The Trafalgar Gambit (Ark Royal) (38 page)

“I think we definitely have company,” Farley said.  “But she’s being very careful to stay out of sensor range.”

James cursed.  The alien contact had appeared shortly after they’d crossed the tramline into the second-to-last system and maintained its position since then.  There was no way to tell if it was a carrier or something smaller – although he suspected it was no bigger than a frigate – but it was keeping a solid lock on the flotilla’s position.  They couldn’t run and they couldn't hide.

“Keep an eye on it,” he ordered.  He briefly considered several tactics for forcing the enemy starship to fall back or engage his forces, but nothing would work unless the aliens chose to cooperate.  “And keep running through the drones.”

“Aye, Captain,” Farley said.  “Local space appears clear.”

James nodded, impatiently.  The system was barren, with nothing more interesting than a handful of comets and a tiny asteroid field.  He’d wondered, privately, if the aliens had blown up a dwarf planet to make it easier to mine, but the concept seemed somewhat inefficient.  There was no shortage of resources for the aliens to use in nearby systems.  Instead, it looked as though the aliens used the system as a transfer point and nothing else.

He settled back in his command chair, watching the ship’s status display.  The course they were taking towards the other tramline was a least-time course, set by their alien companion, something that bothered him more than he cared to admit.  It would be easy for the aliens to set up an ambush.  Hell, the tanker-supported attack on the flotilla could have been intended to distract them long enough for the aliens to put their fleet together.  They couldn't have expected a handful of fighters to do more than scratch the Old Lady’s paint.

But they did kill Bolton
, he thought.  The escort carrier was a very minor ship, compared to the giant fleet carriers, but losing her launching platform would hurt.  They could have rotated their starfighters through her recycling system if necessary. 
It wasn't a total loss
.

The hours ticked by slowly, with no sign of anything from the shadowing alien craft.  It was odd, but in a way James was almost pleased to see it.  If the War Faction felt the urge to keep a sharp eye on the flotilla, he told himself, it suggested the Peace Faction wasn't planning an elaborate double-cross.  He was still mulling over the different possibilities – and the reports from the diplomats – as
Ark Royal
approached the second tramline.

He keyed his console.  “Admiral,” he said, “I’d like to alter course.”

It might be worthless, he knew.  The aliens had a tactical speed advantage – and they might well have a stealthed ship monitoring the tramline in position to jump through and arrange for any waiting ambushers to change position.  But it had to be done.  If the aliens were friendly, they’d understand.  And if they weren't, it would give the Old Lady her best chance of punching her way through the ambush or escaping back into the barren system.

“See to it,” the Admiral ordered.  He looked well-rested, for once.  “But don’t go too far from our current course.”

James nodded and issued orders. 
Ark Royal
altered course slightly, angling towards the tramline at an angle that would change their exit coordinate significantly.  Moments later,
War Hog
moved ahead of the flotilla, intent on jumping through the tramline first.  If she didn't return ... James cursed under his breath.  It had all been simpler when they’d thought there was one alien faction and
all
aliens were hostile.  Now ...

“
War Hog
has jumped, sir,” Farley reported. 

“Good,” James said, silently counting down the seconds.  If the frigate had run into a hot reception, he knew, she might have been blown apart before she could jump out again.  This time, an ambush would have been all too easy.  “And our friend?”

“Holding position, as always,” Farley said.  “I don’t think they did more than match our course and speed.”

James sighed.  The alien diplomats seemed to have much less freedom than their human counterparts.  Every hour, they sent back countless terabytes of data to their starship, detailing the talks with the humans and requesting instructions.  The researchers had sworn the aliens probably never did anything individually, but their discussions seemed more than a little excessive.  But then, if the aliens on the ship represented several different factions, it was quite likely the diplomats themselves couldn't form a consensus.  They needed to talk to their faction-mates.

We need to work out some proper terminology for this
, James thought, ruefully.  The diplomats had urged the researchers not to place any simple words on the alien concepts, pointing out that the words could lead to misunderstandings.  But humanity wasn't entirely used to a concept of nationhood where nationality could be switched at the drop of a hat. 
And then see if we can emulate anything of theirs that’s worth copying
.

An icon flashed back into life on the display.  “Captain,
War Hog
has returned,” Farley reported.  “She’s transmitting now.”

James switched his attention to the secondary display as it started to fill with data.  Local space was seemingly clear, but the system itself was clearly heavily industrialised.  The frigate’s passive sensors had detected energy signatures all over the system, suggesting an industrial base on the same level as Target One – or Earth.  Hundreds of spacecraft made their way through the system, thousands of settlements could been seen in the asteroids and planetary orbits.  It was a staggering display of alien industrial might.

And if they’d been united against us
, he thought morbidly,
they would probably have won the war by now
.

“Admiral,” he said, formally.  “It looks as though we can enter the system.”

“It does,” Admiral Smith said.  There didn't seem to be anyone waiting in ambush.  “Take us through the tramline.”

“All ahead full,” James ordered.  “Take us into the system.”

He braced himself, instinctively, as the carrier slid towards the tramline and vanished from the barren system, only to reappear, nanoseconds later, in the alien system.  The display flickered, then lit up with the live feed from the starship’s passive sensors.  If anything, the frigate’s preliminary scans had underestimated the sheer size and power of the alien system. 

“I’m picking up cloudscoops, mining stations, industrial nodes ...” Farley’s voice trailed off.  “Sir, if my observations are accurate, this system has a considerably greater industrial potential than Earth.”

James sucked in his breath sharply.  Earth’s high orbitals had been colonised for over two hundred years, allowing humanity to move its industrial base from the surface of its homeworld to orbit.  And then there were the settlements on the moon and the outer planets, the mining stations in the asteroids and the gas giants, the countless installations built by the spacefaring nations ... all of the economic predictions suggested that Earth would be the centre of the human sphere for hundreds of years to come.  None of the settled worlds had anything like the same level of industry. 

But the alien system was clearly older and far better developed.

He eyed the display, thoughtfully.  “Is this their actual homeworld?”

“... Unknown,” Farley said.  “One of the worlds is definitely within the life-bearing zone, and it is clearly heavily industrialised, but there’s no way to tell if it’s their actual homeworld.”

He paused.  “It may be settled by multiple factions, though,” he added.  “The analysts will have to check, sir, but I think their industrial base is actually quite inefficient for its size.”

James frowned, stroking his chin.  The same could be said of Earth’s industrial base.  Twenty-two nations, of varying size and power, had established industrial nodes, mining stations and other off-world facilities.  Even with the threat of interstellar war against a ruthless alien race, few nations had been willing to combine their industrial bases with those of their rivals.  But then, the duplication of facilities had probably worked out in humanity’s favour, in the long run.  They weren't completely without a vitally important facility.

But if the aliens were showing the same pattern ... did it mean that the system was ruled by a collective of factions, rather than just one?  Or were they completely misinterpreting the data?  There was no way to know.

“Keep monitoring the system,” he ordered, finally.  “Can you pick up any defensive installations?”

“No, sir,” Farley said.  “There’s a number of starships passing through the system, without trying to hide themselves, but I can't get accurate data at this distance.”

“True,” James agreed.  They were over twenty light minutes from the life-bearing world.  The data they picked up would be out of date by the time they received it.  “Inform me the moment anything changes.”

“We could launch probes,” Farley offered.  “A ballistic probe would be almost completely undetectable.”

James hesitated.  It was a tempting thought; they
needed
tactical data, particularly if they had to attack the system at a later date.  But he knew the aliens might take it badly if they detected the probe – and he’d learned the hard way not to take anything for granted where alien technology was concerned.  They
might
get lucky, after all, and it would be potentially disastrous.

It was easier sneaking up on Target One
, he thought. 
There, we knew we were going to hit the system.  Now ...

“No,” he said, out loud.  “Passive sensors only.”

He paused.  “And our shadow?”

“Still with us,” Farley said.  “They came through the tramline just after we made transit.  I don’t think they changed course and speed at all.”

“Keep an eye on him too,” James ordered.  He settled back in his command chair, forcing himself to relax.  “And tell the CAG that two starfighter squadrons can stand down.  The remainder are to remain on alert.”

“Aye, sir,” Farley said.

***

Ted had rarely been intimidated in his life.  As a young officer, he’d been too stupid to be intimidated; as an older drunkard, he’d been too drunk to be intimidated.  But he felt intimidated, more than he cared to admit, as the alien system slowly revealed its secrets.  It was growing alarmingly clear that the aliens had a far greater industrial base than humanity had realised.

Then they should have been able to deploy a much larger fleet
, he thought, slowly. 
Did they only start building up a military after they encountered us at Heinlein
?

But it didn't seem too likely.  The Royal Navy – and the other spacefaring navies – had spent near two hundred years learning what worked and didn't work when it came to interstellar war.  There had been no shortage of mistakes over the years, as well as ideas that had come before or after their time. 
Ark Royal
herself was an example of an idea that hadn't quite worked out quickly enough to suit the planners.  He found it impossible to believe that the aliens had only started to build their military machine after Heinlein.  A fleet as large as the one humanity had observed would take decades to build.

We built up a war fleet too
, he thought, remembering his history lessons.  Early concepts of the demilitarisation of space hadn't lasted, not when there was something in orbit worth protecting.  Early tin-can spacecraft had given way to larger, more powerful starships, with each spacefaring power seeking ways to outdo its rivals.  Then they’d produced starfighters and carriers and fast frigates ... there had been no real way to halt the development of military starships.  No spacefaring power would consider calling a halt when their rivals would take advantage of the opportunity to leap ahead of them. 

And yet, there had been no real threat ...

The thought bothered him.  Had the aliens believed that there
would
be a threat, one day?  The diplomats had asked and the aliens had claimed that humanity was the first intelligent race they had encountered, but it was hard to be sure.  They might be lying – or there might be a translation problem.  But would they have built up all the firepower they’d used against humanity if they hadn't seen a need for it?