Battleship Indomitable by B. V. Larson & David VanDyke

Author:B. V. Larson & David VanDyke [Larson, B. V. & VanDyke, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-05-16T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Inbound to Vespida System, Battlecruiser Wolverine

Straker readied himself for transit into another lightly defended border system, one of the many identified in Zaxby’s original simulation plan. Task Force Wolverine had hit six in the last month of campaigning.

Most of the time was taken up with sidespace travel, because there’d been no significant resistance. As he’d hoped, these border worlds, many of them only incorporated into the Mutuality within the last few years, were eager to be liberated.

All of them told Straker they’d been forced to join at gunpoint during one of the intermittent ceasefires with the Hundred Worlds. When a fleet of dreadnoughts showed up, most independent systems capitulated.

This one was marked as the Vespida system, though its main Earthlike planet had the unlikely name of Tanglefoot, and it floated in the blackness at the very edge of human space. For stars farther out, the database had only astronomical data and a notation that they were occupied by hostile aliens.

“In-transit in three, two, one,” said Wolverine’s helmsman on duty.

“Holo-table on,” said Tixban at Sensors. “Star is a yellow G-type, with one green world in the Goldilocks zone, one large rocky world in a close stellar orbit, and two smaller ones in highly elliptical orbits farther out.”

As Tixban recited, icons appeared within the projected hologram. The green world, Tanglefoot, showed the only signs of habitation, unusual for any human-occupied system. Not even its moon had a base.

“Where are the asteroid mines? The habitats, the moonbases?” asked Straker.

“Good question,” answered Engels. “Defenses?”

“None whatsoever showing,” said Tixban. “But…” A flashing yellow icon suddenly appeared a quarter of the way around the star, at the edge of flatspace, and then more markers showed up next to it. Many more. None of them had ID codes.

“Did those just transit in?” asked Straker.

“No, Commodore. The SAI took some time trying to identify and classify them before displaying, but it has failed. Therefore, they show as bogeys. Do you wish me to use active sensors? Return pulses will take over an hour to resolve.”

“Yes, go ahead. We’re in war mode, and not hiding.”

“Sensors activated and focused.”

“You want to see if they’ll talk?” asked Engels.

“Without knowing who they are?” said Straker.

“Why not? As long as we stay on the edge of flatspace, we can transit out at any time. Helm, head for the bogies, circumferal course, impellers only. Keep us in flatspace with sidespace engines warm, ready to transit out.”

“Transit out to where, ma’am?”

“Let’s say…half a light-hour straight away from the primary. Enough to get us out of danger but stay in the area.”

“Okay,” said Straker. “Send out our standard ID codes and hails. No point in recording a vid until we know who we’re talking to. They might be aliens, we’re so far out. How long ’til we get there?”

Engels drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. “Eleven or twelve hours until we can have a real conversation and get good readings. No rush.”

“Damn, I hate this waiting part. Space is too big.” Straker crossed his arms and glared at the holo-table as if it were the culprit.

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