Homeworld (Odyssey One) (12 page)

“From what we saw,” he said, “they certainly have the numbers to overwhelm your forces if they swarmed you properly. I can’t figure out why they haven’t already.”

“Nor I,” Tanner admitted wearily. “Which is one of the key things that keeps me awake long past my preferred hours.”

Eric considered that entirely too understandable. He’d lost more than a few hours of sleep himself since discovering the mere existence of the Drasin, and even more when he confirmed that there was another group that seemed to be behind them.

“I’ve had a small meal prepared,” Tanner said with a gesture as they arrived at their destination. “Nothing excessive. I expect that you’ll be eating with the ambassador later.”

Eric nodded as they entered the room. “And the colonel as well, I expect, though that will probably be more drinks than a meal.”

“Indeed.” Rael gestured Eric to a seat and took one himself. “How go things on your own world?”

“Well enough, I suppose, though we’re dealing with some internal politics that are going to be annoying.”

“Ah, yes, I read the briefing. You don’t have a central government?”

“No,” Eric grinned. “I honestly can’t imagine it ever happening on Earth. Too many fractious people. We’d never be able to agree on how to run things, let alone
who
should.”

“And to me, that is utterly unimaginable,” Tanner said, shaking his head. “Even the younger colonies, which are mostly peopled by those unsatisfied with life on the core worlds, answer to the overarching government.”

“To each his own,” Eric said, “and as my Ma used to say, among them be it.”

“Among them be it.” Tanner smiled. “Yes, I like that. Among them be it, indeed.”

“For now I’m more concerned with what the Drasin and their handlers are up to,” Eric said, his mind returning to the issue at hand. “Though I have to admit that I also have orders to keep an eye out for a Block vessel that’s out here somewhere.”

“Block? That is the…other main government of your world?”

Eric nodded. “Yeah, well one of them anyway. The P.L.A.S.F.
Weifang
should be out near Gliese 581, or so I’m told. That’s nowhere near here, but I’m supposed to take the
Odyssey
around to check up on them before heading home.”

“I’m not familiar with that location,” Tanner admitted. “Terran terminology, I presume?”

“Yeah. It’s a system a few dozen light-years from here,” Eric said. “A red dwarf star we detected around a few decades back with possibly habitable planets. Gliese 581 was on our survey list as well, until we met you. The Chinese managed to get an FTL drive working, and we think that’s where they’re headed to, based on vector analysis of their trajectory.”

“A red dwarf with habitable planets? Rare, as such things go,” Tanner said, frowning. “Something familiar about that, though. I just cannot remember.”

“Something in the reports?” Eric was well aware that things you read in briefings often came back to you later.

“Possibly. Where is this Gliese 581? Can you say?”

“Give me a star chart and I’m sure I can figure it out,” Eric offered.

“When we’re finished eating then, yes?”

Eric smiled. “As you say, Admiral.”

PRIMINAE WARSHIP
POSDAN
, NEAR SIMANTH COLONY

CAPTAIN KIAN LOOKED over the scanner results of the colonial system and struggled deep in her core to keep from uttering every vile profanity she’d ever been taught not to say. Simanth had been a young world, lightly populated, but for all that it had been a world under her protection.

Had been.

The prime colony was now an infested hive of filth and vile creatures, and shortly the only good thing she could say about it was that it, and they, would all be gone from this plane to whatever came after.

The Drasin had invaded, apparently while her ship and the
Nept
had been en route from the core worlds. They had never even received an alert or a request for aid. Before they left, all was well aside from some odd long-range readings from the sentinel stations and when they arrived….

This.

“Signal Central Command. Inform them of the loss of the colony,” she ordered her crew.

“Immediately, Captain. What of the signals we were sent to investigate?”

“I believe we know what the source of those were now, don’t we?” Kian muttered darkly.

“It seems so, yes.”

She sighed. “We should investigate further, I suppose, just to be sure. Do we have a vector on the last known location of the rogue signals?”

“Yes. They skirted this system several lights out. No sign that they approached.”

Kian frowned. “I see. Very well. Set a course and relay to the
Nept
that we are proceeding according to orders.”

“As you order.”

The big ship, one of the most powerful in the Priminae fleet, turned slowly in space and headed out from the dying world. It would take time to climb out of the stellar gravity well in order to jump past light, but they were set in their actions now.

Somewhere out there, something was obviously hiding.

Time to flush them out.

CHAPTER FOUR

COMMAND AND CONTROL, MONS SYSTEMA, RANQUIL

ERIC STARED AT the large star map floating in the center of the room, impressed by the display system more than anything. Holographic displays were in use on Earth, but they generally required a lot more visible hardware than what he was seeing, unless one was using augmented reality equipment.

“Can you find this…Gliese 581?” Tanner asked from behind him.

That was a good question, Eric quickly realized.

He was a trained navigator, and could find his way both by and among the stars, but both required at least some minimal equipment on hand. This was going to be tricky.

“Close in on our arm of the galaxy.”

The image focused in tighter, smoothly excluding a few hundred million stars.

“Center on Ranquil.”

The stellar object that was the sun for the world he currently stood on lit up as the map shifted to the center. Eric knew the relative location of Earth from Ranquil by heart, but he carefully didn’t look in that direction. Didn’t even
think
in that direction. Instead he plotted the angle he’d have to fly
from Ranquil, working out the math roughly in his head until he found a red dwarf in the general area.

“Here. Close in, please.”

The system leapt into tighter frame, planets orbiting the small star now visible. From this point, all he had to do was compare it to survey maps he’d been briefed on for the
Odyssey
mission. It looked about right.

“I think this is it.”

Rael hummed softly to himself as he leaned in and examined the star for a moment. There were no colonial worlds in that area, and the stellar object the
Odyssey
had discovered previously was significantly displaced from there as well.

What is it about this system? Oh!

“I believe I know,” he said as he turned to his computer system and called up previous reports. “Yes. Here it is. We don’t have any colonies in that region, but it is on a track we plotted for potential Drasin signals.”

“It is?” Eric asked sharply, not liking the sounds of that.

Gliese 581 was within 22 light-years of Earth—not exactly next door, but close enough to worry.