A Deep Sleep (Valhalla Book 1) (26 page)

Qiang had more questions, but he knew that these simulations were limited, particularly in a unit this old. He simply nodded and went through the mental exit protocols to leave the simulation.

“Goodbye, my friend.” Qiang said as the simulation faded out and he spun back into reality.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Sir, are you alright?” Rear Admiral Chu’s face was quite close to Qiang’s own. Qiang resisted the initial impulse to push the Rear Admiral away as he registered the concern on his face. Qiang did feel terrible, something he wasn’t used to with modern VR units.

“No…I have a splitting headache.” Qiang rubbed his forhead. “Are you certain this thing is calibrated and working properly?”

“Yes sir, it’s simply quite old technology, at least twenty years old or more. It was pressed somewhat beyond its limits to show that little simulation, too much dataflow.” Chu held up a cloth. “Here sir, your nose is bleeding.”

Qiang took the cloth and brought it up to his nose. It came away with a small amount of blood, not quite enough to have reached his mouth or his uniform. He nodded his thanks to the man. He climbed out of the machine and glared at it for a moment before turning to Rear Admiral Chu.

“That was, an interesting experience.” Qiang said slowly, still collecting his thoughts.

“May I make a suggestion, sir?” Chu asked, equally as carefully.

“Go ahead.” Qiang said.

“Well sir, Admiral Tin Min had several conversations with me over a drink or two. He liked several different liquors, but he gave a gift to two individuals that was special in its own right.” Chu said, walking behind the desk in the space and opening the bottom drawer. He withdrew an unassuming looking box, but what he took from it was anything but unassuming. He pulled a bottle of scotch, the shining label of the Chivas Regal gleaming on the long necked bottle. “I was told you would be familiar with this particular brand?”

“You were told correctly.” Qiang said, looking from the bottle back to the now smiling Chu.

“This is, of course, difficult to acquire at this point, sir. Since the war and the Party’s move to encourage more…patriotic drinks, such pleasures have been somewhat less available. That is also because of the embargo by the American’s and their allies on such shipments into China.” Chu held up the bottle and admired its color in the industrial lighting. “I assume you are also aware of the reputation that is associated with Chivas’ bottling?”

“I am. They claim, at least, that their label cannot be duplicated and that each bottle is guaranteed to be genuine. I suspect that claim is levelled at other companies, not superpower governments.” Qiang said with some skepticism.

“I can concede that point sir. However, I would like to point out that this is an unusual method of disinformation, should this be what it is.” Chu said reasonably.

“But not one which internal security would be above using.” Qiang countered. “Still, I will grant you this is something less likely. How do I know the bottle was intended for you, not for someone else from whom you have taken it from?”

“I would suggest, sir, that we open the bottle and find out. Admiral Tin Min told me that there is a phrase engraved on this bottle’s cap, one that cannot be read until the bottle is opened.” Chu said, trailing off somewhat.

“Well, I think that either way we’ll be in need of the contents of that bottle.” Qiang said with a small smile before becoming more serious. “Because either way, the world is a much more dangerous place for us both now.”

“I agree sir.” Chu said, nodding his ascent. He held out the bottle. “Would you do the honors?”

Qiang took the bottle and set it on the desk. He drew a small folding blade from his pocket and sliced the label. He was surprised at how tough the label was, requiring him to exert considerable force to actually cut the label despite the fine edge on his blade. As he did so, the bottle triggered a reaction that began to color the top of the bottle. Qiang paused as he finished cutting to watch the process. The chemical quickly colored the top ring of the bottle, coloring about thirty centimeters of the bottle black. Left clear was the Chivas Regal logo and name. The bottle also displayed its bottling date and location. Of course all of this was in English, but Qiang could read that easily enough. As the reaction finished he reached out and grasped the lid. It came off with a small exertion of force, smoothly unscrewing. As the cap came free, Qiang turned it over and read the engraving on the bottom.

“For strength in your endeavors and courage on your path.” Qiang read the script aloud, knowing in an instant he had made his choice. He turned to look at Chu. “Let’s drink, for we have much to discuss.”

“So you trust me then?” Chu ventured.

“For better or for worse, with my life.” Qiang accepted two glasses from Chu and poured them each a strong drink. “We must plan and think to the future of our people.”

“So then it has come to pass, exactly as he envisioned?” Chu asked nervously.

“It has.” Qiang said nodding. “Or close enough that actions must be taken.”

“I understand.” Chu said, his voice stronger. “I am ready, to do what I must.”

Qiang nodded again.
So it begins, with a single conversation.
Qiang thought.

Treason.

VVS-2: Approaching Alpha Slip Gate

DSF-1: USS
Tripoli

“Alright people, here’s the deal.” Athena said over the fleet-wide comm. “We are facing off against what would typically be deemed a superior force. But what I know and our enemy does not is the courage, commitment, and skill of the crews of 1
st
Long Range Recon and Strike. We will take them head-on and we will persevere. I know this mission has been hard on us all, but each of you has proven yourselves time and time again. I know I can count on each of you. We will fight and we will win. They have no idea who they are dealing with, let’s show them.”

“To victory.” Sanders said.

“To victory.” Echoed Heath.

“Victory.” The rest of CIC responded. Athena nodded to each of them.

“Battlestations.” She ordered, energizing CIC.

“Ships moving into formation, sir.” Johnson reported.

“
Thunderer
reports she is in position. Captain Martin is also requesting to talk directly with you sir.” Daniels reported, turning to face Athena. Athena finished snapping on her helmet and then indicated to Daniels to put Martin through.

“
Thunderer
actual, this is
Tripoli
actual.”

“Sir, all systems are online. The CORE software has been sent and we are awaiting confirmation from all ships that they are running it in parallel. Also, the plasma cannons are in stand-by.” Martin reported crisply.

“CORE should be operational on all ships any minute now. How are the plasma cannons looking?” Athena inquired.

“My technicians assure me they’ll shoot, at least once.” Martin said, though his voice wasn’t very confidence inspiring.

“What about containment stability?”

“That’s the kicker, sir. I’ve been given no better than a 50-50 chance that one of the tubes won’t fail after the first shot.” Martin responded. “The chances are about the same that it will be a catastrophic failure, so I’ve got that going for me.” He ended with some gallows humor.

“I want you to take whatever precautions you can to evacuate the possible blast area, even if it slows the plasma firing rate.” Athena said, more than a touch concerned.

“I’ll do what I can, sir. We need a certain number of personnel in several adjacent compartments to prevent a catastrophic tube failure prior to the shot. If I don’t keep them there, well, I may lose the ship.” Martin’s voice clearly conveyed that he understood the weight of his words. Athena knew the choice wouldn’t be easy to live with if disaster struck.

“Very well. We’re jumping in two minutes. Good luck Captain.” Athena became more formal.

“Good luck Admiral, see you on the other side.” Martin copied her tone. “
Thunderer
actual out.”

Athena closed the comm and concentrated on the 3D tactical display.
Thunderer
had maneuvered to lead the formation once again. The Armadillos flanked her in plane with the system’s elliptic. Athena watched as the rest of her formation fell into place, with the three ACGs arranging in a line perpendicular and just behind their companions. Finally, the surviving eighteen gunboats formed up in a loose formation protected by their larger compatriots. They quickly shook out into three six-boat squadrons.

“FTL point in thirty seconds.” Conway intoned.

“Drive is green, navigator has passed plot and track.” Masters added.

Athena watched the proceedings, only half listening to the confirmations. She focused on the plot, still displaying the angry red dots that indicated the Chinese formation. They were waiting, but Athena didn’t know if they had something up their sleeve, if she was walking into a trap. The next hour in subspace would be the most nerve-wracking. After that, they’d be committed and unable to turn back. Whatever was waiting for them, they’d have to face.

Athena busied herself throughout the journey, doing paperwork and other tasks from her CIC console. The time passed slowly, but still quicker than Athena had anticipated. She realized with a small amount of shock that she was finally getting used to the knowing anxiety that had always plagued her before going into combat. It hadn’t diminished, she had merely developed some sort of understanding with it. Something to mull later, over a strong drink perhaps.

“Drop-out in one minute.” Ensign Masters reported, crisp as ever. He didn’t even sound fatigued.

“All ships still report ready sir. We’re good to go.” Daniels preempted Athena’s question. She was becoming quite the accomplished deputy.

“Excellent. Let’s nail the bastards.” Athena said, her voice full of confidence she didn’t feel. “All ships, prepare to receive incoming fire. Point defense free.”

“Aye, sir. Point defense transferred to computer control. The XO is in Aux Con. Missile tubes on stand-by, ready to fire on your command. All weapons are hot.” Heath reported from tactical.

“Drop-out in five, four, three, two, one, emergence!” Masters’ voice rose in volume slightly. Athena let it pass, the kid was a rock in combat and so this little emotional response wasn’t a point of concern.

“We’re 520,000 kilometers from the enemy force.” Conway reported quickly.

“Yankee search.” Athena commanded. She was still amazed at how many times she had activated the powerful radar. Pre-war doctrine had focused on passive sensors, finding and striking the enemy from relative stealth and using surprise. Instead, the enemy knew where she was almost every time and she needed better targeting data, forcing the Yankee search routines. Just one more thing wrong from the pre-war tactical analyses.

“Chinese are also going active.” Johnson reported as she complied. “Search complete, all Chinese ships accounted for, no new contacts. They’re all here sir.”

Decoys?” Athena asked suspiciously.

“At this range sir, I don’t think so. They’d have to be damn good ones, better than ours. We’re getting solid mass, subspace, and energy signatures off from all contacts. No shadows or fuzzy returns. As she finished, the tactical display took on a new fuzzy shade. “They’ve started jamming, targeting frequencies. All bands.”

“At least they can’t target either.” Heath reflected.

“For now.” Athena countered. “They just want us closer first, then they’ll selectively disable jamming for their own targeting.”

“We’re already well within range.” Heath said. “They must be going for a real sucker punch.”

“They saw what we did to the other group, they’re being calculating. They want a sure kill.” Athena turned and smiled her feral grin. Only Heath and Daniels could see it through her helmet face plate. “But we’re not going to give it to them.”

They returned the smile, though theirs were substantially less feral.

“We still have tracks on the ships, but not target quality.” Johnson interjected.

“Fire drones, get me burn through on their ECM.” Athena snapped out. “All ships with drones are to participate. Saturate them in one salvo.”

“Aye sir.” Johnson responded. She coordinated with Daniels and the other ships. “Sir, we’re ready. This will leave us very low on drones.”

“We’re going to be out of missiles anyways, we’ll have little need of them.” Athena responded. “Launch.”

“Launching.” Johnson responded. Thirty drones sped away, already jinking and maneuvering to stay out of targeting. Several had their own jammers and began to add to the confusion.

“Jam their targeting.” Athena added.

“Jamming commencing.” Johnson was very busy. Heath opened a window to assist. He already had his missiles ready to go and was doing very little.

“Burn through.” Johnson called out several minutes later. “Target quality tracks.”

“All ships, launch salvo.” Athena ordered.

“Ships commencing salvo in five seconds.” Daniels responded.