Read Earth Song: Twilight Serenade Online
Authors: Mark Wandrey
“I look forward to it,” Lilith told her mother.
Minu could see that in the young girl. She never seemed more alive than when she was in combat with her ship. She’s my daughter, of that there was little doubt.
“Let’s go,” Minu said. “We have work to do.”
Interlude
The T’Chillen reconnaissance ship had watched the dead star system for days as warships closed as quickly as they could. It remained five light years distant when the combat squadron went into to investigate the anomalous readings, and never came back out again.
The remnants of the ancient supernova provided enough of an obscuring cloud that direct scans were difficult. High energy flashes and gamma flux indicated that several ships had been destroyed. Hours later, two Lost ships emerged and raced away at high speed.
The recon ship was ordered to enter the system and investigate. Considering the fate of the ship’s previous master for exhibiting insufficient initiative, this one did not hesitate. It found the charred and scattered remains of all five T’Chillen ships and the massive hulks of all the other Lost vessels that were not salvaged. A handful of escape craft drifted as well.
Stuck with a conundrum, the captain dropped off his two shuttles to try and rescue some of the survivors and quickly left the system to notify high command.
A day later four combat squadrons entered the system in force simultaneously prepared to do battle even though the Lost ships were long gone. The recon ship had returned to the system to catalogue its contents and help the pitiful few survivors. After they confirmed the enemy was no longer present, three of the squadrons left in the direction the recon ship said they’d gone.
The remaining squadron of ships began working with the recon to examine what they’d found. Excitement grew quickly. Many partial hulks of ships were pulled into a quasi-orbit around a simply massive sphere of debris made of still more ships. High command already ordered technical teams to the system to examine the salvage. They would take a week to arrive. The squadron commander sensed credit at his tentacle tips and ordered in his own teams.
One of the larger hulks had an intact docking bay that had already been breached allowing the team to make entrance. Large quantities of armaments were found almost right away, already on gravity nullifying platforms for transport. The squadron commander ordered his ships in close to ease the transfer.
Another salvage team, going deeper into the breached hulk, found bank after bank of ship scale EPCs, most still fully charged. Being technicians and not warriors, they did what anyone would expect. They hooked up their own instruments to examine the cells condition. The interface triggered a program.
All of the orbiting ship fragments, each part of a Kaatan, still contained charged and ready missiles, and they’d been programmed prior to Minu’s departure. Upon a signal from that bank of EPCs, the missiles were all activated. The T’Chillen ships didn’t even have shields up as the missiles streaked to their targets.
Five more wrecked T’Chillen ships orbited around the huge pile of Lost hulks. Until the very same EPCs the soldiers had found, linked themselves with hundreds of others found throughout the junk pile, all overloaded and detonated.
The salvage team arrived, but found little left of value.
Chapter 13
February 14th, 535 AE
Dervish Star System, Galactic Frontier
The Kaatan took almost a day to circle the star system and probe its hellish interiors to make sure they were alone. Lilith was nearly certain no one would come poking around. Who in their right mind would get close to an out of control trinary star system busily destroying itself in a three way stellar feeding frenzy?
“The O class star is becoming increasingly unstable,” Lilith announced, “stellar regions of massive prominence are twice what they were during our previous visit.”
“Is it going to be possible to get what we came for?” Minu asked where she floated.
Lilith observed her mother again out of the corner of her eye. The woman had come into the CIC hours earlier than planned saying she couldn’t sleep. Lilith discreetly queried the medical intelligence and found that Minu had checked into sickbay in the middle of the night complaining of cramps. A quick scan diagnosed her as suffering from what the human medical database called Braxton Hicks contractions, a prelude to labor.
“Yes mom, though perhaps not for too many more times. The M class star has also begun to be pulled closer to the O.” She was silent for a minute. “I predict a two point six percent chance per year of a catastrophic interaction between all three stars.”
“That’s not too bad,” Kal’at said.
“Probability will increase by one to two tenths of a percent per year until…”
“Until certainty,” Minu finished for her, and quickly did her own math. “Ten years at the outside and boom.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the logical outcome?”
“Difficult to predict with this much stellar mass,” Lilith said, “especially with three different spectrals coming into collision.”
“You only said the M would hit the O.”
“Yes, at first. But once the M impacts the increased mass will cause a gravitational spike almost certainly drawing the K class down as well.”
Kal’at whistled between his teeth, something always amazing to see in a reptile with no lips. Lilith turned part of the CIC wall into a view screen and played out a simulation. The dancing stars and their streamers of plasma being pulled from the O class seemed to coalesce into several much larger tornadoes of raw power. They acted like a rope and the M class star, almost like the one that had nourished Minu’s ancestors, was pulled into the much more massive O class stellar body.
The mass of the impact was less than a quarter of the bigger blue-white star, but the impact was like watching two snowballs being smashed into each other. In moments they went from two perfect spheres to one wildly undulating mass. Occasional pseudopods of star plasma would be forced out, sometimes becoming miniature stars for a time before falling back in and being absorbed. Then one hit the K class star, and it was dragged down. The simulation ended.
“I cannot predict the outcome of this event with any certainty.”
“Will it go nova?” Minu asked.
“No, that’s certain. Insufficient stellar mass. However an extremely energetic explosion of some sort is probable. You will not want to be within the star system when it occurs.”
“Any signs of other ships? You’re being unusually cautious. What’s going on?”
“There are transient drive signatures in the area.”
“Can you tell what species’ ships?”
“No,” Lilith admitted. “They’re either old, or muddled.”
“Or a type you’ve never seen?” Kal’at asked.
Lilith considered for a moment then nodded her head, short hair floating around her head. “I admit that is possible.”
Minu looked from her daughter to the wall of the CIC displaying the swirling dance of stellar death, considering. Her stomach suddenly clenched and the baby kicked, really hard. “Patience, little one,” she mumbled under her breath. “Another couple weeks and we’ll be home.” Lilith watched her with a critical eye. “How long until the Ibeens arrive?” Minu asked her daughter aloud.
“Due to their circuitous route, Ibeen Gamma will be the first to arrive in less than eight hours. The others staggered every few hours after that.”
Minu considered and spoke. “I believe because of these other ships, regardless of their origin, we better get in and get out as fast as we can. Lilith, call in the Fiisk and we’ll use it as a shield escort for the Ibeens as they arrive. Once we’re by the power station its shielding will protect as many ships as we want to bring in there. Within reason, of course.”
Lilith nodded her head and sent the message. The Combat Intelligence on the Fiisk responded instantly that it was inbound.
From one light year away the Fiisk jumped to supraluminal travel, accelerating to 10,000 times the speed of light. Its hybrid design, using the command and control ball from the salvaged Kaatan which housed the combat intelligence, was not as quick or maneuverable as Lilith’s pure Kaatan, but the Fiisk far out gunned her.
The Fiisk arrived in less than an hour, and the sensor net Lilith deployed sounded the alarm soon afterwards. “Multiple inbound FTL ships,” she told her mother.
“They were waiting,” Minu said as she examined the three dimensional map in the CIC. At least a dozen targets were closing from all directions. “Can we get away?”
“Yes, but we cannot contact the Ibeen inbound. They’ll be sitting ducks as they arrive. I believe our best tactic is to face these ships and defeat them.”
Minu considered for a long moment. A dozen ships of unknown size seemed an unthinkable battle. “The Kaatan, the Fiisk and the two gunboats? Is that possible?”
“Unless these ships are mostly dreadnoughts or battlecruisers? We can handle them,” Lilith confirmed. “The CI on the Fiisk evaluated the data from the previous battle. Will you report to the First?”
The voice of the CI projected into the CIC. “Based on the tactics I observed, the commanders of the T’Chillen ships were unschooled in even squadron level fleet tactics. Their ability to coordinate a dozen ships should prove… amusing, at best.”
Minu found the CI’s contempt familiar. It reminded her of Lilith. Not surprising considering the same sort of computer personality had educated her daughter. But everything considered she had a tough call to make. Stay and fight, saving the Ibeen she’d just spent weeks in space getting operational and the new treaty alliance with the Beezer while risking everything, or run for it and live to fight another day.
Lilith watched her patiently. Minu was sure the girl would follow her orders despite her own growing self-assurance and willingness to make hard calls. The baby kicked and another spasm hit her hard enough for her to grunt. She was sure Lilith was watching her now.
“We don’t run,” she said finally, “we fight.”
Lilith nodded, her face set like a chisel. Her eyes were as cold as ice with the look of someone prepared to face anything. And fully expected to beat it, no matter what.
Very little preparation was necessary or possible. The unknown ships were only two light years away where they had been observing the human ships. That they’d waited for the Fiisk to make its appearance meant they’d known it was somewhere nearby, and also spoke of a previous encounter. This was Minu’s thoughts. To Lilith it meant they were tactically inferior.
“They should have attacked earlier,” the young master of the Kaatan spoke with a derisive tone. “Without the Fiisk backing me up they might have stood a chance.”
“I don’t think they wanted us to get away,” Minu told her. Lilith shrugged, it didn’t matter to her.
Though there was no reason for her to be in the CIC, Lilith seemed to enjoy her presence. To that end, the ship’s master had created a holographic work station for her mother. Minu also suspected it was a better way for the girl to keep an eye on her.
As the hours had crept on she’d becoming increasingly certain she was in labor. Because of the time differences inherent in FTL travel, it was actually well past her due date back home. But by reckoning on her personal elapsed clock, she was just over forty weeks. She felt as big as a Tuck and was particularly grateful for the zero gravity CIC at that moment. Each series of contractions hurt a little more than the last one. I’m not making it home, she admitted finally. She would be forced to give birth here, and soon.
The Fiisk slid out of FTL and came about less than a light second from the Kaatan, immediately disgorging the two gunboats which took up formation on either side of the hulking heavy cruiser.
Lilith did a graceful ballet in the center of the CIC, temporary displays appearing for her to swipe or punch at to then be dispelled. “The squadron is in combat formation,” she announced, “all launchers are loaded and we are ready. The enemy is spreading out, launching fighters and preparing to encircle us.” Lilith glanced at her mother. “We could still disengage by traveling through the maelstrom of Dervish opposite their line of approach. It is unlikely light combat craft would attempt to transact through the prominences of the stars.”
“No, we’re not running,” Minu said through gritted teeth, “but you are wise to renew the offer- yeagh!” her punctuation to the sentence was a scream of clenching pain and a feeling of wetness spreading between her legs.
“Mom?” Lilith looked in alarm.
“I think
The door to the CIC opened and a group of six blue crystalline bots flew in and to the soon to be mother. Two of them took her arms and oriented her as gravity suddenly materialized and a narrow walkway was under her feet. Two others deftly formed an improvised powered combat suit, catching her deftly when her legs began to give out and wrapping around her limbs and torso. The other two cleaned up the mess.
“You knew,” Minu grunted as they began taking her away.
“Of course,” Lilith said, giving her mother part of her attention for a moment. “And I know you were desperately trying to wait until this fight was over.” Minu could only gasp and nod her head for another second until the contraction passed.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart!”
“Do not be, mom, please.” And to Minu’s surprise she smiled the most natural smile she’d ever seen the girl do. “Bring my sibling into this world while I take care of our enemies. This will be my offering to my new brother or sister.”
Despite how she felt like a fever was racing through her body, pulse pounding and sweat rolling from her forehead, Lilith’s words sent a chill down her spine as the girl turned back to the myriad of screens floating around her.