Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) (10 page)

“Sir, Lieutenant Davies reports the
main generators are back online.”

To emphasis the
moment, the majority of the computer displays activated, as well as
the artificial gravity and air circulation system. Captain Raikes
allowed himself a brief moment’s relaxation, checking the status of
each item as one by one the main systems restarted.

“How long do we have?”

There was no time to
answer as on the main screen a bright flickering shape indicated
the arrival of the Rift. It flashed and shook like water being
dropped into a beaker of water before settling down.

“
We’re too far away.
What is the distance to the Rift?” he asked.

“
Uh...three point
two kilometres, Sir,” explained the navigator.

“
I see. Plot a
course correction and get us into position. We only have a few
minutes.”

If any of the crew
had checked, they would have quickly spotted the propulsion sensor
flag that indicated failures at two points in the main engines. It
was the worry about the main power units and the rift generator
that had diverted their attention away from something us mundane,
but also as critical, as the ability to move through space. The
problem was with both the primary heat exchanger and the secondary
turbo pump. The incorrect mixture pushed out into the propulsion
chamber and exploded when ignited. Rather than pushing the craft
forward, the fuel ignited and destroyed the already damaged heat
exchanger, instantly cutting the flow of fuel and tearing a chunk
of the engine assembly off and into space. Red lights flashed
inside the CIC, and Captain Raikes watched in horror as the
propulsion alarms sounded. The Chief Engineer looked at him
aghast.

“Sir, we’ve got a problem!”

* * *

Admiral Anderson waited patiently as the
countdown was read out. It felt like a week since they’d started up
the system the first time and sent ANS Beagle through on its maiden
voyage. Though it should be no different to the last time, the
system was activated, he was well aware that there was nothing
normal about creating a Spacebridge. The fact that the large rifts
were created in space rather than on planets was obvious to them
all now. But even in space, the forces unleashed by the equipment
on the station could vaporise everything within a hundred
kilometres. The memories of the Rift Incident on Euryale, was a
reminder to them all about what could happen if even the simplest
mistake was made.

“Five...four...three...two...one...activate!” called out the senior
engineer.

Admiral Anderson
held his breath as the countdown reached its climax. On the main
screen, the image of the energy field appeared that marked the
opening of the Rift in space. As before, the entrance to the tunnel
was created, and to the cheers of approval of those around him, the
second one-way Spacebridge in history to be created was
established. One of the technicians started the clock that gave
them no more than twenty-two minutes until they would run out of
power and need to shut down the system, and therefore the bridge.
That would give them a safe margin of error with the power systems,
and also enough redundant power to operate if any of the generators
suffered problems while keeping the Rift open. It was another
benefit of having a larger rift in space, rather than on a planet,
in that the cold, airless vacuum of space provided the perfect
cooling system for such advanced and extremely hot
machinery.

Well, at
least it worked
,
he though happily, but his nerves still felt
frayed.

Though nicknamed a
rift, it was technically a type of traversable wormhole held open
by a spherical shell of exotic matter often known as a
Morris-Thorne wormhole. The design had much in common with the
theories postulated by the late twentieth century scientists, Kip
Thorne and Mike Morris. Not that most people realised it, but the
solution had ultimately required additional information for it to
work properly. Detailed analysis of the ruins around the Anomaly
Spacebridge, as well as the intelligence recovered from Hyperion,
had been vital in their rapid and reliable construction.

“
Excellent work,”
h
e announced in a calm and collected
tone. He turned to his communications officer.

“
Now get me in touch
with Captain Raikes. We need to perform the link, and
fast.”

* * *

“One second, Sir, almost there,” said
the Chief Engineer. To everyone’s surprise a number of the computer
displays lit up, and then some of the main lights activated.

“
Right, comms are
back
, and I’ve isolated three network
nodes in the CIC. There’s enough power stored on this level to
power comms and orientation thrusters. The rest should be coming
online about...now.”

He had no time to
thank him as the mainscreen lit up and showed the interior of an
Alliance station. It was Admiral Anderson. More lights flickered,
and each of the systems started to power up as if there had been
nothing more than a power cut on ANS Beagle.

“Captain, what’s happening?” he asked
in a concerned tone.

“
Sabotage
, Sir! We lost main
power. The habitation ring is down, and our powerplants were
offline. Systems are coming back online, but it will take time.
We’ve got another problem though. Our primary propulsion system has
been destroyed.”

“
What?
C
an you get into position to reconnect to
the bridge?”

“
Working on it, Sir.
How long can you keep the bridge open?”

The Admiral turned
to his staff for a few seconds, and he could see two engineers
having a heated argument. Finally, he turned back to the
camera.

“
If we push
our
systems to breaking point, I can keep
her open for thirty-two minutes. Anymore, and the power units on
this station will hit critical. I am sending in a rescue party, and
they will be at your position in four minutes. It is up to you,
Captain. Either get your power system online and complete the
connection, or get your people off the ship and back through the
Rift. Commodore Lewis is commanding the relief effort. He has
escorts that can assist in towing you into position. Whatever
happens, you must do one or the other before the clock runs out.
Stay in touch.”

Captain Raikes
nodded, and the screen changed back to an external view of the
space station in orbit around Prometheus. Anderson was worried, and
there was little he could now do other than send in more
ships.

“Can’t we connect to her from her
current location?” he asked.

The two nearest engineers shook their
heads.

“
No, Sir,” said the
first. “The connection window is very small, just under a
kilometre. The only other option is for us to shutdown and create a
new rift.”

“
But we don’t have
the power for that now for almost a day, right?” he asked, but deep
down he already knew the answer. The man nodded in
agreement.

* * *

Commodore Lewis watched the approach of
the Rift from the main display in the CIC of ANS Dragon. The ship
was the most technologically advanced ship in the fleet, but even
her thick armour and strong internal structure failed to instil
confidence in him. He’d seen firsthand what happened when a warship
entered an unstable spacebridge in the past. Even a minor power
fluctuation could cause the space-based anomaly to tear his vessel
apart in the blink of an eye.

At least
it will be quick
,
he thought half-heartedly.

Stood next to him
was a fully armoured marine, wearing the insignia of a senior
Captain. He waited patiently while the Commodore saw to the rest of
the small force as it moved through the Rift. They reached a
distance of just a few metres away before he turned to the
marine.

“
I’m sending in the
two frigates to work as tugs to get this bridge open. Your job is
going to be to root out these saboteurs. Information from the
Beagle says there are at least two on board with thorough knowledge
of the vessel and her systems.”

“
Sir,” answered
Captain Tim Howell.
“Do we have any
information on their weapons and capabilities?”

“Just two things. First, they’re using
thermal shotguns. Second, they’ve already injured two and killed
one marine. Be careful when you get inside, they have knowledge and
experience of the ship.”

“
Understood, Sir,
I’ll bring them in.”

He saluted
and
walked away from the CIC to meet the
rest of his team. Commodore Lewis watched him leave before the
proximity alarms sounded and brought his attention back to the
Rift.

“
Sir, we’re entering
the S
pacebridge...now,” said the
helmsman.

He held his
breath;
the doubts and concerns over the
experimental Rift now starting to surface. The last thing he wanted
was to be stretched and ripped apart over thousands of lights years
of space. It was almost as his previous encounters with the rifts
in space, but this one was a little more violent. Even so, ANS
Dragon moved through and reappeared at their new destination
without a scratch on her thick exterior. The entire crew fell
silent as each watched the nearest display for their first view of
the Orion Nebula. The sight of a new sun and planets was something
to behold, but he knew full well he had a job to do.

“What is our status?”

Each of the crew
reported back, and to his pleasant surprise there were no issues
with either the ship or the crew. Two of the frigates appeared a
short distance behind him and accelerated away as soon as they were
clear of the exit rift. Though barely half the size of his ship,
they were still powerful vessels, and each easily capable of
securing a colony or planet against the threats of pirates or
criminal gangs using modified civilian transports.

“
Sir, we’re ready to
commence boarding operations on ANS Beagle,” said Captain
Howell.

The Commodore
pick
ed up the intercom unit from its
position on the console in front of him and lifted it to his mouth.
It was old technology, but the simplicity and privacy it offered
were vital in combat situations.

“Good, I will inform her Captain of
your imminent arrival.”

He then looked to his communications
officer who was busy scanning their immediate area for anything
useful.

“
Lieutenant,”
h
e called. The young man looked back at
his commander.

“Sir?”

“
Get me through
to
Captain Raikes on the
Beagle.”

“
Yes,
Sir.”

The
L
ieutenant looked back to his own console
and moved his hands about as he made contact with the massive ship
waiting a short distance away. Commodore Lewis watched the vessel
and couldn’t fail to be impressed by the great bulk of her shape.
She was part ship and part station, and with the rough finish,
gantries and hundreds of crew that went with such a pioneering
project. The image on the main screen changed to show the bustling
interior of ANS Beagle. Captain Raikes approached the camera, but
it must have been bumped during the crisis as it was tilted by
almost thirty degrees.

“
Commodore Lewis,
glad to see you,” he said with genuine pleasure in his
voice.

The Commodore tapped a button that sent
over details of Captain Howell.

“
This is the
commander of my marine detachment. I have a reduced strength of
three companies on board. As we speak, one of them is approaching
your vessel and will board near the last sightings of your
saboteurs. I suggest you withdraw your own marines to secure the
key parts of the rift equipment.”

“
Sir?” he replied in
confusion. “My marines have already secured the station and are
performing a full sweep of the ship. They know this ship better
than any other combat unit.”

Commodore Lewis
considered his comments for a moment. While he would much rather
give his men free rein in the vessel, he was under no illusions as
to the time limits available to his forces or the intricacies of
the innards of ANS Beagle.

“
Very well, Captain.
Inform your marines to hold their fire. My men will be there
shortly. It is imperative that we get the Beagle into position, and
with her rift generator functioning normally within the next
fifteen minutes.”

“
Yes, Sir,” replied
the Captain. The image faded to black. Before the Commodore could
move, it quickly changed to the inside of one of the landing craft.
The interior of the vessel was very different to that of ANS
Beagle. It was a large, heavily armed craft that could land a fully
equipped marine force directly into battle while under direct fire.
Captain Howell looked into the camera, but it wasn’t obvious who it
was due to the reflection on his visor.

“Sir, we’re approaching the lower
levels. Landing craft is attached and boarding skirt has linked.
We’re ready to board her.”

The Commodore didn’t hesitate in his
response.

“
Good work, Captain.
Permission granted, get back to me as soon as you make contact with
the enemy. Oh, and try not to shoot anything valuable!”