The Complete Intrepid Saga: Books 1 - 4: Aeon 14 Novels Read online

  The thoughts of promotion and reward brought her mind to Corporal Taylor for a moment. The Marine had posthumously been awarded the Eight Planets of Valor and been added to the heroes roster of E Company, Battalion 242. It was an honor the company afforded to few, but his sacrifice could not be denied.

  She was brought back to the present by the needling Forsythe was giving Grenwald. Williams added a particularly choice example of a staff sergeant’s wit and they all broke into laughter.

  After the chuckles died down, Williams cast Tanis a questioning eye. “I have to say, Major. I really don’t get why you’re shipping out. This is what you were born to do.”

  “Could even pass as a Marine if you worked at it.” Forsythe grinned.

  “It’s my time,” Tanis said. “I’ve put in nearly fifty years of service, and let me tell you, in MICI years that’s more like five hundred. They don’t give us much downtime, just shuttle us from mission to mission. Hell, I’ve had periods where I’ve gone years with my only time off being in stasis.”

  The Marines nodded solemnly. They didn’t agree, but they respected her decision.

  “All the same.” Williams put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be sad to see you go.”

  “Who knows,” Tanis smiled. “We could meet again; it’s a big galaxy and stranger things have happened.”

  “I’d fight by your side any day, Major.” Williams’ grey eyes locked with hers. “You’re one hell of a soldier.”

  “Here’s to the Major.” Grenwald lifted his glass.

  “To the Major!” the other two chimed in.

  …………………………

  The party lasted for several more hours. In the end, all of the tables were empty but one. Tanis, Joe, Ouri, and Amy Lee sat around it, each nursing a final drink. The change from the loud revelry to relative silence had caused a melancholy to settle over them. The realization had hit that when they left the ring, it would be the last time they stepped foot on any structure in the Sol system or saw any people not already on the Intrepid. They were saying goodbye.

  “It’s different than I thought it would be,” Joe said. “I’m feeling sadder than I thought I would.”

  “I think we all are,” Ouri replied. “We’re leaving home, leaving Sol. We’re going out into the dark for a long time.”

  “Feels anticlimactic,” Tanis said. “I feel like after all this struggle that the struggle should just continue.”

  “Gah! Don’t say that.” Joe cringed. “I’m all struggled out.” Under the table he held her hand.

  “Oh believe me, I am too.” Tanis smiled. “But I’m going to have to reeducate myself on how to live without it.”

  “I think we all are.” Amy Lee returned Tanis’s smile. “I’m so used to feeling tense and suspicious I’ve begun to be cautious around my hairbrush. I’m surprised you trust yours with your new locks.”

  “Oh god I’m happy to have long hair again.” Tanis ran a hand through her shoulder-length blonde hair. “I’m going to grow it to my ankles.”

  “That’ll look…weird.” Joe smiled.

  “I recommend against extreme hair lengths,” Ouri said. “It gets really annoying.”

  “But I could create hair sculptures out of it on my head! I hear that’s all the rage on Triton these days.” Tanis grinned.

  “That was a decade ago,” Amy Lee said.

  “Oh.”

  “We should head back,” Joe said. “Debark is in two hours and you know how those security types like to have everything all sealed up well in advance.”

  “Hey!” All three ladies spoke at once and then burst out laughing. It felt good—good to laugh, good to be relaxed. Things were finally done here.

  Tanis and Joe walked arm in arm back to the Intrepid, lost in their own world together. Amy and Ouri walked slightly ahead of them, talking softly between themselves. For once Tanis didn’t feel the need to be on her guard. ChoSec was thick like flies on the ring. No one wanted the departure of the Intrepid to have any of the same troubles it had on the way in. Luckily, nothing suspicious had happened since that day. The thought made the hairs on the nape of Tanis’s neck rise, but she forced herself to relax. Just because nothing had happened did not mean something had to happen.

  Besides, with most of the upper echelons of the STR behind bars, no one was left to cause them trouble. Even if there were, it was unlikely that they would consider it worthwhile anymore. Like any company, eventually the STR had to cut its losses when looking at a losing venture.

  Despite her misgivings, they made it to the Intrepid without incident and the guards who checked them in saluted smartly.

  “You’re the last ones aboard, sirs.”

  “Seal it up then,” Tanis said. “It’s time to head into the black.”

  CHAPTER 34

  STELLAR DATE: 3227364 / 02.15.4124 (Adjusted Gregorian)

  LOCATION: GSS Intrepid, Near Main Asteroid Belt

  REGION: Jovian Combine, Sol Space Federation

  Tanis stared at the views being displayed on the commissary’s main wall. The entire space was covered with the starscape that was visible from the Intrepid’s bow. The ship was just passing the nominal orbit of the main asteroid belt, slightly above the absolute plane to avoid the small particles that had been disturbed by a Kirkwood gap in the belt.

  Even though Sol was just a pinprick in the lower left quadrant of the view, its brilliance in the cold expanse of space was almost like a physical pressure on the eyes. Over on the right, several overlays were visible showing the ship’s path toward Sol, with various periods of engine burn intensity highlighted. The current position was shown by a small representation of the ship with stats indicating vector and thrust to its right.

  Tanis found herself lost in the beauty of it. Very rarely did she simply look out into space and the stars; most of the time she was too focused on duty and security, but other than a few reports to file, there was little left for her to do.

  It seemed odd to have yet another celebration, but a day or two earlier someone had planned a small gathering before going into stasis and before long everyone was invited and the cooks were having a fit.

  Pulling her attention away from her inward thoughts, Tanis focused on the conversation around her.

  “I’ve gotta admit”—Ouri slurped a spoonful of soup—“This feels weird…this falling into the sun thing.”

  “I’ve done it a few times,” Joe said. “It is a bit different than using a planet to slingshot. Mainly because just getting close to a planet isn’t potentially fatal.”

  “That and most planets don’t fill the forward view days before you even get close.” Ouri grimaced.

  “You worry too much.” Tanis’s eyes had a dreamy look. “Eat food, enjoy drink, listen to banter. Nothing can ruin this. We’re finally on our way—finally leaving Sol and all of the nonsense.”

  “Who are you, and what have you done with Tanis?” Joe grinned. “You look like Tanis, but the words coming out of your mouth are calm and relaxed…dare I even say happy?”

  “It must be a robot, or maybe a clone,” Ouri said. “I was very certain that Tanis was actually incapable of anything approaching mellow. Should we call security?”

  “Aren’t we security?” Joe asked.

  “Crap…you mean we have to deal with this?”

  “Shut up.” Tanis scowled at her tablemates.

  “Oh thank god, it is you!” Joe grinned.

  A woman walked up to the table and pulled up a chair beside Tanis. “I tell you, it’s damn good to actually have a glass of wine again.” She spoke as though she knew everyone around her, but no one recognized her.

  She wore a long dress and a cowl which covered most of her head. Tanis tried to catch a glimpse of her eyes as the woman reached for the bottle to refill her glass.

  “Who—?” Joe began to say.

  “Amanda!” Tanis exclaimed and hugged the other woman. “We didn’t recognize you without a starship attached to your ass.”


  Ouri nearly choked on her drink and had to frantically gasp for breath as Joe handed her a napkin.

  “Oh my god, Tanis, that has got to be the funniest thing you’ve ever said.”

  Tanis scowled. “I’ll have you know I am funny all the time.”

  Angela said at her driest.

  “I gotta admit,” Joe said to Amanda. “I didn’t expect to see you here…I didn’t realize you could leave your…er…post.”

  “No pun intended,” Ouri smiled.

  “I was on shift for a bit longer than planned—Priscilla had a few problems adapting to the interface, but the plan is a ninety days on, ninety days off rotation between us. As much as I like Bob, I really do need this time to remember who I am.”

  “I have to admit, it is weird to hear your voice with my ears. I’m used to it being in my head,” Amy Lee said.

  “You and me both.” Amanda laughed.

  “Hey.” Tanis spotted someone across the crowd. “Isn’t that Lieutenant Collins of the GSS?”

  “Yeah.” Ouri looked over her shoulder where Tanis pointed. “Slimy guy, isn’t he?”

  “As the day is long,” Tanis replied. “But what’s he doing here? I thought he wasn’t mission.”

  “He wasn’t, but he requested crew status just before we left Cho. There were a couple of last-minute abdications, so he got in no problem. A few other people in his department got crew positions as well,” Joe said.

  “Damn,” Tanis said. “I really don’t like him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way.”

  “He’s a rubber all right. But let’s talk about happy things. Collins’ll sour my mood real fast.” Ouri reached for the bottle of wine and poured herself another glass.

  No one said anything for a moment and then they all burst out laughing at once—except for Ouri who looked perplexed.

  “What did I say?”

  They steered the conversation elsewhere and the light chatter continued through the meal. As the dinner was drawing to a close Captain Andrews rose from his place at the head table.

  “Greetings to you all,” he said to the assembled crowd. “I’m certain that all of you feel as pleased and excited as I do that we’re finally underway. For those of you who haven’t checked the latest stellar vector,” he gestured to the screens behind him, “we are achieving better than expected performance from both our engines and our ramscoop. I’m certain you are as happy as I and are very grateful to Earnest, Abby, and their teams for an amazing job in constructing this truly magnificent vessel.”

  Applause thundered as everyone clapped enthusiastically for the Reddings and their teams.

  The captain raised his hands for silence and the applause died away.

  “We are currently falling toward the sun at a rate that will cause our breakaway velocity to be 0.09c. We will continue to increase this speed through our interstellar burn to 0.12c. Because of this, we will alter our approach to LHS 1565 and overall we’ll shorten our trip by seventeen years.”

  This statement was met with more applause and cheering from the assembled mission crew and colonists. People were smiling and patting one another on the back. Tanis was certain that she even saw a smile crease the face of Abby Redding at the head table.

  Priscilla’s voice resonated through all command crew’s Links.

  Tanis looked to Joe. “Your fighters ready to roll?”

  “Suited and strapped in.”

  Tanis relayed the information to Captain Andrews.

 

  “Huh, and here we thought you were all relaxed,” Ouri smiled at Tanis. “Still thinking about all the possibilities I see.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen.” Captain Andrews was still standing, and his face betrayed no emotion other than calm. “We appear to have a potential issue affecting our exit of this system. All duty personnel, report to your assigned stations. Everyone else, check your local access points for any assignments, otherwise follow the general emergency plan.”

  With that he left the table and strode toward the closest tube that ran to the bridge. Several others including Terrance, the Reddings and Admiral Sanderson went with him; Tanis and Joe worked their way through the crowds to catch up with Amanda trailing just behind them.

  Joe analyzed the data Priscilla was streaming to them. “They appear to be some sort of fast intercept craft. Most likely a deployment type that will drop fighters…either that or they’re missiles.”

  “I don’t know which I prefer,” Tanis said.

  “Missiles,” Joe said as they caught the tube that slid in after the command crew had left. “Lower levels of programming on those. No human or AI onboard—fighters always have either…or both.”

  Captain Andrews addressed Joe over the Link, broadcasting across the local security net so that Tanis could hear as well.

  Joe responded.

  A moment later the tube disgorged them onto the command deck. The short access corridor led them into the main foyer, where Priscilla was working to ensure that all sections were covered and that everyone was where they were supposed to be. She didn’t look much different than Amanda, though Tanis could see some slight physical traits that didn’t match. She looked up and nodded at the two officers as they ran past her.

  “Good luck, keep us in one piece,” she said.

  “Don’t we always?” Joe smiled in return.

  The bridge was a study in energetic order. Everyone was doing something, but they were doing it with precision and calm. Every single person was in the upper echelons of their field. Moreover, Captain Andrews had worked them hard. The result was a cohesive team built from what otherwise would have just been a group of people good at disparate things.

  Tanis and Joe exchanged tokens with the bridge net and updates flooded in.

  Scan showed nine large cylindrical objects headed toward the Intrepid at 0.5c. Their point of origin appeared to be from the Thermis asteroids, a region owned by several mining groups. Tanis saw ties to the STR—a major purchaser of their raw materials.

  Readings and statistics on the incoming objects flowed in and Joe sat at a duty station seat where he updated the main holo with information and projections. Tanis stood near the rear of the bridge. While she was a competent pilot, Joe didn’t need her telling him how to do his job.

  “I believe they are carrier vessels,” Joe said aloud and Captain Andrews turned his command chair to look at him. Terrance was standing beside Tanis and swore softly. The Reddings were already at consoles, most likely preparing repair crews and readying the ES shields and laser turrets—Earnest had no reaction, but Abby shook her head.

  “I would expect three to five fighters to deploy from each once they are in range. I have event ETAs up on the net and holo. We’re most likely looking at a Theta Class fighter, they hit hard and do the job fast. They’re usually equipped with three dozen five-megaton fusion warheads.” Joe updated the bridge net with his data.

  “Well, that would get the job done fast,” Captain Andrews replied. “You realize that works out to about 1620 five-megaton devices.”

  “I do, sir. Tactical scenarios predict that we should be able to neutralize ninety percent of them, but that still leaves around 160, several times what it would take to cripple the Intrepid.”

  Andrews turned to one of the bridge crew. “What can we expect our ES shields to deflect?”

  “It’ll depend on how staggered they are, sir. We could survive every one of them given enough time between the impacts, but the magnetic conductors are going to heat up moving all of that radiation down the vanes and away from the ship. If we blow them then we’ll be delaying this trip.”

  “Fire control.” Captain
Andrews turned to another crewman. “At what maximum range can you engage the enemy with without bleed-off from the lasers risking our fighters?”

  “Based on the specs that Commander Evans has up on the command net, I’d say we’re looking at seven thousand kilometers.”

  “Then they’re going to have to work real hard to hit us.” The captain nodded. “Keep your fighters under that range after their initial salvo. It should help us even things out. What is the ETA on yellow getting out there as well?”

  “Twenty minutes, sir.”

  “I doubt this will last that long.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Deployment,” the woman at scan called out. “Looks like specs were bang on. We’ve got forty-five inbound fighters.”

  “Blue Wing is engaging,” Joe said.

  The main holo lit up with the feed from the battle. The attackers were doing their best to simply punch through the Intrepid’s defenses. With their v they were unable to perform any drastic maneuvers; the velocity that had allowed them to get in range so quickly now became a hindrance.

  “We’ve got some unexpected issues,” Joe said. “Our fighters’ targeting systems don’t have the processing power to handle this much time dilation.”

  Realization dawned on Tanis. Though notable time dilation from traveling too close to the speed of light didn’t occur under 0.6c, any time the fighters were flying directly toward or away from another their relative velocity was easily in that range. A quick change of direction and time expanded: trajectories, velocities, targeting, and shields all had to instantly adjust; sometimes they had to adjust several seconds ago.

  The conditions the pilots were enduring were at the edge of a human’s abilities. It took over an hour just to get into the special suit for handling the gee forces, and the fighters’ cockpits were full of gel to absorb motion. Drug cocktails were continually being pumped through the pilots to keep them conscious as a latticework of support webbing inside their brains kept the grey matter from being smeared inside their skulls. Combat like this was going to take weeks for them to recover from.