Inferno Sphere by Anthony James

Author:Anthony James [James, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-25T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

On a spaceship as fast as the ES Devastator, the journey to planet Vontaren took only a few short hours. The planet itself was nothing out of the ordinary. It had a diameter of fifty thousand kilometres and circled its sun at a distance which ensured its surface temperature rarely climbed much above freezing. The battleship arrived into the endless chill of the vacuum, dropped to an altitude of thirty thousand kilometres and established a course and speed which would complete a full circuit of the planet every forty minutes.

Admiral Henry Talley watched the sensor feed for a time, as if the strength of his intent could somehow pull answers from nothingness. They’d arrived here only a minute ago and already he was feeling impatient. Vontaren was a place like countless others, though its unusually jagged surface hinted at millennia of tectonic movement. It was a good place to hide something.

“I recommend we activate the stealth modules as a precaution, sir,” said Commander Adams.

“I acknowledge your suggestion. We’ll stay as we are – I’m not in the mood for subtlety.”

“Our first scan covering the visible side of Vontaren has come back negative, sir,” said Mercer. “We’ll definitely need a second sweep if you want to be sure.”

“Keep at it.”

“What exactly are we looking for?” asked Ensign Banks.

“When the Robanis first told me they had found Obsidiar, I expected they’d discovered some kind of natural formation – a seam of it on the surface, waiting to be mined. Now, I think there’s something else. You’re looking for something made of metal, Ensign.”

“A spaceship?” asked Lieutenant Johnson.

“It seems the most likely explanation.”

“We have nothing out here.”

“Which leads to the conclusion that it would not be one of ours,” said Talley. “Let us have no more speculation for the moment.”

For the next fifteen minutes, he kept his crew on edge by pacing around the bridge. He was convinced they were on the brink of something and he was desperate to find proof of it.

“Here!” said Mercer. “What the hell?”

Talley hurried over to her console. “What have you found?”

“This, sir. There’s a Robani scout craft circling over an object. They’re way lower than we are.”

“Have they seen us yet?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Let me see the sensor feed.”

The image appeared at once, cold and grey. It showed the small scout vessel at an altitude of only a few kilometres – just high enough to clear the peaks of a range of high mountains. There was something below, wedged between the walls of a wide canyon. Talley stared at it in wonder.

“How big is it?”

“Pushing thirty thousand metres long and ten thousand across the beam, sir. It’s hard to be certain, since a lot of it’s hidden.”

“Is there anything in our databanks?”

“Checking…no. That vessel type is unknown to us.”

There was a spaceship on the surface – a vast, incredible construction of metal. Talley reached out a hand and traced an imaginary line across the sensor feed. There was no doubt the vessel had crashed. It

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