Ten minutes later, Turner delivered her conclusion. “Everything on the visible surface appears naturally formed, Captain. There are a few areas where I’d like to take a closer look, but the possibility of them being places of habitation are low.”

  Although there was, in theory, little time pressure on the mission – at least in this early stage – Lanson was nevertheless struggling against impatience. He couldn’t give into it, since an impatient warship commander was often the first one sucked into the void through a Gorlan missile hole in the armour of his or her warship, so he ignored the voice whispering in his head telling him it was time to pick up the pace.

  “We’ll stay at a quarter-million klicks and circle the planet until we’ve been able to scan the entire surface,” said Lanson.

  “At the New Beginning’s maximum velocity, it’ll be ten minutes until we have full visibility on the opposite side of Scalos,” said Perry.

  “Acknowledged,” said Lanson.

  He brought the warship out of its circular course and increased velocity rapidly. Soon the velocity gauge stopped climbing, and Lanson concentrated on keeping the vessel on course.

  Scanning the two halves of a planet in this manner was a less than perfect method when accuracy was desired, but it was the best way to achieve rapid results. Should the surface scans on the opposite side of Scalos reveal nothing, Lanson planned to reduce altitude and run circuits of the planet. There was something to find here – he felt it in his bones.

  As the New Beginning continued on its heading, Lieutenants Turner and Perry continued their surface scans. Although the warship’s velocity was too high for precision scanning, anything of significant size would still be an easy spot.

  Six minutes into the journey, Lieutenant Turner called out urgently for Lanson to reduce velocity.

  “What have you found?” asked Lanson, pulling back on the controls.

  “Surface excavations, Captain.”

  Lanson reduced the warship’s velocity to five kilometres per second, and then gave some of his attention to the starboard feed. What he saw was darker patches on the surface, with few other visible details.

  “The enhancement will be done in a moment,” said Turner.

  Suddenly, the feed snapped into greater focus, allowing Lanson a far clearer view. On the planet’s north-eastern cusp, an indented area was now visible and he saw what he thought were mountains of rock piled up around the edges.

  “Mine workings?” he wondered aloud.

  “I don’t know, Captain,” said Turner. “And we’re too far away for me to estimate how long ago these changes happened to the surface.”

  “We need to resume the journey.”

  “Yes, Captain. I’ll continue scanning, but at eight hundred klicks per second, I don’t anticipate I’ll gather too much useful data – not from this range at least.”

  Lanson increased the New Beginning’s velocity once more, but this time he was wary and didn’t push the warship to maximum. Although he didn’t know what the scars on the planet’s surface represented, he hoped they were proof that the mission hadn’t been a waste of time.

  After another three minutes, Lanson brought the warship once more to a near-standstill.

  “Scan the area again,” he said. “You have all the time you need.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Lanson watched the feed as Lieutenant Turner altered the focus and applied various enhancements to pull out the maximum detail from the planet’s surface.

  The excavations were extensive, covering an area of about ten kilometres by thirty, and going down several hundred metres. Displaced rock was scattered across the surface nearby, most of it piled up precariously along the edges of the workings.

  “I’ve detected ground vehicles and shuttles, Captain,” said Turner. “I’m fighting against the range, but I’m certain they’re Sagh’eld in origin.”

  Lanson felt a surge of different emotions. “I’d like to say I’m surprised.”

  “They’re looking for something,” said Lieutenant Abrams. “That’s the only reason for them to be so far from home.”

  In fact, the Human Confederation didn’t know how much territory the Sagh’eld claimed as their own, but it still seemed doubtful the enemy vessels here were anywhere near their home base.

  “I doubt there’s a shuttle in the enemy fleet that could make the lightspeed journey here in less than five years,” said Lanson. “That means they were brought here by something. Whatever it is, find it.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Turner.

  The situation was developing rapidly into something of potentially great significance. Lanson had already learned that the Sagh’eld knew of the species which had created the Galos, so the enemy clearly had their own sources of information. Those sources had brought them here, and the only reason Lanson could imagine for that was a search for tech. Having seen what the Galos was capable of, he couldn’t allow the Sagh’eld to obtain more of the same.

  “There are dozens of enemy resources in the excavation area, Captain,” said Perry. “The viewing angle isn’t good, but there’s a thousand-metre surface dredger parked in the southern area of the excavation, along with some lifter shuttles – real big ones – and some other vehicles I don’t recognize.”

  “There’s a shuttle taking off!” said Turner. “This one’s not a lifter – by its size it’s one of their usual transports.”

  “Run a prediction on its heading,” said Lanson. “And scan along the prediction line.”

  “Yes, sir, I’m already on it,” said Turner. She was quiet for a few seconds. “Found something!” she yelled. “Captain, there’s a Sagh’eld superheavy lifter about a hundred thousand klicks from the planet’s surface, and less than a quarter-million klicks from our position.”

  “Add it to the tactical!” said Lanson.

  A red dot appeared on his tactical screen, along with the estimated mass and dimensions of the target. The superheavy lifter was almost seven thousand metres from nose to tail, and the mass estimate from the sensors placed it at between twenty and thirty billion tons. Lanson had encountered these spacecraft before, though only infrequently, and this one was the largest he’d seen.

  “This is getting interesting,” said Matlock.

  “It sure is,” said Lanson with a nod. “Lieutenant Turner, how long might it take for the crew of that superheavy to detect us?”

  “We’ll be far outside the range of their local area scans, Captain, so it all depends on their state of alert. If they’re expecting trouble, they’ll be running constant long-range sweeps. If that’s the case, they’ll find us sooner rather than later.”

  “I can’t imagine the Sagh’eld would have committed a primary asset like that lifter to a mission out here without providing it with some protection,” said Lanson. “Continue the scans – I want to know what else we’re dealing with.”

  “Do you have a plan, Captain?” asked Matlock.

  “Not yet,” said Lanson.

  He kept his eyes on the sensor feed which had been locked onto the superheavy lifter. The vessel’s high flanks were flat, while its topsides and undersides were curved, and Lanson couldn’t be sure if it had a defined nose or stern. From experience, he knew the lifter’s interior would be mostly storage space, and, though these details were lost through distance, it would have one or two pairs of immense bay doors.

  “Do you think we can take out that lifter?” asked Matlock.

  “We’ve only seen a handful on the battlefield, Commander,” he said. “You know as well as I that it’ll be offensively weak for its size, but with plenty of hull defences.”

  “A big mouthful for this destroyer.”

  Lanson nodded without responding. The superheavy lifter would be fitted with hundreds of Kraal repeaters. As well as its defences, the lifter was likely packing a similar number of Zavon clusters to the New Beginning.

  All-in-all, it wasn’t an opponent Lanson was eager to take on and the only way he could think of to inflict substantial harm on the lifter was to drop incendiary bombs – of which the New Beginning was carrying thirty-two – on its hull, in the hope of neutralising some of the enemy’s defences. However, executing a successful incendiary drop on a warship was nigh on impossible in normal circumstances, and it was only the New Beginning’s increased maximum velocity that made Lanson consider it.

  “We could bomb the excavations,” Commander Matlock suggested. “It’s clear the enemy believe there’s something to be found.”

  “At best we’d set the Sagh’eld back a few months, and that’s assuming they’d have to bring in replacement excavation kit from elsewhere,” said Lanson. “But what if that lifter has everything they need in its bays? We’d need to engage it and win in order to prevent them from restarting a few days later.”

  “On balance, I reckon we can take out the lifter, Captain,” said Matlock.

  “I reckon we can too,” said Lanson. “However, it won’t be an easy fight, and it’s a long journey home if we end up suffering extensive damage.”

  For another couple of minutes, he watched the superheavy lifter. The vessel was stationary, and the shuttle which had climbed from the planet’s surface only a short time ago continued its course towards the vast spaceship. Lanson doubted the lifter would open its main bay doors for a single shuttle, and he expected the approaching transport’s destination was a docking tunnel, either on the larger vessel’s flanks or undersides.

  “Captain, there’s something happening on the planet’s surface,” said Perry. “It’s hard to be sure what it is, but here’s an enhanced zoom.”

  The distance was really testing the New Beginning’s sensor tech, and Lanson’s eyes struggled to understand what was happening on the ground. He could see grainy, grey-coloured shapes – vehicles - moving in the northern area of the excavation. What they were up to, he could only guess.

  “We haven’t been observing long enough to know if this is anything significant,” said Lanson.

  “And the greater the time we sit here watching, the higher the chance the Sagh’eld lifter crew will spot us,” said Matlock.

  Lanson felt that something was building here on Scalos, but since he didn’t know what it was, he was reluctant to play his hand early. Even though delaying might result in the superheavy lifter detecting the New Beginning, he was almost comfortable with the idea. The huge vessel’s crew would surely know that Lanson’s warship was no longer under Sagh’eld control, but they were unlikely to attack. It was probable the enemy vessel’s commanding officer would order an evacuation of the ground personnel, and rely on his hull defences to hold off the New Beginning.

  In such circumstances, Lanson would bomb the surface excavations and attempt to force the superheavy lifter to flee. If those efforts were successful, he’d run some low-altitude scans to find out what the Sagh’eld were up to, and maybe order Sergeant Gabriel to deploy if necessary.

  Lanson watched for a time. The inbound shuttle docked with the superheavy lifter through a port low in the vessel’s facing flank. Meanwhile, the ground movements continued, though the purpose of them remained unclear. As the minutes went by, Lanson became convinced that the Sagh’eld had located something on the planet, and were preparing to transport it to the superheavy lifter. Whether this was the first occasion the enemy had discovered something, or if this was nothing unusual for the surface operation, Lanson didn’t know.

  Soon after, a transport lifted off, and accelerated on a course straight towards the lifter. A second shuttle followed, and then a third.

  What if they dock and afterwards the superheavy enters lightspeed? came the sudden thought. I’d have missed an opportunity through inaction.

  Lanson cursed under his breath. Although observation of the enemy was an entirely worthwhile means of gathering intel, he realised he was being held back by the pressures of the mission – by his need for it to be a success, and by the need to keep the New Beginning intact. Those pressures were swaying his judgement.

  “Like hell,” he muttered.

  A surge of anger brought with it an idea. He turned in his seat. “Lieutenant Abrams, how are you getting on with the coding for the instant lightspeed transitions?”

  SIX

  “It’s going to take me a few more hours to complete, Captain,” said Abrams.

  “That’s fine,” said Lanson. “But what I’d like you to do right now is to create a single routine that will fire the New Beginning at lightspeed across a defined distance and on a defined heading.”

  Abrams lifted his head above the top of his console screens, his brow furrowed. “What’s the vector, Captain?”

  “I want to execute a surprise attack on that superheavy lifter,” said Lanson. “So, we need to exit the ILT directly on top of the enemy vessel, and within a thousand metres.”

  “And I’m guessing you want this to happen before those shuttles dock?” said Abrams.

  “That’s correct, Lieutenant.”

  “A standard lightspeed entry would only take six minutes to prepare, sir. It’s the safer option.”

  “I know – but if the superheavy detects us and changes position, we’ll have to cancel the warmup and we might not get another chance. I’m hoping it’ll take you much less time than six minutes to ready the ILT.”

  “Yes, sir, it will. I’ll get it done,” said Abrams, ducking back out of sight.

  “Based on the currently velocity of the lead shuttle, it’ll be in a position to dock in eleven minutes,” said Perry.

  “That’s a damn fast shuttle,” said Matlock.

  “Yes, Commander – 120 kilometres per second,” said Perry. “The others are travelling at closer to eighty klicks per second – also fast. They’ll dock about eight minutes after the first.”

  “I assume you want me to drop incendiaries on the superheavy and then target the weakened parts of its armour with missiles, sir?” asked Matlock.

  “Exactly right, but we also need to take out its missile clusters,” said Lanson.

  “The New Beginning only has eighteen clusters of six Zavons and the particle beam, Captain,” said Matlock. “A single salvo won’t be enough to wreck that lifter.”

  “I know,” said Lanson. “If we hurt them badly enough with our first strike, they might attempt to outrun us.”

  “And they’ll have a nasty surprise when they discover the New Beginning is unexpectedly rapid,” said Matlock.

  “That’s the hope,” said Lanson.

  Matlock nodded. “Best of all, if we knock out the lifter, we’ll be in control of whatever there is to be found here on Scalos.”

  Lanson smiled thinly. “It’s about time something went our way.”

  “The ILT vector is nearly ready, Captain,” said Abrams.

  Lanson held a tight grip on the controls and divided his attention between the tactical and the sensor feeds. The superheavy lifter would be by far the most challenging opponent he and his crew had ever faced in one-on-one combat, but even so, he felt calm. Lanson knew that once the engagement began, his instincts would take over and he’d give it his all.

  “Captain, the coding is ready,” said Abrams.

  “Then, we’d best not delay,” said Lanson.

  “I’ll bind the activation directly to button five on your left-hand control bar,” said Abrams. “But remember that we’re risking another reaction on our propulsion.”

  “I know,” said Lanson. “This is the best way I can see for us to score a kill of that superheavy. It’s a risk we’re going to take.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Abrams.

  Lanson glanced right towards Matlock. “Ready, Commander?”

  Matlock nodded once. “Yes, sir. We’re going to rain hell down upon those Sagh’eld assholes.”

  “Let’s do this.”

  Taking a single, deep breath, Lanson pressed his finger on the ILT activation button. The button clicked, the engines thundered, the sensors went offline, and he felt the New Beginning enter lightspeed.

  “Our sensors are coming online,” said Turner.

  “Ready on the incendiaries, Commander,” said Lanson tightly.

  “Yes, sir.”

  The few seconds it took for the sensor hardware to begin gathering a feed seemed to last a lifetime. Lanson didn’t know if the crew of the superheavy would be taken so much by surprise that they would fail to react, or whether the enemy would be momentarily fooled into inaction by the appearance of a Vachal destroyer.

  We need that first strike.

  “Sensors up!” yelled Turner.

  Lanson’s eyes swept across the feeds. The first thing he noticed was the vast topsides of the superheavy lifter, grey like a stormy ocean, and extensively studded with trapezoidal Kraal housings. A glance at the data overlay indicated that the huge vessel was stationary at a distance of 1015 metres, though Lanson doubted it would stay that way for long.

  “Commander Matlock, deploy the incendiaries!” said Lanson.

  “Incendiaries deployed,” said Matlock. “Our Kraal repeaters are set to fully automatic.”

  “Sir, there’s—” Lieutenant Perry began.

  As Perry spoke, Lanson spotted exactly what she was about to say. On the starboard feeds, he could see another vessel – huge in comparison to the New Beginning, yet small enough to have remained completely hidden by the superheavy.

  “—a Tagha’an heavy cruiser,” Perry finished.

  “Shit!” said Lanson in fury.

  Out of everything that could have gone wrong, this was one thing he hadn’t expected. The Tagha’an was two-and-a-half thousand metres of armour and engines, fitted with both Zavon and Gorlan launchers, Kraal repeaters and Thak cannons. It wasn’t so fearsome as an Ex’Kaminar battleship, but it outgunned the New Beginning several times over.

  On the underside feeds, Lanson saw the eight incendiary cannisters activate their short-range boosters, sending them across the short distance towards their target. At the same time, the superheavy accelerated, though too late to avoid the incoming bombs.