The warship raced away from Lorimos and still Lanson wasn’t sure it would be enough. On the planet’s surface below, the darkness had expanded far beyond the Cornerstone base, and the warship’s sensors were no longer gathering a meaningful feed from the landing field.

  For a moment, everything seemed to stop, as though time itself had frozen.

  And then, the Galos imploded.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  From Lanson’s vantage, he saw the entire Cornerstone base crumpling inwards, like it was no more than a piece of paper. This happened in less than a second, and then the forests and the plains surrounding the facility did likewise. In moments, the surface of the planet in a huge radius around the Galos was being drawn inwards. At first, the matter at the circumference slid gradually towards the alien device, and then it accelerated as the forces acting against it increased.

  Lanson couldn’t give his full attention to the feeds and he returned his gaze to his control panel. The New Beginning’s velocity gauge continued climbing, its rate undiminished from before, and the distance between the destroyer and the planet was increasing rapidly. The warship was now travelling at 2200 kilometres per second – which was just another unbelievable truth amongst all the others. Lanson backed off the controls and let the warship coast through the vacuum.

  When he looked once more at the feeds, he could hardly believe the ongoing destruction. The affected area of Lorimos was a circle with a diameter of two thousand kilometres, and within this circle, nothing could escape the pull of the imploding Galos. Mountains, rivers, lakes and everything else were sucked inwards. To the south, the waters of an immense ocean were also being dragged towards the alien device.

  After less than thirty seconds, it was over, and Lorimos would never be the same again. The implosion had created a hemispherical indentation in the planet, two thousand kilometres across and a thousand deep. Within this hemisphere, nothing existed, bar the ruins of the planet’s surface which tumbled in from around the edges, and the seawater from the ocean, which rained over the edge at a rate of many billions of cubic metres per second.

  “What happened to the Galos?” asked Lanson, looking down into the crater. Far below the surface, there was only magma, and he got the strangest impression he was staring into an eye with no pupil and an iris of intense orange.

  “I think it’s gone, Captain,” said Turner. “If it created a black hole, we’d still be seeing the effects of its gravity on the planet, but there’s nothing, and there are no blank spots on the sensors either.”

  “It can’t have just vanished,” said Abrams. “Material doesn’t disappear. It can’t be unmade.”

  “I’m not taking us back for a closer look, just so you can write a paper on it, Lieutenant,” said Lanson. He inhaled slowly. “The New Beginning’s velocity is now at 2200 kilometres per second, and, since we aren’t being hauled back, I’m guessing that we’re safe.”

  “If the Galos is gone, how did the New Beginning manage to achieve a 2200 kilometres per second velocity?” asked Massey. “We can’t be within the acceleration field anymore.”

  With everything else that was going on, Lanson hadn’t even made that connection. “Our maximum engine output is still sky high,” he said. “Lieutenant Abrams, tell me what’s happening, but before that, give me the damage report I asked for.”

  “I hadn’t forgotten the report, Captain,” said Abrams. “The Thak projectile hit us on our starboard flank at an oblique. It didn’t rupture our armour plating and it didn’t damage any of our weaponry.”

  “Now tell me about the increased engine output,” said Lanson.

  Abrams was quiet for a moment, thinking. “You’ll need to give me time to perform some analysis of the hardware, but if you twisted my arm right now and—”

  “I am twisting your arm, Lieutenant.”

  “I’d say the Galos modified the atomic structure of our propulsion while we were in the acceleration field and those effects have lingered.”

  “So we’re now in charge of a warship that can outpace anything in the Human Federation fleet by a factor of at least five, and a Sagh’eld battleship by a factor of at least three,” said Lanson.

  “Like I said, Captain, you’ll need to give me a chance to run some analysis reports.”

  “You’d best get started on it,” said Lanson.

  He looked at the velocity gauge once more and decided the New Beginning was far enough away from Lorimos. He pulled back on the controls and the gauge reading fell rapidly. When it was showing four hundred kilometres per second, he set the warship on a circular course that would keep it directly above the crater on the planet’s surface. Lanson needed some time to think, and he certainly needed to gather data on the events which had taken place.

  “Uh, Captain, we’ve received a comms request from a vessel called Evortian,” said Perry. “It’s a Sagh’eld warship and they want us to open a channel.”

  Although there was little communication between humanity and the Sagh’eld, the two sides had learned enough about each other that language was no longer an issue. Few in the Human Confederation could actually speak the Sagh’eld tongue, but the computers in the military certainly could.

  “Shit, I should have given more thought to the fact there might be other enemy spaceships within the vicinity of Lorimos,” said Lanson. “Scan for the Evortian,” he ordered.

  “Yes, sir, scanning.”

  “The Evortian shouldn’t have been able to detect our comms receptors,” said Lanson.

  “That’s right, sir,” said Turner. “However, it looks as if the technicians on Cornerstone made an oversight. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the New Beginning is still transmitting its position to its home base.”

  Lanson held in a sigh. “Which might be the start of an explanation as to how the Sagh’eld discovered first discovered Cornerstone, and then learned about the Galos module.”

  “Yes, Captain,” said Turner. “What you’re saying is entirely possible.”

  Lanson didn’t want to speculate on the details for now – there were forensics teams in the military who were employed to get to the bottom of crap like this, not that there’d be much evidence to gather on Lorimos. Here and now, he had an enemy warship to deal with.

  “The Evortian requests to know why we aren’t responding, Captain,” said Perry.

  “Shit, they must know the New Beginning – or whatever it used to be called – was captured and being held on Lorimos,” said Lanson. “That makes me think the Sagh’eld are playing for an advantage.”

  “The Evortian is beyond easy scan range, Captain,” said Turner. “I’ll extend the scan area, but each doubling of the radius increases the scan volume by eight. If the enemy crew know what they’re doing, it could take a long time to find them.”

  “But they found us, damnit!” said Lanson.

  “Like we just discussed, it’s possible the New Beginning is transmitting its location,” said Turner. “I’ve looked, but I can’t even confirm it’s happening, let alone find out how to switch it off – it’s probable the Human Confederation and Sagh’eld control systems aren’t speaking to each other perfectly.”

  Lanson was very much tempted to push the New Beginning’s engines up towards full power and keep going until the enemy warship was far behind. However, he was still furious at what the Sagh’eld had done to Cornerstone – and hadn’t even begun to think about the number of deaths – and this made him reluctant to run from a fight. After all, humanity and the Sagh’eld were still at war.

  “Is there any way to back trace the enemy warship’s transmission to its source?” Lanson asked.

  “I—” Perry began. “An HC warship doesn’t include any such data in its transmissions, but it’s possible the Sagh’eld do things differently. Let me check.”

  The seconds went by, and the Evortian made a third request for a comms channel, which Lanson instructed Lieutenant Turner to ignore. He still couldn’t figure out what the enemy were playing at and the only reason he could think of for this behaviour was that the crew of the opposing warship had been kept in the dark about some aspects of their mission to Lorimos. Perhaps their sole objective had been to support the Ex’Kaminar during its engagement with the local fleet, in case the Human Confederation warships put up stiffer than expected resistance.

  The HC military pulls this kind of need-to-know crap all the time, so why would it be so hard to imagine the Sagh’eld don’t indulge in the same practices?

  “Have you found anything, Lieutenant Perry?” asked Lanson.

  “Yes, sir. The back routing data is present in the inbound transmissions – I’m just trying to figure out how to convert it into something we can use. And before you get your hopes up, the data is only relevant at the time at which the transmission was sent – if the Evortian is in motion, the warship will already be elsewhere.”

  “Understood,” said Lanson.

  “Got it!” said Perry a short time later. “We have three data points – one from each of the inbound transmissions. The Evortian is travelling at a low velocity, approximately one hundred thousand klicks from our position. That’s enough for me to narrow down the search.”

  “Captain?” said Lieutenant Turner. “I have Sergeant Gabriel on the internal comms. He’d like to speak to you. He says it’s important.”

  Gabriel rarely made direct contact with the bridge, and that gave Lanson momentary pause. However, the urgency of the situation was too great for interruptions. “I can’t speak with him now, Lieutenant. Tell him we’re in the middle of an engagement.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Captain, I’ve located the enemy vessel!” said Perry. “By mass and appearance, it’s another Vachal.”

  “Show me the feed,” said Lanson.

  “It’s on your screen, sir.”

  Despite the enemy vessel’s distance, the New Beginning’s sensors gathered a feed sharp enough to remind Lanson anew of the technological disparity between his species and the Sagh’eld. The Evortian was travelling at approximately fifty kilometres per second, with its starboard flank facing the New Beginning. As Lanson watched, the enemy vessel rolled around its longitudinal axis, so that its portside flank was facing.

  “They’re launching missiles,” he said in realisation. “That roll is to bring its loaded clusters onto target.” Lanson cursed. “How many salvoes has it launched? Find those missiles!”

  “Captain, a Zavon missile travels at five hundred kilometres per second,” said Matlock. “You should consider outrunning them and exiting the arena.”

  “Like hell,” growled Lanson. “Commander Matlock, a particle beam on a Vachal cruiser has an approximate effective range of fifty thousand klicks.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Let’s find out if our Galos-accelerated particle beam improves on that.”

  “Yes, sir. Targeting the Evortian with our particle beam.”

  “Fire when ready.”

  “Captain, I’ve detected the first inbound wave of enemy missiles,” said Turner. “They’ll impact with the New Beginning in less than thirty seconds.”

  “Particle beam: fired,” said Matlock.

  Lanson felt the same expulsion he remembered from the weapon’s previous discharge. A red beam lanced from the New Beginning’s nose and struck the Evortian on its portside flank.

  The moment he saw that the attack was successful, Lanson pushed the control bars to the ends of their guide slots, and the warship accelerated savagely. Such was the force of it that the New Beginning’s life support struggled to cope, and he felt himself pressed back into the padding of his seat. The propulsion howled, and the sound and thrill of it threatened to flood his senses.

  One brief look at the feeds was enough for Lanson to determine that the single strike hadn’t put the Evortian out of action. Although the New Beginning’s particle beam had clearly been upgraded, it wasn’t powerful enough to score a one-shot kill.

  Setting a course that would bring the warship in a wide arc towards the Evortian, Lanson’s eyes flicked over to his tactical screen. The inbound missiles were curving to follow the New Beginning. A second inbound wave appeared, and then a third. Lanson watched them for only a moment. His warship was already travelling at such a velocity that the Zavons wouldn’t be able to intercept.

  “Commander Matlock, wait until we’re at close range, and then fire everything we’ve got at those alien bastards.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The New Beginning’s velocity hit two thousand kilometres per second, and Lanson held it there. He knew the engines had more to give, but there was no need to push them to their limits for this engagement.

  Staring at the Sagh’eld destroyer, Lanson felt the blood pound in his temples. Although the Evortian hadn’t played a major role in the widescale murder on Cornerstone, it was the only opponent he had in front of him. He knew he couldn’t succumb to hatred, and he swallowed it down.

  The distance between the two vessels closed rapidly and the Evortian began accelerating straight towards the New Beginning, as if the enemy crew realised they had no choice other than to fight. The Sagh’eld vessel’s flank was burning across much of its midsection from the particle beam strike, and Lanson hoped the attack had taken out a few of its critical systems.

  “I’m ready on the missiles, Captain,” said Matlock. “And our particle beam has recharged.”

  “Hold the missiles for my order,” said Lanson. “Fire the particle beam.”

  “Particle beam: discharged,” said Matlock.

  The red beam’s travel time was less than a second, and it stabbed into the Evortian. At the same time, the enemy vessel fired its own particle beam. Red lights lit up on Lanson’s control panel and he bared his teeth in anger.

  “We took that hit on our own particle beam housing,” said Abrams. “It’s protected by plenty of heat dissipation layers, so hopefully we won’t lose the hardware.”

  “Our particle beam has shut down, Captain,” said Matlock. “I don’t know if it’s failed, or if it’s gone offline because of the heat.”

  “We aren’t going to need a third shot,” said Lanson his eyes on the Evortian. The enemy vessel had also been struck on the nose and it glowed bright like a fast-approaching star.

  “Distance to target vessel: twenty thousand kilometres,” said Perry. “Ten thousand.”

  Anticipating the enemy missile launch, Lanson banked the New Beginning hard to portside. His timing was just right.

  “Missile launch detected from the enemy vessel,” said Turner. “Thirty-six total.”

  The incoming Zavons turned sharply as they tracked the New Beginning along its changed course. Lanson continued banking the warship, bringing it around in a full circle, with the enemy warheads still pursuing fruitlessly. Once he had the Evortian in his sights, he set the New Beginning on an intercept course. The Sagh’eld pilot banked away.

  “Five thousand klicks to target,” said Perry.

  “Ready,” Lanson said under his breath. He waited until the New Beginning was almost on top of the Evortian. “Fire the missiles!”

  “Portside and underside Zavon clusters one to three: fired!” said Matlock.

  The missiles burst from their launch clusters and the range was so short that they struck the Evortian less than two seconds later. The warheads detonated all along the Sagh’eld vessel’s topsides, erupting into flames.

  “Rear Zavon clusters one to three: fired!” said Matlock.

  “Missile launch detected from the enemy vessel!” said Perry. “Eighteen total.”

  The New Beginning’s second salvo crashed into the Evortian’s portside flank, ripping out huge chunks of armour already weakened by the earlier particle beam strike. Lanson was sure the Zavon detonations on the enemy’s topsides had been more than enough, but sometimes it was best to make sure.

  “The Evortian’s last missile salvo is falling behind, Captain,” said Perry.

  Lanson only nodded in response, as he watched the Sagh’eld destroyer break apart from the enormous damage it had suffered. Debris spun rapidly away in every direction, hurled outwards by the force of the Zavon explosions.

  “Done,” said Lanson simply. “The pursuing missiles will shut down once we’re out of their targeting range. We’ll coast until it happens.”

  “What if there are other Sagh’eld warships in the vicinity of Lorimos?” asked Matlock. “Are we intending to fight them all?”

  “I don’t know, Commander,” said Lanson.

  He suddenly felt tired. The stress, not just of his time on Cornerstone, but the engagement with the Vachal at Renar-2 before that, had taken its toll. Lanson guessed he’d been running on adrenaline for too long, and his body needed some time out. And yet, the appearance of the Evortian had caused a red mist to descend. He’d needed the purity of that one-on-one engagement to bring him some kind of closure to his time on Cornerstone, with its streets of death, and the crazy unpredictability of the Galos module.

  More than anything, Lanson found himself craving a steaming cup of coffee, if such a thing could be found on a stolen Sagh’eld destroyer.

  He leaned back in his seat and asked himself what was next.

  The answer soon came.

  NEW BEGINNINGS, PERHAPS

  “Captain, I found this stuck to part of the shielding on the Galos module,” said Sergeant Gabriel, stretching out a hand with his palm upwards.

  Lanson peered at the tiny cube in Gabriel’s hand. “If you’re about to ask me what it’s for, I can’t tell you, Sergeant.” He looked up. “From your expression, you’ve got some ideas yourself.”

  “It was Private Wolf who made the discovery, sir,” said Gabriel. “She was doing some stuff to her comms pack and she found that with the right settings, it’s possible to form a data link to this cube.”

  “And did Private Wolf make the link?”