Cold War (Messenger Corps Book 2) by J.N. Chaney & Terry Maggert & D. Glenn Seguin

Author:J.N. Chaney & Terry Maggert & D. Glenn Seguin [Chaney, J.N. & Maggert, Terry & Seguin, D. Glenn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2024-11-24T00:00:00+00:00

17

They arrived at TCG-11898-A, only to find themselves buffeted by a powerful gale of charged particles and X-rays. Sentinel activated the Archetype’s shield, as did Ragsdale for the Slipwing. Both mech and ship were surrounded by faint haloes of discharge as the shields absorbed the incoming energy, then radiated it away again.

Lawson eyed the lurid orange radiation alerts nervously. “What is it with stars and all this radiation lately?”

“All stars produce radiation, Lawson. It’s pretty much what they do,” Sentinel said.

“Yeah, I know that Sentinel, thanks. What I mean is, that Bow Wave neutron star was spewing out lots of radiation, and now this one is too⁠—”

“The magnetar in the Bow Wave Nebula was a different phenomenon. This star, TCG-11898-A, is clearly a flare star. And since your next question is going to be, What’s that?, a flare star is a star exhibiting strong magnetic instability, expressed as flares of solar energy, including charged particles and energy across the EM spectrum. This one seems to be unusually active, so much so that scanner returns from the inner part of the system are largely obscured.”

Lawson stared at the distant point of crimson light. It didn’t look like much, but the Archetype’s scanners were painting a different picture—a deceptively small, ravenous beast of a star flinging paroxysms of energetic charged particles and photons into space. But his focus quickly fell on a different, more urgent question.

“Are the mechs even there?”

“Data quality is, as I said, quite poor. However, I am detecting evidence of consistent variation in the neutrino background suggestive of the presence of Dark Metal. The flare star is itself producing high neutrino emissions, though, so the confidence level is no more than eighty percent.”

“That’s still pretty good.”

“Better than less than that, anyway.”

Lawson grinned. “Okay, well, I guess there’s only one way to find out for sure. Ragsdale, let’s head in and⁠—”

“Lawson, you might want to rethink that,” Ragsdale shot tersely back. At the same time, the threat indicator lit up with an alert.

“There are seven ships inbound from well above the system’s ecliptic. They’re illuminating us with targeting scanners,” Sentinel said.

Lawson pitched the Archetype up, putting the oncoming ships directly ahead of him. They were just red icons, though, without any identifying data.

“Shit! Did Spann somehow beat us here?”

“Those are not Imperial ships. And no, again anticipating your question, they are not Ravennox either. They are of an unfamiliar design—and they are opening fire. Missiles inbound.”

Lawson cursed. “Who in the Golden are they?”

“The only similar design I’m aware of dates from the time immediately after Dash Sawyer first discovered the Archetype. They were employed by an aggressive sect of Zealots known as Clan Shirna.”

Lawson frowned at that. Clan Shirna—he’d heard the name. They’d been referenced in a history test at school. All he could remember, though, was that they’d be described as enemies of the First Messenger, and that he’d defeated them.

“Clan Shirna? Weren’t they wiped out long ago?” Ragsdale asked.

Sentinel’s reply was matter-of-fact. “Apparently not.”

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