Beyond the Shroud of the Universe Page 22

  “I believe they will,” Steropes agreed, “and that collision will most likely end all life on Golirion.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Thor’s Chambers, Golirion, HD 69830 System, November 8, 2021

  Captain Nightsong shook his head. “I’m sorry, my Thor,” he said, “but I do not believe the Terrans will be able to provide any assistance in our fight against the Jotunn.”

  “That is unfortunate,” Calanon Aldaenon, who ruled the Aesir as ‘Thor,’ replied. “Our time to prepare is running out. The Jotunn have already broken through our blockade in Gliese 221.”

  “What was accomplished while I was gone?” Captain Nightsong asked.

  “We have recalled the fleet and brought our other battle station to this system; however, I do not know whether it will be enough to halt their advance.”

  “I have fought the Jotunn’s new ally, and I am similarly unsure,” Captain Nightsong said, looking and sounding grim. He looked up and met the Thor’s eyes. “How sure are you that everything is in readiness aboard the battle station?”

  “The Tyr has given me his assurance that all is in readiness.”

  “But you haven’t been to the station to check on everything yourself?”

  “No I haven’t,” the Thor replied. “Do you think it necessary?”

  “I think a trip to the battle station would be extremely valuable for a couple of reasons. First, you would get to see the status of the station for yourself so you can confirm that all is in readiness. It will also let the troops see you, giving them inspiration for the battle to come. Who knows? That might be the difference between victory and defeat.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so, my Thor. If I were you, I would go as soon as possible, too. I don’t think we have a minute to lose. If there is anything that needs to be fixed, we must do it now.”

  CO’s Conference Room, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-HD 69830 System, Unknown Date

  “I can confirm they are going to hit Golirion instead of Asgard,” Steropes announced. “If they had jumped the asteroid into our universe before now, they might have missed the moon, but now I believe the moon will be impossible to miss. If they are allowed to proceed, it is likely Golirion will be destroyed.”

  “We have to stop them,” Calvin said.

  “I realize that,” Captain Sheppard said. “Steropes, what are we up against?”

  “Almost everything on the asteroid appears to be automated,” Steropes said. “The enemy has mounted four large engines to the asteroid, which are being used to push it. There are also at least 30 other metallic items attached, which are spread out uniformly across its surface.”

  “Do we know what those are?” Captain Sheppard asked.

  “I believe so,” Steropes replied. “Those appear to be jump modules, confirming Lieutenant Commander Hobb’s guess that the enemy plans to jump the asteroid into our universe.”

  “So, we just need to destroy the jump modules, and then we won’t have to worry about the asteroid, correct?” Captain Sheppard asked. “The asteroid will stay in this system and crash into the third planet or its moon here.”

  “We could do that,” Steropes said; “however, there are two problems with that proposal. The first is that there appears to be intelligent life on the moon. The second is that there is a destroyer-sized ship flying in concert with the asteroid. I imagine if we attack the asteroid, the ship will defend it.”

  “Those are two big problems.”

  “Yes sir, they are.”

  “Who are the people that live on anti-Golirion?” Lieutenant O’Leary asked. “Are they our new enemy?”

  “Unfortunately, they are not,” Steropes said. “The society is pre-industrial, but they are definitely intelligent.”

  “So letting the asteroid hit anti-Golirion is out,” the CO said. “Tell me about the ship.”

  “The ship is similar in size to the time bomb-armed destroyer we previously fought, and its engines appear to function similarly, but it has some other projections the first ship didn’t have, and its hull is shaped slightly differently. It is either a modified version of the one we fought before, or an entirely different class of ship altogether.”

  “Any idea on its capabilities?” Calvin asked.

  “Unknown,” Steropes replied. “I imagine it will have a similar armament to the other version we saw, but I don’t know enough about the new race to say that for sure. There do appear to be more hatches on the side of this ship, but I won’t know whether they are torpedo launch tubes, lasers, or something else until they use them.”

  “All things considered, I’d rather not let them use them,” the CO said.

  “Not only that,” Calvin said, “but once we come out of stealth, they may jump into our universe to flee, and we will have to follow them to destroy them. I don’t want to get tied up with fighting the ship and lose track of the asteroid. It may already be pre-programmed to jump into our universe at a certain time or place. We need to take the enemy ship by surprise, and we need to do it soon.”

  “Unfortunately, most of our weapons ports are covered by the stealth modules,” Captain Sheppard said. “We may not be able to take it out with the first salvo, or even damage it enough to prevent it from jumping.”

  “How about this?” Calvin said. “What if we take a stealthed shuttle over to the enemy ship and plant some explosives on it? We could get back on the shuttle, remotely detonate the explosives and then we don’t have to worry about the enemy ship any more. Then, we just shoot a couple of the engines on the asteroid and let the others push it away from anti-Golirion. I’m sure Steropes and Solomon can figure out which engines to destroy.”

  “Actually sir, I kind of like that,” Lieutenant O’Leary said. “We used to train for missions like that when I was a SEAL. Swim up to an enemy ship, plant explosives on it and detonate them once we were clear. I think we could do that to the enemy ship, especially if we aren’t planning on doing anything else…like trying to capture it or something crazy like that.”

  “No, I’ve had my fill of capturing enemy ships,” Calvin replied. “I’d be happy to just blow this one up and go find out what Nightsong is up to. He’s already had more time to set his plans in motion than I wanted to give him.”

  Bridge, Aesir Battle Station Heimdall, HD 69830 System, November 9, 2021

  “Everything that can be done has been done, my Thor,” Fleet Grand Admiral Aglarion said. Also known as ‘Tyr,’ Fleet Grand Admiral Aglarion was responsible for the Aesir military. “All is in readiness here aboard the battle station, the stargate is as heavily mined as we can make it and all of the ships that could be reached in time have come back to defend the system.” He shrugged. “We have done everything possible,” he repeated. “Do you have any questions?”

  “Thank you for the tour of the battle station,” the Thor replied. “I only have one question. Everything you have done…will it be enough?”

  “Honestly?” the Tyr asked. “I do not know. Their ally’s ships have proven tremendously difficult to defeat. We know Captain Caelerian destroyed one in the Battle of Gliese 221, so they can be beaten…but it is difficult. The odds are not good if we have to fight ships of both the Jotunn and their ally at the same time. If we can contain them to the area around the stargate, we may have a chance. If they get free into the system, it is unlikely we will be victorious.”

  “Then you should contain them here at the stargate,” the Thor said.

  “That is my intention,” the Tyr replied; “however, enemies rarely do what we want them to.”

  “Stargate emergence!” one of the sensor technicians called. “Jotunn battlecruiser!”

  “I am sorry, my Thor, but there is no time to get you back to Golirion,” the Tyr said. He stood a little straighter. “It begins.” He turned to the communications officer. “Alert the fleet,” he ordered. “Tell them to implement Plan Gjallarhorn.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-HD 69830 System, Unknown Date

&n
bsp; “Shuttle 01 is launching, sir,” Lieutenant Rafaeli, the squadron duty officer, said.

  “Understood,” Captain Sheppard replied.

  “They took the entire platoon?” Steropes asked. “Couldn’t they have accomplished the mission with just a few of the soldiers and maybe a cyborg or two to do the heavy lifting?”

  “They could have,” Captain Sheppard replied, “but both Lieutenant Commander Hobbs and I thought it prudent to take all of their combat power, just in case. It’s better to have too many guns than not enough.”

  North Quadrant Control, Aesir Battle Station Heimdall, HD 69830 System, November 9, 2021

  “That’s the third battlecruiser so far,” the ‘North’ quadrant’s sensor technician said. As the North side of the station was facing the stargate, they were taking the brunt of the initial fighting.

  “The first battlecruiser is finished,” the laser officer said.

  “Minefield integrity is at 57%,” the mine warfare officer said. “The mines are doing their jobs, but the shields on the Jotunn ships seem to be stronger than normal. It is taking several hits to knock them down.”

  “If they would just come a little more slowly,” the missile officer added, hand tapping nervously on his console, “I would like it a lot more.”

  “Just keep shooting,” the Tyr replied. “As they start to spread out, the other quadrants will take some of the load from you.”

  “Gods!” the sensor technician exclaimed. “Look at that monster! It’s the biggest ship I have ever seen! It’s got to be at least five miles long.”

  “Don’t spare the mines,” the Tyr ordered. “That will be their command ship…and it’s going to take a lot to kill it.”

  “Sir!” the sensor technician called. “One of the ally ships just gated in and disappeared. There goes a second! Both were destroyer-sized, I think. There is a third; this one is cruiser-sized. A fourth one now, also cruiser-sized!”

  “Stay on the Jotunn vessels you can see,” the Tyr said. “Let’s concentrate on killing them first. We’ll kill their ally’s ships when they start popping back up.”

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-HD 69830 System, Unknown Date

  “How much longer until Shuttle 01 reaches the target?” Captain Sheppard asked.

  “If they are on schedule they should be arriving at the enemy ship right now,” Lieutenant Rafaeli said. “The challenging part is going to be for the pilot to match vectors with the ship. Once that happens, they can begin mining the ship. That part should go relatively quickly.”

  “Contact!” the DSO exclaimed. “I’ve got ship emanations; they are definitely not from the ship we are following.”

  “I’ve got them too,” Steropes added. “Signal strength and engine harmonics appear to be from one of the destroyers we saw before.”

  “Where are they coming from?” Captain Sheppard asked.

  “They are coming from the same location as the Jotunn stargate in our universe,” Steropes replied. “The ship is accelerating and appears to be turning away from us. A second ship just jumped in. It is another of their destroyers.”

  “So, the battle must have started in our universe,” the CO stated. “What is the ship that we’re tracking doing?”

  “Its course hasn’t deviated,” the OSO said, who was tracking it closely.

  “Do you want me to call back the shuttle?” Lieutenant Rafaeli asked.

  “Not yet,” the CO said. “We may need them back quickly, but as of right now, let them continue their mission. I suspect we’re going to have to kill the enemy ship eventually, and their mission represents our best chance to kill it without taking any fire in return. Any day I don’t have to dodge torpedoes is a good day.”

  “Amen to that,” the DSO muttered.

  “Captain Sheppard, I am reasonably confident one of the new ships just transmitted something to the ship we are following,” Steropes said; “however, I can’t break it.”

  “Solomon, what about you?” the CO asked. “Can you translate it?”

  “No sir,” the ship’s AI replied. “I am unable to translate it, but I can tell you it is definitely not the same as the Efreeti communications we saw before.”

  “I’ve got a third enemy ship,” the DSO said. “This one appears to be a cruiser.”

  “So there are a total of four enemy ships in this system?” the CO asked.

  “Yes sir,” Steropes replied. “No, five of them now. Another cruiser just jumped in.”

  “I hope Lieutenant Commander Hobbs destroys the first one quickly then,” the CO said. “This universe is getting awfully damn crowded.”

  Cargo Bay, Shuttle 01, Anti-HD 69830 System, Unknown Date

  “One minute to deployment,” Lieutenant Neil ‘Trouble’ Watson commed. “We’ve matched velocities with the enemy vessel and are making our final approach.”

  “Ramp coming down in 30 seconds,” added the pilot, Lieutenant Jeff ‘Canuck’ Canada.

  “Copy that,” Calvin replied. He switched to the platoon’s network. “One minute out. Ramp coming down in 30 seconds. Everyone check your suit seals. Mining crew, standby by to deploy.”

  Lieutenant O’Leary, Gunnery Sergeant Dantone and Sergeant Braig stood up and shuffled their way to the end of the cargo compartment where they picked up their improvised limpet mines. “Let’s get this done quickly,” O’Leary said. “We don’t know if they have any sensors on the outside of the hull. I’d like to be gone before anybody comes out to see what we’re doing.”

  The ramp lowered, and the soldiers saw the ship for the first time. Unlike the smooth surface of the ships that came from the Terran replicators, the surface of the alien spacecraft was littered with what looked like nuts and bolts.

  “What a piece of shit,” Sergeant Braig said as he got a look. “That looks like something my kid built.”

  “Focus, you morons,” Lieutenant O’Leary said. “If I have to—”

  Everything flashed, and Calvin could feel himself falling up.

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-HD 69830 System, Unknown Date

  “Sir!” the OSO called. “The ship we were following just jumped!”

  “What?”

  “It’s gone sir! I think there’s a problem, too. It looks like only part of the shuttle jumped with it. There are pieces of refined metal in the vicinity of where the ship was.”

  “I’ve got a distress beacon from the pilot,” Steropes added; “however, there aren’t any life signs. It looks like the shuttle’s cockpit was cut in half.”

  Cargo Bay, Shuttle 01, HD 69830 System, November 9, 2021

  Calvin had never felt this disoriented before, including the times he had done Navy training that was intended to disorient him. Along with the flash, he got the familiar nauseated feeling that occurred when… “We just jumped back to our universe,” he commed. He looked at the cargo ramp and watched helplessly as O’Leary and the two cyborgs went spiraling off into space as the shuttle’s gravity failed. Before he could say anything else, a chorus of voices started babbling on the net.

  “Holy fuck! The roof of the shuttle’s missing!”

  “The cockpit got cut in half!”

  “Hey, where’d the gravity go?”

  “We’re drifting away from the ship!”

  “We’re all going to die!”

  Realizing he was losing control, Calvin flipped his transmitter to OVERRIDE and yelled, “Shut the hell up and listen! We just jumped into our own universe. The shuttle is fucked. Abandon ship and fly down to the alien ship before it jumps again. Let’s go! Follow me!”

  He pushed up from his seat and through where the roof used to be. Clear of the shuttle, he used his maneuvering jets to fly toward the enemy ship. Calvin came in for a landing next to Lieutenant O’Leary, who pointed behind him.

  Calvin turned to see a string of soldiers following him down…and the out-of-control shuttle. Something must have broken, as it motors were on full thrust. The shuttle spun and dove into the alien vessel, slamming in
to it near the bow. Even from the other end of the ship, Calvin could see a huge dent and feel the contact through his feet. It probably made a huge ringing noise inside the ship, too.

  “Well, they know we’re here,” Calvin said as he watched the shuttle rebound from the enemy destroyer and dash off into space. “Everybody come to the back of the ship, and we’ll enter together.”

  Bridge, Jotunn Ship Naglfar, HD 69830 System, November 9, 2021

  Fornjot Deathbringer, who ruled the Jotunn society as ‘Odin,’ surveyed the bridge of his command ship Naglfar. There was no fear or tension, only the joy of battle with an enemy. He would have had it no other way; in fact, he would personally have killed anyone who showed fear. His gaze met the head of his military forces, or ‘Freyr.’

  “Status?” the Odin asked.

  “The Aesir command ship Surt has been destroyed,” the Freyr noted. “Now there is nothing between us and the battle station controlling their minefield. We have already lost the battlecruiser Jormungand to their mines.”

  “Good,” the Odin replied. “The battle station is the priority. Once the mines are gone, they will only have their fleet…and it is hardly a match for ours.” There was a difference between the ‘joy of battle’ with an enemy and having his forces destroyed by robot mines; the minefield was a cowardly way to conduct battle. It was far better for combat to be battle axe to battle axe, or at least ship to ship.

  “My Odin, there is an incoming transmission for you from…an Aesir?” the communicator asked. “Someone calling himself ‘Nightsong?’”

  “Put it on screen.”

  The front screen lit up with the image of an Aesir, and the Odin stifled a growl. After over 200 years of inbred hatred for the elven race, it was hard to stand the sight of any of them, even if the Aesir in question was currently helping him.