“Well I’ll be the son of a fickling astro bar whore,” Frank Holding said before emitting something that lay between a growl and a whistle. “Are you seeing this, Major?”
“I’m right there with you, Frank,” Hynes replied. The Major was at the Captain’s right and along with the remainder of those upon the Nexus′ bridge, he was not entirely sure he believed that his eyes saw what they were telling him they did.
The Nexus and behind her, the Rising Sun, cleared the Jump Point quickly and continued their pursuit of the Snowblind, whilst the two cruisers, the Echo and the Hell’s Angel took up the rear.
The star system they found themselves in did not appear at all conventional by any stretch of even the most vivid imagination.
“Get me the Rising Sun,” Captain Holding barked.
“Aye Sir,” a Lieutenant diligently replied. “The Rising Sun.”
“Senna,” said Frank as soon as the link was active. “What the fick do you make of this?”
“It’s pretty damn impressive is what it is, Frank,” Captain Karavel replied. “And yet, I would have thought it to be a damn-near impossibility.”
“Well, we’ve encountered black hole systems before.”
“Aye,” she replied, thoughtfully. “Though those black hole systems we’ve encountered in the past haven’t had a space station the size of a red giant in fickling orbit!”
At that very moment Captains Holding and Karavel were interrupted by Captain Rena Williams of the Snowblind, the latter having latched onto the com link that existed between the Nexus and the Rising Sun.
“My sincerest apologies for the intrusion,” she said, her slightly digitised face smiling calmly at both Captain Holding and Captain Karavel from their respective monitors. “I should probably apologise for not warning you about the black hole, too.”
“You think?” Holding exclaimed.
“There really is no need to worry, Captain Holding,” she replied, doing her best to reassure the rapidly balding man. “It is perfectly stable, and an incredibly reliable source of energy.”
“You’ll forgive me if I have my techs check it out, rather than take your word for it,” said Frank, unable to prevent one eye upon the system’s former star, despite the fact it unnerved him more than he would care to admit.
“Of course, Captain,” Rena replied, kindly. “It will be a couple of hours before we reach our destination anyway, so feel free to use your time as you see fit.”
“A couple of hours?” Frank scoffed. “More like a couple of days at Point-Two.” The system was enormous, amongst the largest that Frank Holding had ever encountered. It was so large, that the Nexus′ computer systems told him that at their current velocity, to journey across the entire system to the opposite Jump Point would take six days.
“Were we heading to Homestead you would be correct, Captain Holding.”
“I take it we’re heading somewhere else then?”
“Yes,” said Rena with a sigh. “Please, just bear with us and all will become clear.”
The transmission terminated and with a nod towards Senna’s image upon the screen, Frank ended that call too.
“Somebody get me Lieutenant Jones.”
“Aye Sir.”
It was not at all long before a bedraggled Fiona Jones arrived on the bridge and saluted Captain Holding whilst simultaneously attempting to clip her hair back, as per Council Fleet regulations.
“You look flustered, Lieutenant,” Frank said with a hearty chortle. “Didn’t interrupt you, did I?”
“Nothing that can’t be continued at a later date, Sir,” she replied with a half-smile, relieved that her Captain was such an understanding chap. “What can I do for you, Sir?”
“Take a look at this star system, Lieutenant.”
“Yes Sir,” she replied, turning to the nearest console as she did so. Her fingers danced over the keys with expert precision.
“What the fick..?” she muttered beneath her breath. “If I’m reading this right, Sir, that facility is drawing power directly from the black hole.”
“That’s the same conclusion Senna Karavel and I reached, Lieutenant.”
“But that’s not all, something isn’t quite right.”
“Explain, Jones.”
“Well look at this,” she said, pointing towards a section of the screen where a series of numbers were apparently fluctuating wildly. “That facility is enormous, true enough, but the amount of power being drawn is far in excess of the requirements for such a space station.”
She stepped away from the console and brought up the holographic display, focusing it entirely upon the black hole system the Nexus was currently traversing.
“There’s something odd about the area of space we’re heading towards,” she said, half-muttering the words. “Do you see it, Captain?”
“Quite frankly, Lieutenant Jones, I don’t,” Frank replied with a shrug. “You’re the closest thing I have to an expert though so please, tell me what the fick you’re talking about.”
“It’ll be easier to show you, Sir,” she replied. Raising her clenched fist to the area of the holographic display she was talking about, Fiona took a deep breath as for a moment, she questioned herself, that maybe she was wrong and that her theory – despite what every inch of her being was telling her – was incorrect.
She spread her fingers quickly, at which point the star system upon the display expanded rapidly. It was as if it unfolded itself, somehow, as though an enormous part of the system had been covered with an inordinately large sheet.
The Nexus′ system went barmy. Lights flashed and alarms sounded as the vessel detected a star, planets, vessels and four distinct asteroid belts that had previously been hidden from the view of both man and machine.
“Nine inhabited worlds, several hundred orbital stations, ships in transit throughout the entirety of the star system,” a Lieutenant yelled out as the information was relayed to his screen. He had no real need to do so, for everyone else was receiving the same information. It was protocol though and should anything untoward occur, it meant that no one else was having to worry about reading their computer screens.
“The Rising Sun for you, Sir.”
“On screen, Lieutenant,” Frank replied, and then, “neat trick, eh Senna?”
“What the fick happened, Frank? One minute my techs are telling me that this system doesn’t make sense, the next it’s as busy as Victoria!”
“We have Lieutenant Jones to thank for that, Senna,” he replied. “I assume that Captain Williams was going to give us the grand tour at some point anyway, but Fiona here worked a little magic with the holographic display.”
“I’ve never seen technology like it, Frank,” replied Senna. “I mean, sure, we all know that cloaking tech exists; we use it on our planes all the time, but to cloak the population of an entire star system?”
At that point, Captain Rena Williams piggy-backed onto the transmission and interrupted once again.
“I see you have discovered our little secret,” she said, the look upon her face almost one of guilt. “My apologies for the deception, but we’re almost at our destination. Set your course eight degrees port down. I’ll see you both at the dock.”
“Reduce speed to point-two light.”
“Aye Ma’am. Point-two light.”
Emily Johnson, temporary Commander of the Pearl of the Stars, waited for her order to be carried out. It was done so quickly and within moments, the battlecruiser adopted a steady approach before taking up a low orbit around the planet’s only naturally orbiting object.
“Has our presence been detected?”
“No Ma’am,” a Sub-Lieutenant replied. “At least, there’s nothing to indicate that we have.”
“Scan the surface of the planet. I want to know exactly what kind of welcome we can expect once we make ourselves known.”
“Aye Ma’am.”
“Mr Holden, ensure the Chief has every available plane at the ready. As soon as we have Captain Ifhans’ exact location we must be ready to make our move.”
“Aye Ma’am,” Mr Holden replied, glancing at his screen for a moment. “We might need those planes sooner rather than later. Sending to your screen.”
Emily waited for a few seconds until the information from Mr Holden’s screen appeared upon her own, and then she took another few seconds to allow her eyes to transmit to her brain exactly what they were looking at.
“If I had to guess, I’d say that’s three-quarters of the Alliance Fleet heading straight for us.”
“They’re twelve light hours out approaching at close to one-five light,” said Mr Foster, quickly. “Taking everything into account, we’ve got three hours, perhaps three and a half, to get out of here.”
“Unless we’re willing to engage some ninety-odd ships in battle?”
“Aye Ma’am,” said Mr Foster, nodding grimly. “Unless that.”
“Keep a weather eye on that fleet, Mr Foster. Let me know the moment anything changes.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Any luck with the Chief, Mr Holden?”
“Aye Ma’am, he’s ready.”
“Good, now find me a way out of this damned star system. The decision will be Captain Ifhans’ to make, but we need to ensure she has every conceivable option to choose from.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“You have the bridge, Mr Holden. Let me know the second we have Grace’s location.”
Leaving the bridge, Ms Johnson walked briskly along the Pearl’s corridors, her stiletto heels click-clacking and echoing as she did so. The corridors were near-empty. This was no time for doing anything but carrying out essential, designated tasks so with that in mind, Emily’s loneliness did not surprise her in the slightest.
“Ma’am,” the Master-Chief said, snapping off a salute as she rounded the corridor and through the door that led to the brig. She quickly returned the salute as she strode by, heading for Hen Riley’s cell.
“There’s a fleet of ninety vessels heading straight for us, just under twelve light hours out,” she barked, purposely neglecting any kind of greeting. “We think they’re Alliance. Is that likely?”
“I don’t know,” the prisoner replied without so much as a glance towards her. “You’ve had me locked down here for the past several hours.”
“We’ve arrived at a planet in orbit around the White Giant. Captain Ifhans made contact and gave us this planet as her location.”
“Anything orbiting the White Giant is Diamantra territory.”
“Then why would the Alliance of Planets care about us being here?”
“Maybe they don’t,” he replied with a shrug. “Maybe it’s just coincidence, or maybe the Alliance are coming to lend a hand.”
“With a fully equipped fleet? I hardly think that’s likely.”
“You don’t know the Alliance of Planets.”
“Ma’am.” Ms Johnson heard Mr Holden’s voice over her personal comms. “A small vessel has just appeared from within the radiation field of the White Giant. They’re attempting to make contact.”
“Put them through to me, Mr Holden,” she replied. “However, I would like you to listen in.”
“Aye Ma’am, connecting now.”
“This is Captain Emily Johnson of the Pearl of the Stars,” she said, feeling a slight rush at introducing herself in such a manner, despite the magnitude of the situation she would likely soon be facing. “You are also on the line with my XO and First Officer. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
“My name is Calla Riley. I believe you have something aboard your vessel that belongs to me.”
Lieutenant Fiona Jones ran as quickly as the Fleet regulation stiletto heels permitted, ignoring the multiple protests as she unintentionally barged people out of the way. The dock was incredibly busy as sailors and dock workers went about their business, however the Lieutenant had news that simply could not wait.
She had already tried to contact Captain Holding over the comms and yet she had received no response. She suspected the most likely reason for that was that the meeting room within which he and Captain Karavel were speaking with Captain Williams was temporarily shielded in some way, probably to avoid the an interruption similar to the one Fiona was about to cause.
She slowed her pace from a run to a jog, then to a stride as she approached the large, looming doors of the designated meeting room. Two guards stood to attention, both holding what appeared to be weapons of Council Fleet design.
“I’m afraid you’re not permitted to enter, Lieutenant,” said one of the guards, taking a step forwards with his hand held out in front of him. “We’re under strict instructions that no one is to interrupt this meeting.”
“I need to speak to Captain Holding immediately,” she replied, coming to a halt so close to the man that his outstretched palm was mere inches from her chest. “He needs to know what I have to tell him and he needs to know it right now.”
“Orders are orders, Lieutenant.”
Lieutenant Fiona Jones glanced at first one of the guards, then the other. Neither were particularly heavy set, one might even go so far as to call the second wiry. If she was any judge, the stoic look both of their faces displayed were indication that neither had any intention of disobeying their orders.
“Fine, fine,” she said, making as if to turn away. The guard still had the flat of his hand towards her though and as he relaxed a little, Fiona struck, taking his hand in her own she squeezed and twisted in such a way that the man’s body contorted as he attempted to relieve the inordinate amount of pressure the woman applied.
His cries of pain were short-lived though, for it was not at all long before Fiona had his arm pushed up behind his back between his body and her own, and with her free hand she gripped his own weapon and held it to the underside of his chin.
“Immediate assistance required at the Officer’s Meeting Rooms,” the second guard barked into his radio as he levelled his gun at Fiona, as best he could anyway for the first guard made rather a good shield.
“He’ll be dead before any assistance arrives,” she said, quietly.
“You wouldn’t!”
“Do you want to risk it?” she asked, her eyebrow raised. “Open the fickling door!”
The man stepped back, tentatively turning and as he reluctantly lowered his weapon, he touched his finger to the keypad.
“Good decision, my friend.”
He pushed the door open with a sigh, much to the obvious surprise of those within the room. That feeling of surprise was doubled when the second guard entered, being pushed by Lieutenant Jones, the latter holding his weapon to his head.
“Jones...” said Captain Holding, cautiously getting to his feet, glancing quickly towards first Senna Karavel and then Captain Rena Williams. “We got a problem here?”
“We will have a fickling problem if your Lieutenant doesn’t release my Corporal,” said Captain Williams under her breath.
“The only problem we have, Sir, is that these idiots wouldn’t let me in,” she said with a grin, releasing the Corporal and pushing him away, tossing his weapon to him as she did so. “I had to improvise, but I apologise for the intrusion, Captains. The thing is, I’m certain you’re all going to hear what I have to say.”
“Spit it out, Lieutenant,” Captain Karavel ordered. The Lieutenant was not her subordinate but if she were, Senna knew full well she would promote the woman on the spot. “Don’t keep us all in suspense.”
“Well the thing of it is,” said Fiona, ignoring the fact that the Corporal looked very much like he wanted to beat her to death with something blunt and heavy. “I’ve found the Pearl.”
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