Incursion Read online

  “It’s closing much faster than before, sir. Vengeance needs four more minutes to pass through completely, it’s going to be a close thing.”

  “What are you seeing, Marine X?”

  “Sentinel activity, sir. It’s like they’re chattering to themselves, but no indication yet of defensive action. If you asked me to make an assessment, I’d say they’ve seen us.”

  “So why aren’t they taking offensive action?” Stansfield asked aloud. “Can we increase speed, Fernandez?”

  “Affirmative, Admiral, but if we increase speed, we’ll reduce our capacity to fast-launch the Raptors if we need to…”

  “Advice, please,” Stansfield said.

  “Suggest maintaining a suitable Raptor launch speed and monitoring progression of wormhole closure,” said Fernandez.

  “Launch Raptors, then increase speed,” came Conway’s voice from her position in the bay.

  “I agree with Conway, sir,” said Davies. “I’ve not seen the portal close as fast as this, and it’s going to catch our tail if we don’t accelerate.”

  “You must turn back and wait for orders from the Admiralty, backup, and authorisation to proceed further,” said Woodhall.

  “Three minutes to portal closure,” came a voice from the bridge.

  “No, we’re committed, and this is a one-way trip,” said Stansfield. “Launch Raptors, Charlie Team, and get through the portal. Helm, increase speed the moment they’ve launched. Calculations please, Davies.”

  “A twenty-five per cent increase in speed at ninety seconds will get us through, sir. You’ve got a minute to get your butts out of that bay, Charlie Team.”

  “I’m seeing stars already, DD!” came Conway’s voice. She’d been itching to launch and had fired her engines before Stansfield had even completed his command.

  “Me too,” Hunter’s voice followed, then Kearney, then Mason.

  “Charlie Team are clear,” said Fernandez. “HRs at the ready if we need them.”

  “Why not just increase speed and launch the Hostile Response craft?” asked a frustrated Woodhall. “What’s the point of giving you that capability if you stick to using your outdated technology?”

  “Let me remind you that our ‘outdated technology’ is what got us this far,” snapped Stansfield. “Those Raptors use old signatures, they won’t set off anything nasty going through the portal.”

  “Yes, but once we’re through the portal, what does it matter? Surely we should be using the best we have, not crappy old attack craft that should have been mothballed decades ago!”

  Vernon interrupted this time.

  “Those crappy old Raptors have saved this ship’s arse on more occasions than I care to remember. They’ve saved my own life on at least fifteen separate occasions. Don’t knock a Raptor, Lieutenant, they’re built of strong stuff and a delight to handle in battle.”

  Woodhall was silenced at last, but Stansfield could see he was going to be a constant problem. They watched him slink off, away from the bridge, no doubt to plan his next snitching call to the Admiralty if they ever managed to re-establish comms.

  “Speed increased by twenty-five per cent as requested,” said Fernandez.

  “Raptors, maintain escort pattern for Vengeance. Keep your eyes open wide, ladies and gentlemen,” said Vernon. “If anything moves out there, I want to know about it.”

  Davies jumped up like he’d had sudden inspiration. “I’ve got an idea, sir.”

  “Speak,” said Stansfield.

  “That shuttle Ten is in. We can use it to open a data wormhole to Sol and hop signals out of the portal when it opens.”

  “Thirty seconds,” came the countdown from the bridge.

  “Park that idea, Davies,” said Stansfield. “Are we getting through?” he asked.

  “Increase speed!” Davies shouted. “Now, by fifty per cent.”“

  “Do it!” Stansfield commanded.

  “Ay, sir, adjusting now,” said the midshipman at the helm.

  “Are the instrument calibrations correct on this ship?” Davies asked. He’d gone from inspired to flustered in ten seconds flat.

  “We tend to allow a little extra here and there,” Vernon, frowning at Davies” excitement.

  “What do you mean by that?” Davies asked, completely oblivious to the expressions on his superiors’ faces.

  “Well, if a dial reads ten,” said Fernandez, “it probably means somewhere between nine and eleven, but it could be anything from six to fourteen.”

  Davies frowned.

  “Don’t take anything on Vengeance as an absolute reading,” said Fernandez. “We tend to add in a bit of buffer when making calculations.”

  “Portal closed, we’re now through safely,” Vernon issued the update.

  “Bring us to rest four kilometres clear of the dead centre of the portal,” said Stansfield, “then let’s take a look at what’s out there. And get me some data on that portal closing, that’s the shortest window I’ve seen for as long as we’ve been observing that thing. Vernon, get me a scan of this star system, I want to know if it’s known to Sol.”

  “It’s all quiet out here,” said Kearney. “Not that I’m bored or anything, but it’s as dead as night.”

  “Yeah,” replied Ten, “but have you seen what ugly creatures come out to play at night? Permission to bring this piece of crap back to the hangar and get my butt into the seat of one of those Raptors?”

  “Permission granted,” came Stansfield’s voice over the comms. “Charlie Team, maintain your escort array pending a full scan of the area. Marine X, get yourself out back out there in a more suitable vehicle. I’m interested in this idea of yours, Davies. The one with the shuttle.”

  “Listen in, Fernandez,” said Vernon.

  “If we send out Marine X’s shuttle when the portal next opens, we can rig a line through the portal to a comms buoy and talk to Kingdom 10.”

  “Like a short-range walkie-talkie?” Fernandez asked.

  “Exactly, sir,” said Davies. “And if Kingdom 10’s new wormhole communicator, courtesy of Colossus, is up and running, we’ll be able to talk to Sol. It’ll be no use to use when the portal is closed, but the minute it opens, we can hop signals from Kingdom 10 to the shuttle, down the line to the buoy, and then to Vengeance.”

  “And security?” Stansfield asked. “It can’t be an open comms line from Vengeance to the shuttle.”

  “We could assign a dynamic encryption protocol to everything leaving Vengeance. Once it’s hopped from the shuttle, it would be secure by default. At least we won’t be on our own out here.”

  “Do it,” Stansfield said. “Davies, work with Fernandez. I’m taking you away from your team while you sort this out. Make it a priority, I want to test it next time that portal opens.”

  sent Davies to Charlie Team's HUDs.

  “We’ve got the report on the star system, Admiral,” said Vernon as he stepped over to Stansfield. “You may like to see this before we share it.”

  “In my ready room,” said the Admiral. “Anybody else need to see it yet? Operationally?”

  “I think you’ll want to see this privately first, sir, before we communicate to the team.”

  They moved to the side of the bridge into Stansfield’s sparse and neglected ready room. It looked much like it had been under dust sheets for some time.

  “Okay, Ed,” said Stansfield when the door had closed. “What is it?”

  “We know why Vengeance is here,” said Vernon darkly, “but we don’t know why we’re here right now.”

  “No clues in the report?” said Stansfield with a frown.

  “Nothing, sir,” said Vernon. “It’s like the rest of the Navy just forgot about this place. They built Kingdom10, ran it as a military base for a few decades, then turned her over to a civilian scientific project. Nothing’s happened here for over a century.”

  “Figures,” grunted Stansfield. “Bloody desk-pilots. They wouldn’t know a threat if it smacke
d them in the face.”

  “Anyway,” said Vernon, ignoring Stansfield’s cynical observations, “the point is that the Navy has no other resources in the area. It’s us and Kingdom10, that’s it.”

  Stansfield frowned and looked up, surprised. “You’re sure? Just Vengeance?”

  Vernon nodded, and Stansfield frowned even harder.

  “Then we’d better make sure we’re up to the challenge, Commander, because things might get a bit difficult if it’s just us.”

  “Aye, sir,” said Vernon. “I guess we’re just in the right place at the right time.”

  “Exactly as we planned, Ed,” said Stansfield. “Exactly as we planned.”

  14

  “Permission to take a look around, sir?” said Conway over the comms system.

  “Permission granted,” came Stansfield’s voice, now back on the bridge. “Steady out there, Charlie Team, I can’t believe they don’t know we’re here.”

  “Defensive cluster, Charlie Team. No day-trips, Ten, understood?” said Conway.

  “Yeah, of course,” he replied, now comfortably ensconced in his own Raptor. “Though it does look kinda pretty over there.”

  “Has anybody ever flown one of these things before?” Mason asked.

  “I used to VR them at the academy, they’re lovely machines,” said Conway, allowing her mind to wander back to simpler days. “I don’t know why the Navy moved onto the HR craft, they always felt a bit flimsy to me.”

  “Somebody told them that small craft were a boon for space combat,” said Ten acidly. “As if anyone would ever bother to use the bloody things in anger.”

  Hunter joined in the conversation. “Decommissioned Raptors are used by space pirates and smugglers these days. They love ‘em ‘cos they’re fast, small and have space for both a few passengers and a little cargo. Did anybody play Deadly Mission 3 in VR when they were younger?”

  “Yeah, I loved that game,” said Mason, joining Hunter on the trip down memory lane.

  “The Gazelles in that game are a direct rip-off of Raptors,” said Hunter. “The Navy tried take legal action over it, it was so close. Military secrets and all that. It was a great game, though.”

  Ten’s voice interrupted the nostalgia trip. “Incoming! What is that thing?”

  “It’s coming straight at us,” Conway responded. “Shit, there are five of them. Action stations, Charlie Team, spread out. Be warned, Vengeance, we are under attack.”

  The five Raptors dispersed from their cluster and spread out.

  “Has anybody got a visual yet?” asked Kearney.

  “I see them,” Mason confirmed. “Five black spheres, active mines or heat-seeking missiles, I’d guess. Technology unknown. They’re not heading for Vengeance, repeat, not heading for Vengeance.”

  “Balls,” exclaimed Ten, “five of them, and that’s not something I thought I’d be able to put in my mission report. Right, watch this, I may need your backup.”

  “Steady, Ten,” Conway cautioned. “Oh, too late, I see.”

  Ten had accelerated hard in his Raptor and acted as bait for the approaching missiles. As he’d done so, one of the spheres had broken formation and moved to intercept him.

  “We’ve got one each,” said Mason. “Did anybody see if those things were fired or if they were sitting there already?”

  “My guess is they’re Sentinel Mines,” said Kearney. “Sol used to deploy them, but they get a bad rep because they have a habit of taking out friendly craft. Whoever left these out here doesn’t give a crap about the risks.”

  “We were ten kilometres out from the portal centre when they activated,” said Conway. “Looks like we breached some perimeter or stepped on a tripwire.”

  “Err, excuse me guys,” Ten interrupted, keen to remind them of his present predicament. “It’s all right you all having a nice chit-chat, but some of us have a Sentinel Mine right up their arse.”

  “On it, Ten,” Mason responded, snapping into action. “Prepare for a bump, I’m going to have to shoot it just beyond your burners.”

  “Bracing.”

  “Wow, I love this targeting system,” Mason said, excited at piloting the unfamiliar craft.

  “What’s the shooting like?” Ten asked sarcastically. “Seriously, you might want to give that a try too. Like sometime before I get blown up by this thing?”

  There was a massive purple explosion at Ten’s rear, and his Raptor was showered with shrapnel. Alarms blared and the monitors flashed damage reports, but the critical systems were undamaged.

  “Got it,” Mason declared.

  “That scorched my arse, it was so close,” said Ten. “Damage is minimal, though. If that thing had caught me before Mason smashed it, I'd have been toast.”

  “I love these Raptors,” said Mason, delighted to be getting some action. “Conway, you’re next, I recommend evasive action.”

  “I see it, Mason. Kearney, have you got this?”

  “I’m on it,” she replied. “Mason and Ten, stay alert, we’ve all got one of these things on our rear.”

  “I could do with your help, Kearney,” Conway reminded her, watching the mine getting closer.

  “Damn it, Mason, you’re right about this targeting system,” said Kearney, getting into the swing of piloting her Raptor. “Watch this, and brace for impact, Hunter.”

  There were two purple explosions in rapid succession: first the mine that was tracking Conway, then the mine that had moved to intercept Hunter.

  “Whoa, careful, Kearney,” Hunter mock-protested. “At least warn a man before you stick a firework up his behind!”

  Conway wasted no time getting straight back to her objectives. “Mason and Kearney, continue using evasive flying patterns, those things are getting faster.”

  “I’ve got yours in my sights, Mason,” came Kearney’s voice. “It’s almost on you. Damn, these things are good, it’s predicting your movement pattern.”

  “Try the random evasive option,” Hunter suggested. “Scroll down, it’s at the bottom of the options. They fixed that bug on the VR Gazelles, but never did it in real life, by the look of it.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got that now,” Mason responded, checking his controls. “Neat, it can’t keep up with me now. Thanks, Hunter, good tip.”

  “Brace for impact, Mason,” said Kearney. “Damn it, it missed. Are these things learning?”

  Kearney’s missile flew past the dark, spherical object and exploded well away from its target.

  “I think that’s an affirmative, Kearney,” Conway confirmed. “Move to evasive now, your Sentinel Mine is too close for comfort. Deploy the random evasive option like the nice man said.”

  “Gee, no one ever called me a nice man before.”

  “There’s a first time for everything, Hunter,” Conway said, a smile in her voice. “How about you take a shot at one of these things and show us how good you were playing Deadly Mission 3?”

  “My pleasure!” Hunter exclaimed. “Watch and learn, Charlie Team, this is how you fly a Raptor.”

  Hunter drew away from Conway and Ten and positioned himself above Kearney and Mason, who were both in a random evasive array pattern. He plugged his finger into one of the data transfer ports on the ship’s console, and a green light pulsed to confirm that his download had been completed.

  “Oh, yes! It took the mod. Watch this shot, Ten, you’re gonna pee your pants over this.” Hunter was getting carried away with himself now. “Kearney and Mason, you’ll see a code on your HUDs. Enter it into your consoles now.”

  Hunter confirmed his targeting options, waiting for confirmation that Kearney and Mason had done as he’d told them, then launched two missiles, one after the other.

  “Not a hope in hell, Hunter,” Ten said. “Those missiles are going wide.”

  “Agreed, Ten,” said Conway. “The Sentinels are getting too close for comfort.”

  There were two explosions in the distance. Conway and Ten checked that the right thing had exploded. It ha
d; Hunter had just taken out the last remaining Sentinel Mines.

  “How the hell did you do that?” Ten asked, genuinely impressed. “Those mines were all over the place, what with your random evasive pattern, or whatever Conway called it.”

  “I downloaded a game mod from Deadly Mission 3 into my Raptor,” Hunter beamed, relishing in the admiration. “It’s called Random Array Replicator. It allows missiles to track the randomised movements of Kearney’s and Mason’s craft, then predict to ninety-eight per cent accuracy the resultant actions hostile weaponry will take. It got it just right, it usually does.”

  “Jeez, Hunter, no wonder the Admiralty was pissed off about that game,” said Mason.

  “It was made by the same guy who built my arm,” Hunter revealed. “That man knows his stuff when it comes to tech. If the Navy weren’t so sniffy about human rights and shit like that, they’d be able to deploy this tech to the troops.”

  “But can you pick your nose with it, eh, Hunter?” asked Ten. “Because if a man can’t pick his nose with his robo-arm, what use is it?”

  “Sorry to break up this fascinating insight into the mind of a grown man who plays games for kids,” Conway interjected, “but there are more of those things on their way. Can you patch that mod though to the other Raptors, Hunter?”

  “I don’t know how Fernandez would feel about that,” Ten said.

  “Lieutenant Fernandez is busy working on a comms project with Trooper Davies in the bays,” came the voice of the Engineering Officer on their radios. “I guess he won’t know. Nice shooting work, by the way!”

  “Does he monitor everything?” asked Hunter.

  “Yes, I do,” came the reply.

  “Sending the mod now,” said Hunter.

  “Humour me, Charlie Team,” Conway picked up. “I want to test my new ten-k theory with these Sentinel Mines.”

  “I’m always in the market for a bit of creativity, Conway. What’s your vibe?” Mason asked.