First Contact (Galactic Axia Adventure) (12 page)

“When we get an answer, will we notify the government?” asked one of the younger members. Garret noted that the word had been ‘when’ not ‘if’.

“Obviously, we’ll have to,” Garret answered. “It’s going to involve them eventually.”

“Then why not inform them now?”

“Because they would immediately suppress our efforts,” Garret answered. “We are fairly certain that the government would stop any deliberate attempts to transmit signals off planet. They would fear attracting any attention that might prove malevolent against Maranar.”

“But we’ve got proof that someone is out there and that they already know about our planet!” the woman exclaimed.

“We’ve already considered the ramifications if knowledge were to leak out among the general public that we’re not alone in the universe,” Garret lectured. “And you know how difficult it is for the government to keep a secret. If they know, someone will leak the information sooner or later.” The group fell silent while these words struck a chord.

“So what will we do?” the woman finally asked.

“When we get an answer, we will continue as before,” Garret replied. “After dialogue is established, we’ll have a better understanding of what we’re facing out there. Then we’ll be able to approach the government with accurate information rather than mere speculation.”

Again the scientists became quiet. “So we’re in agreement to proceed?” he asked after a few seconds. One by one the members of the small group nodded. There was no dissent.

“Let it be recorded then that the decision to actively start transmitting was unanimous. The die is cast.”

At a nod from Dr. Garret, Oren activated the transmitter. At speeds they thought impossible only weeks ago, the call went up to their jury-rigged antenna and leapt out into space. Traveling between the stars, it called out for someone to answer.

∞∞∞

The sleek patroller hung in empty space. The nearest stars were but miniscule pinpricks in the inky blackness. Since the ship was painted a deep black, it could be lost against the dark void. At least that was the feeling the captain of patroller AR-237 had at that particular moment.

The work on the advanced ranges had both challenged and frustrated Delmar. He enjoyed the challenge that stretched both him and his new ship. What he didn’t like was the way it could get him into trouble. And right now that was the exact situation he was in.

During the last leg of a solo navigational course, Delmar had made one minor error—he twitched. Normally, it wouldn’t have caused much difficulty, especially with one of the regular old trainers. But with the speeds his new ship was capable of, even the slightest mistake could multiply into an enormous problem. Working at the maximum speed his sensors could handle, Delmar’s right hand had twitched from fatigue and advanced the throttle deep into the red arc. When he stopped, he found he was nowhere near anything remotely familiar to him. He would normally just reverse course and backtrack until he regained the course markers. But the twitch also caused him to spin the axis ball, sending him off on a spiraling vector into open space.

“Ok, Eagleman,” he said to himself, “unravel this knot one piece at a time.”

First he performed a long-range sweep, hoping to either find a range marker or even one of the buoys out along normal trade routes between systems. No luck. He briefly considered calling for help but was too embarrassed to do that just yet. This problem had a solution. He just had to find it.

A thought struck him:
The ship was flying in a straight line when I shut down
. Checking the flight recorder confirmed this.
Even if it doesn’t lead directly to the range, it’ll be a lot closer where my sensors can maybe snag something.

Delmar carefully reversed course and accelerated back the way he’d come. Not wanting to overrun his sensors or a navigational buoy, he kept his ship at about half of the speed he’d used earlier. Suddenly, an alarm sounded on his navigation board. A quick glance at the sensor screen made Delmar’s heart stick in his throat. There, plain as day, was the unmistakable trace of a Red-tail ship.

∞∞∞

The Axia ships forming the entrapment globe were signaled to advance to their forward positions. The time for stealth had come to an end. Commander Tess watched the globe of ships begin to shrink as the vessels drew closer together. She saw the sudden flare of battle where a squadron of Axia ships came into contact with Red-tails. It was much earlier than she had anticipated, and the element of surprise was now irreversibly lost. The trap wasn’t quite tight enough but it would have to do.

“Order all ships to engage at will,” Tess said as she turned to the comm officer. “Advise those fast picket ships that things are heating up early, so watch for any Red-tails trying to flee.”

“Yes ma’am,” the comm operator said and turned to the task. Commander Tess turned back to the holographic display and watched the opening moments of the battle. Although it only appeared as twinkling and flashing lights here on the display, out in space, men and women were engaged in fierce combat fighting for their very lives. Even while she watched, Commander Tess saw a green light flicker out as an Axia ship and its human crew died.

Chapter Eight

Delmar found himself drenched in a cold sweat. This was definitely unexpected! He double-checked the signal on his sensor system—confirmed. Furiously, Delmar considered his options.

First he was essentially lost an unknown distance from help. Secondly, he was facing an enemy ship on what should have been a simple training exercise. And finally, he was alone. This was not good. Flashback images of fighting Red-tails on another training exercise that saw friends burned down alive briefly clouded Delmar’s consciousness. He cleared his mind and felt the odd, crystal-clear detachment veterans often reported after the danger was over.

His mind now clear and focused, Delmar reviewed what he’d been taught about ship-to-ship battle engagements. He’d been drilled in trainers for hours going through simulated combat to engrain the necessary skills of survival. Later, after receiving his own ship, he was again forced through the paces both on the range and practicing against the other FAR ships. But this was no exercise. In practice the worst that could happen would be a failing grade. Out here he could get himself killed!

“Ok, Eagleman!” Delmar growled to himself. “Get a grip! You need to make a decision and make it now!”

A glance at his displays informed Delmar that his weapon systems were at full ready. Using his sensor system, he tried to squeeze all the information he could from a single but firm sensor contact. Beyond the fact that a Red-tail ship was out there, the data gathered in that one sensor sweep was woefully inadequate in Delmar’s thinking. Sending a second scanner sweep would certainly advertise his presence if the Red-tail hadn’t already spotted him. The sensor system extrapolated that the ship was likely a mid-size scout. That would give the Red-tail a firepower advantage compared to a regular Axia patroller. Delmar swallowed hard. And then it hit him – the
Cabbage Patch
is no regular Axia patroller!

With reinforced resolve, Delmar reconsidered the situation. He remembered his passive sensor system and activated it rather than using a usual long-range sweep. Almost instantly, the answer appeared on his monitor—the Red-tail had continued on its original flight vector. This gave Delmar hope that so far the enemy hadn’t detected his presence. The advantage of surprise was not something to be lightly thrown away.

Then another thought occurred to him—
what was a Red-tail doing out here?
This was normally empty space which was part of the reason it was used as a training range for the flight school. There was less chance of accidentally tangling in regular shipping lanes or unexpectedly meeting the enemy. Coming to a decision, Delmar decided to first gather as much information as possible before engaging the enemy. After all, a burned hulk would tell them little as to why this Red-tail was traversing this region.

Delmar eased his throttle forward, shadowing the Red-tail at the maximum range of his passive sensors. The readout suddenly showed a course change of the enemy ship. As the sensor system evaluated the change, Delmar found his hand hovering over the weapons console.

But the change showed no evidence that the Red-tail was swinging around to face him.
This could go on for hours
, Delmar thought. Startled, Delmar checked his chronometer. He was fast approaching the time he was scheduled to return from the range. If he didn’t report in soon, ships would fan out searching for him.

Delmar found himself torn.
Do I engage the enemy or turn and try to return to the outer part of the training range?
Seconds ticked by while he weighed his options. As much as his natural inclinations were to attack, he had to consider the bigger picture. Now rather than the simple choices of a training exercise, the young captain’s training protocol strained against the rapidly evolving danger represented by this unexpected enemy ship.

The alarm on his sensors sounded, wrenching Delmar abruptly out of his thoughts. A quick glance at the readouts showed another Axia ship rapidly approaching. From his Nav board display, Delmar determined that it was going to blunder into the Red-tail ship in mere minutes. At the moment, the Axia ship, probably a civilian freighter, seemed to be unaware of the enemy vessel on a slowly converging course. If neither ship changed its heading they would eventually intersect. Delmar hoped the Red-tail wouldn’t see the Axia ship. Unfortunately, that hope turned out vain.

The aspect ratio on Delmar’s sensor return on the Red-tail ship changing vector. Sensor readouts now showed the Red-tail ship change course directly toward the unsuspecting Axia vessel. From passive traveler to aggressive hunter it only took seconds for the nature of the Red-tail ship to change. The time of Delmar’s indecision was now over.

Delmar swung the
Cabbage Patch
into action. Changing course in order to cross the path of the enemy raider, Delmar shoved the throttle into the low red arc. In a flash, the FAR ship shot forward as the sensors struggled to handle the rapidly changing scenario. By its reaction, the Red-tail must have detected Delmar as it tried to swing about to face the incoming Axia patroller. Tracking the twisting Red-tail vessel, Delmar’s weapons system determined a firing solution and displayed it for him to see. Now acting as part of his ship, Delmar instinctively keyed the trigger.

As the torp launched toward its target, Delmar pressed the comm switch on all common flight frequencies. “Axia vessel!” he snapped into the mic. “Red-tail dead ahead of you. Take evasive action now!”

In response, the freighter immediately changed course and turned sharply away on a tangent from its original flight path. Unfortunately, it made a blind turn and placed itself on a collision course with the maneuvering Red-tail. Delmar realized in a flash that his torp wouldn’t hit the fleeing Red-tail before the two vessels closed at their combined speed!

This just keeps getting better and better!
The unbidden thought overtook his mind as Delmar hastily considered viable solutions.

Delmar was startled by the speed of his FAR ship when it shot ahead nearly outpacing its own torp. With a twist of the axis ball, Delmar swung his ship around and brought the main heat ray of his ship into action. Just before the torp would have caught up with the twisting Red-tail, he watched his ray neatly torch the enemy ship. A couple of seconds later the torp added to the blossoming fireball in space. Twisting his ship around again, Delmar managed to avoid the debris and the other Axia ship rapidly approaching.

Having finally detected Delmar and now the destroyed Red-tail, the other vessel slowed to a stop. Delmar did likewise just as his comm board came to life. “Thank you for your assistance,” a voice exclaimed from his speakers.

“No problem,” Delmar replied, trying to act nonchalant. He was glad the other captain couldn’t see him starting to shake.

“Need any help cleaning this up?” asked the voice.

“No, but I do have a problem with my nav board,” Delmar dissembled.
Perhaps I can get directions back to the training range without revealing that I’m lost
.

∞∞∞

Space battles are by nature fast and furious. The one around the concentration of Red-tails turned out to be no different. What had taken days of preparation was over in a little over an hour. Although the element of surprise had been lost by early detection on part of the Red-tails, the Axia ships had managed to contain most of the enemy vessels and torch them singularly and in small groups. This was where the combined firepower of the ships Commander Tess had available outweighed the numerical advantage of the enemy.

The raid against the Red-tail concentration had gone well. But what bothered Commander Tess right now was the scene unfolding in the holographic tank. The majority of the fighting had concluded and very few of the Galactic Axia ships had winked out in the display. The Red-tail ships were mostly eliminated, except for one small group that was even now trying to break out of the entrapment globe. Apparently, they’d been among the few Red-tail ships that had gained the early warning of the Axia trap. Consequently, they were able to force a wedge between the Axia ships before they had achieved their final positions.

As the commander watched the display, this determined group of enemy vessels managed to slip through a gap and make a bid to escape. The holograph indicators also showed that they’d managed to inflict serious damage to the Axia ships as they fought their way clear of the encircling armada.

“Reports coming in on casualties,” the comm officer announced. “So far, we’ve only sustained about ten ships destroyed and another fifteen damaged.”

“What about the ships in the sector J-32?” the commander asked, her eyes still on the holographic display of the running battle in that area.

The man at the comm unit reported. “No direct reports yet. But several retrieval ships, along with their cruiser escorts, are responding to numerous distress calls.”