot a couple of the engines on the asteroid and let the others push it away from anti-Golirion. I’m sure Steropes and Solomon can figure out which engines to destroy.”

“Actually sir, I kind of like that,” Lieutenant O’Leary said. “We used to train for missions like that when I was a SEAL. Swim up to an enemy ship, plant explosives on it and detonate them once we were clear. I think we could do that to the enemy ship, especially if we aren’t planning on doing anything else…like trying to capture it or something crazy like that.”

“No, I’ve had my fill of capturing enemy ships,” Calvin replied. “I’d be happy to just blow this one up and go find out what Nightsong is up to. He’s already had more time to set his plans in motion than I wanted to give him.”

Bridge, Aesir Battle Station
Heimdall
,
HD 69830 System, November 9, 2021

“Everything that can be done has been done, my Thor,” Fleet Grand Admiral Aglarion said. Also known as ‘Tyr,’ Fleet Grand Admiral Aglarion was responsible for the Aesir military. “All is in readiness here aboard the battle station, the stargate is as heavily mined as we can make it and all of the ships that could be reached in time have come back to defend the system.” He shrugged. “We have done everything possible,” he repeated. “Do you have any questions?”

“Thank you for the tour of the battle station,” the Thor replied. “I only have one question. Everything you have done…will it be enough?”

“Honestly?” the Tyr asked. “I do not know. Their ally’s ships have proven tremendously difficult to defeat. We know Captain Caelerian destroyed one in the Battle of Gliese 221, so they can be beaten…but it is difficult. The odds are not good if we have to fight ships of both the Jotunn and their ally at the same time. If we can contain them to the area around the stargate, we may have a chance. If they get free into the system, it is unlikely we will be victorious.”

“Then you should contain them here at the stargate,” the Thor said.

“That is my intention,” the Tyr replied; “however, enemies rarely do what we want them to.”

“Stargate emergence!” one of the sensor technicians called. “
Jotunn battlecruiser!
”

“I am sorry, my Thor, but there is no time to get you back to Golirion,” the Tyr said. He stood a little straighter. “It begins.” He turned to the communications officer. “Alert the fleet,” he ordered. “Tell them to implement Plan Gjallarhorn.”