Hunt for the Saiph (The Saiph Series Book 3) (25 page)

Commander Oolas was the duty officer this shift and as Pallas approached he could see Oolas’ head darting from side to side as he rattled off orders into his pick-up while his fingers were a blur on his terminal’s keypad as he tried desperately to assess all the information threatening to swamp him. Pallas stepped up beside him and his experienced eye quickly assessed the situation. A large group of ships that the computers were designating warships had entered normal space two million kilometers from the station. Sensors indicated a surge in power output indicative of weapons systems coming on line. BatFor 3.2 was coming to battle stations in response as every freighter that thought it might end up in the line of fire was maneuvering wildly to clear the combat area. According to the terminals tell-tales, the fields of weapons platforms were bringing their grazers to full power and the missile platforms were signaling they were ready to accept targeting data. Weapons crew on the station itself were buttoning up as fast as they could and slowly but surely the status lights were blinking from standby to ready. Pallas tapped a key on his wrist comm, patching him into the command net. The sudden cacophony of voices made him flinch involuntarily. It seemed like every captain of every ship, be it military or civilian, was attempting to speak at the same time, with the result that one call was cutting up the preceding call, so no one could get a complete message through. Scanning the board in front of him, Pallas found the key he was looking for and depressed it with gratefully. Instantly, all conversation ceased as the powerful transmitters of the station blanketed the airwaves with an ear-piercing two second whine. This was the warning that a priority transmission was imminent and all others were to cease their use of the communications link.

"Attention all ships. A number of unidentified vessels have entered the military exclusion zone. Until such times as their intentions can be clarified, all civilian shipping is to forthwith move into staging areas Alpha and Gamma and await further instructions. That is all. Dagger Station clear."

As the civilian traffic moved to comply with his instructions, Pallas turned his attention back to his unannounced visitors.

"Computers are calling them fourteen battleships, twenty cruisers, and thirty-two smaller ships, possibly destroyers or frigates, Admiral. BatFor 3.2 is moving to intercept and Admiral Tolo is transmitting in the clear that he welcomes them to Garunda and requests they state their intentions...."

Pallas was mesmerized by the ships’ strange flattened hulls with the vertical pylons extending above and below the main body. Their color of space-black made it hard to make any details out by eye alone. When Oolas stopped his report in mid-sentence he turned his head to see a confused look cross the commander’s face. "Something wrong, Commander?"

Oolas worked his terminal for another few seconds before replying. "Fire Control are having a hard time getting a solid lock sir... We're not detecting any active ECM from them but something is definitely interfering with our systems..."

Pallas leaned closer to the commander’s shoulder to check the computer readouts himself when, without warning, the intruders opened fire. The battleships’ energy weapons reached out across the distance separating them from BatFor 3.2 and wherever they touched they left devastation in their wake. Two Nemesis battleships were pierced through and through by thick, green beams and in a heartbeat they and their crews were nothing more than expanding clouds of debris.

Pallas struggled to keep his voice level as he gave his next order. "Platform weapons free, Commander. Fire at will."

Seconds passed slowly as the order to fire was transmitted to the platforms and in those vital seconds another three Garundan ships shook and shuddered before succumbing to the lethal, energy fire and exploding in violent fireballs, the remains spinning off into the night.

But the enemy did not get it all their own way. Individual ships of BatFor 3.2 began to return fire, fire which increased rapidly as ship after ship joined in. Energy fire crisscrossed the space between the two fleets, the distance closing as BatFor 3.2 pressed closer and closer.

"Where are my platforms, Commander? We need to get into this fight!" Shouted Pallas in frustration.

"We can't get a target lock, Admiral!" Cried Oolas.

More Garundan ships fell to the black monsters who just hung there, holding their ground, making no attempt to maneuver. An action that flew in the face of all the rules of space warfare.
Well, if they are just going to sit there in one big bunch
, thought Pallas.

"Forget targeting individual ships. Concentrate your energy fire on the center of mass and fire. Flush the missiles and program them for proximity detonation. If we don't do something soon, then our ships are finished."

Finally the station’s weapons platforms belched fire into the heart of the enemy. A single, hapless enemy battleship was unlucky enough to be at the intersection of the massed ten centimeter grazers. The resulting explosion briefly illuminated that entire section of space as if it possessed its own mini star before dissipating.

"They are moving, Admiral! Headed straight for us"

"What about the missiles, Commander? How much damage are they doing?"

"Ah... minimal, sir. We have confirmed detonations but we are seeing no damage to the enemy ships. Sensors are reporting what appears to be some sort of strange energy field enveloping each ship. It’s deflecting the blasts."

"And our ships?"

When Oolas failed to answer, Pallas grabbed him by the arm and shook him. "Commander! Our ships, what are they doing?"

Pallas watched in horror as the blood drained from Oolas’ face. "They’re gone, sir. They have all been destroyed."

Pallas released the commander’s arm and used his now free hand to steady himself against the terminal, his mind numbed by the news that an entire BatFor had just been erased from existence in front of his eyes. His gaze fell to the status boards and the gaggle of freighters in the staging areas. If the intruders could defeat top of the line Garundan warships so easily, the freighters would be easy meat. Reaching past the commander, Pallas keyed the all-ships link.

"Attention all ships. This is Admiral Pallas, Commanding Officer Dagger Station. You are ordered to evacuate this area of space at best speed. I do not believe we can contain the enemy ships. Good luck. Pallas clear."

"Vampire! Vampire! Enemy missile separation!" Pallas’ head snapped up at the call and he focused on the tactical display, expecting to see waves of missiles headed toward the station. Instead, a single, blinking red icon closed rapidly on the station. Laser defense clusters spun in their turrets to engage the approaching missile but once more the computers failed to get a solid lock and so refused to fire. Oolas moved to command the computers to override and use barrage fire to bring down the missile, but it was too late.

The flash of light was reminiscent of a mini supernova as the anti-matter warhead detonated and the millions of tonnes of space station representing the peak of Garundan technological and engineering innovation was swallowed whole by the wave of superheated plasma and expanding gas. The pressure wave expanded rapidly from the point of detonation and struck those civilian freighters which had not immediately heeded the admiral’s warning. Their hulls crumpled and broke apart before being swept into the asteroid belt with the wave which turned mountains of rock into dust as it passed.

The silent, black intruders sat perfectly still as the all-powerful wave approached them. The wave roared over them and continued on its way to reveal the black ships sitting as pristine as they had been before the wave engulfed them. A faint sparkling-like residual electricity flickering along their hulls.

Without a word, the black fleet pivoted and accelerated into fold space.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Seeds of Confusion

PARS - PERSEUS ARM - 6400 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH

Force Leader Tolas was ushered into the private office of Chancellor Volak for what Tolas believed was an unscheduled security briefing of the Chancellor following the attack on the Garundan system two days previously. Two days, which had seen Tolas travel aboard the lead Persai cruiser of the flotilla which the Chancellor authorized deployed at the request of the Commonwealth Council. Earth, Janus, and Benii had all made similar gestures of support and now a full Commonwealth fleet patrolled the space around the Garundan system while Garunda's own Third Fleet in orbit around Garunda remained on high alert. Tensions were running high throughout the Commonwealth and Tolas had been forced to squash rumors among his own staff that perhaps these mysterious black ships were some form of Alonan Empire secret weapon or possibly a Turak first strike. Having seen the devastation in Garunda for himself, Tolas requisitioned a courier ship to take him to Earth, where he met with the Chairman of the Combined Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Jing. The meeting had seen more level heads discuss the situation. The sensor data which had been hastily cobbled together from the civilian freighters which survived the attack had been analyzed and it quickly become apparent that these black ships were of the same design and gave off the same power signatures as those which carried out the massacre of the Alonan colonists on Balat eight months previously. As far as Jing was concerned, this ruled out the Empire as a likely suspect. This then only left the Turak or an as-yet-unknown third party. Tolas and the other members of the Joint Chiefs could not fault Jing's logic but that still did not solve the strategic problem of where this enemy may strike next. The meeting ended with the unanimous decision to increase patrolling among the colonies bordering Turak and Commonwealth space, while bringing the various home fleets to an increased state of preparedness. With nothing further to be done at this stage, Tolas boarded a ship and returned to Pars to review his own fleet’s defensive posture and update the Chancellor.

Perhaps it was the two days of traveling interspersed with the intense meetings and staff planning sessions, but as Tolas entered the room, he did not immediately notice the small, for a Persai, figure of Caran, head of the Persai intelligence service, seated in the shadow of the open door. As it swung closed, Caran literally jumped to his feet to welcome Tolas, startling him and getting Caran a fanged, deep throated growl before Tolas recognized him and realized he was in no danger.

"My apologies, Chancellor, Caran. I expected to be meeting with you alone."

Chancellor Volak let out a short, barking laugh. "No apology required, Force Leader Tolas. Caran here seems to excel in surprising people and it is for this very reason that I have called you here today. Please sit. Caran, if you would."

"Of course, Chancellor." Tolas took his seat, wondering what nugget of intelligence the spy chief was in possession of which got him a private audience with the Chancellor and the head of the Persai armed forces. Caran remained standing, taking a step to one side to clear the floor-mounted holographic projector, while drawing a small control from his sleeve as he did so. The image of the four black ships that had carried out the raid on the world of Balat appeared.

"Chancellor..." began Caran. "These are the images supplied to us by the Humans of the ships the surveillance platform observed in the Balat system, some 60000 light years from Pars. At this stage, I have no doubts as to the veracity of these images..."

"I'm sorry, but why would we even consider doubting these images? The Humans are our allies. We fought side by side with them throughout the long war against the Others," interrupted Tolas, a tone of incomprehension in his voice.

Volak tapped a long finger on his desk, garnering Tolas’ attention. "Force Leader, please let Caran continue. All will become clear momentarily."

"Thank you, Chancellor. As I was saying, we have a visual image of the warships and the Humans supplied us with the sensor records, so we were able to get a good read on their power and weapons signatures. Now this..." A touch of the control and the image changed to the blurry readings from a much lower-grade sensor package. "This is the image we have managed to download from one of our own freighters that was actually present during the attack on Dagger Station and managed to escape. My people have confirmed that although the visual image is of poor quality, the power and weapons signatures are identical to those that were employed at Balat..."

Tolas interrupted again, his frustration obvious by his tone. "We know all this, Caran. I have received the same briefings on Earth by Admiral Jing's intelligence staff."

"Indeed, Force Leader. Indeed. But what you have not seen is this." With a flourish that would have done the best stage magician proud, Caran waved an arm at the floating hologram and touched the controller. The frozen scene of battle was unmistakable. Mighty warships were hacking away at each other with powerful energy beams while missiles darted among the deadly beams as they sought out their prey. Tolas rose from his seat and walked slowly toward the image as if in a hypnotic trance. Halting before the image, he studied it in minute detail. After a few moments, he turned to Caran and this time his voice held the urgent tone of a man demanding answers.

"Where did you get this from, Caran? Those black ships are identical to the ones that attacked Garunda but those are not Garundan ships they are fighting. Those are Turak."

The spy’s face remained implacable. "The intelligence services ran an operation which placed a Persai ship on the outer edge of the Selene system to observe Turak movements in the system. Three days ago, the ship was a witness to this attack and the Turak response to it."

Tolas spun on the smaller intelligence man, making no attempt to hide his anger. "You used one of my ships to spy on the Turak! Are you mad? I gave strict orders no Persai ship was to enter into Turak space without my explicit approval. You know as well as I the Turak have already made it quite clear that any infringement on their territory will be met by force. Are you trying to start a war? How dare you..."

"Enough, Force Leader." The raised voice of the Chancellor cut Tolas’ vitriolic tirade off in mid-sentence. "I approved the operation personally and, seeing the results, I am glad I did so. Does this not prove beyond doubt that the Turak were not responsible for the Garundan attack? Indeed, they too have been the victims of these mysterious black ships."

Tolas felt the anger leeching from him. The Chancellor was correct. The question now was what to do with the information.

"We must share this with the other members of the Commonwealth immediately, Chancellor. If the Turak think we were responsible for the events in the Selene system, then they may decide to launch an assault on the Commonwealth at any time. And if they do, we will find ourselves in a war neither of us started. It is the story of the Nilmerg and the Deres all over again."

"Something that I would hope nobody on either side wishes for, Force Leader." Chancellor Volak intoned solemnly as he stood up and walked around his desk. He placed his powerful hand on Tolas’ shoulder while giving Caran a barely perceptible nod. Caran handed a small data crystal to Tolas, who took it and looked at it quizzically as the Chancellor spoke.

"The data crystal holds all the sensor readings and imagery taken by our ship in the Selene system. A courier ship is waiting to take you back to Earth. Share the data with our allies. They and the Turak need to know who was responsible for what happened at Selene."

Tolas bowed deeply to his Chancellor and with a passing nod to Caran, he headed for his waiting ship.

#

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT - GENEVA – EARTH – SOL SYSTEM

Rebecca Coston was still contemplating the short briefing she had just sat through with Admiral Jing and Secretary Aaron Beckett. The data gathered by the Persai had come as a bombshell to the military planners. Admiral Jing was sure the Turak’s next move would be to strike at the Commonwealth and, having seen the size and power of the Turak ships which arrived in the Selene system in response to the black ships’ attack, he insisted the president seek an immediate meeting with the other heads of the Commonwealth to call for a resolution to instigate a state of emergency. Such a resolution would give the military priority on all engineering and manufacturing facilities, release all budgetary constraints, and allow the local military commanders power to overrule minor and mid-level government officials. Rebecca saw the need to implement the admiral’s demands but it was a move that, in the dying days of her presidency, was something she did not want to be her legacy. Instead she agreed to a further raising of the alert level which called for the cancellation of all leave and training. The Terran Defense Forces moved onto what by any other name was a war footing. A disgruntled Jing had been tempered by the president’s decision, realizing this was as far as the politician was willing to go which was why her next decision caught him somewhat by surprise although it really should not have. Rebecca directed Aaron Beckett to assemble a diplomatic mission, which would be dispatched forthwith to the Selene system to make contact with the Turak and share the Persai data with them. Her hope was that by sharing the information with the Turak, she could forestall any misguided retaliation. Jing's initial reaction had been to argue with her. Revealing the Persai data would only confirm the Commonwealth had indeed been spying on them and it would also give the Turak the chance to assess the level of Commonwealth surveillance technology. In the end though, he was forced to admit the diplomatic mission should be given a chance to succeed. They had all seen the imagery of the massive Turak warships that the Persai witnessed appearing in the Selene system and Jing was in no hurry to send his forces up against the firepower those ships represented.

              The meeting ended and Rebecca had been left alone for a few moments. Her isolation came to an end as there was a polite knock on her door and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Director of the FIB, Attorney General, and the Secretary of Defense were shown into her office. Joane Goode steered the group toward the compact conference table off to one side and they all waited politely while Rebecca left her desk to join them at the head of the table. Sitting, she indicated for the others to do the same before she spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I called you here today for an update on the assassination attempt on Clement Bradshaw and I intend to keep this down to the pertinent facts only, no sugar-coating and no procrastination. Understood?"

Nods of understanding from the Director and the AG, while Joane Goode sat motionless and Olaf Helsett, Secretary of Defense, kept his own counsel. The request for his presence at this meeting had come as he was about to board a naval courier for an inspection tour, which would give the official seal of approval signaling the activation of Admiral Radford's long-anticipated CSG
Itus
. Olaf had actually been looking forward to seeing the Mosquito space fighters going through their paces but when the president calls, everything else is put on hold. Sitting now with the FIB Director and the AG, he had to admit that the sense of bewilderment on first arriving at the president’s office was not dissipating.

"Go ahead Edward, let’s hear it."

"Madam President. My investigators have managed to trace bank deposits to Jordell Ferrett from a number of dummy corporations. The trail is complicated and so far the investigators have seized the records of fourteen shell companies. There is still a long way to go before we will have a rock-solid case, years possibly, but everything I have seen so far points at the money man being someone high up in the Zurich Lines hierarchy. The problem will be proving it."

The president shifted her gaze to the Attorney General. "Is what the Director has, along with the audio recording, enough?"

Olaf Helsett looked sharply from the president to the AG, his mind racing to catch with the conversation. Audio recording. What audio recording? This was the first he had heard of such a recording existed.

Edvard Dietel had been one of the most well-respected prosecutors in the business before his appointment as AG, so his uncharacteristic hesitation was not missed by those seated at the table. "Madam President. Seaton Anderson has the best legal team money can buy. They have managed to tie the courts up in so much legal red tape over the episode with Daya Thomas that we'll be lucky if he ever sets foot in a courtroom and unless the FIB can get a written confession out of him then I have no doubt our efforts to link him to the assassination attempt will be equally fruitless."

Rebecca expected as much but she needed to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Pushing herself back from the table Rebecca brought herself to her feet. The others all stood in response.

"Thank you for your candor. Joane will see you out. Olaf, if you could remain for a moment, please."

As Rebecca and Olaf were left alone in the room the Secretary of Defense could no longer contain himself. "You think Seaton Anderson was behind this, Madam President?"

Rebecca screwed her eyes closed and a hand went to her brow. The weight of what was coming next hung heavily on her. "Ferrett named Anderson before Kris killed him."

Olaf was lost for words. The revelation that Seaton Anderson was behind the attempt to kill a presidential candidate and a sitting president’s Chief of Staff was inconceivable. While Olaf processed the information, Rebecca moved behind her desk and pulled open the top drawer, retrieving a PAD. Lifting it to eye level, the PAD automatically activated an iris scanner confirming that Rebecca was who she said she was before holding the PAD out to Olaf, who took it in slightly clammy hands.