“I know,” said Lanson. “If it looks like there’s anything down there worth having, I’ll send Sergeant Gabriel to pick it up.”

  “We know there’s something worth having, Captain, else the Sagh’eld wouldn’t have been here.”

  Lanson smiled thinly. “That’s what I’m banking on, Commander.”

  “Oh crap,” said Lieutenant Abrams.

  “Don’t give me oh crap, Lieutenant,” said Lanson. “Give me I’ve fixed the propulsion, Captain.”

  “I’m still working on the fix, sir. In the meantime, the reaction on the two propulsion modules has spread to a third.”

  “Lieutenant, I need to know if this is something in your capabilities to resolve,” said Lanson.

  “Does it matter, Captain?” asked Abrams. “If we abandon ship, we’ll either die when the engines explode, or the Sagh’eld will kill us when their reinforcements show up. If I fail, the outcome will be the same.”

  Lanson knew his propulsion officer was right. “Fix this for us, Lieutenant Abrams.”

  “I’ll be ready to implement a change on the control systems any moment now, Captain.”

  Tipping his head back, Lanson closed his eyes. His use of the ILT to enable the destruction of the enemy shuttle had been borderline impetuous and, though there were positive aspects to the outcome, he and his crew were still in the gravest of danger.

  Lanson hoped for this one more chance to continue the mission and maybe return home with something the Human Confederation could put to use against the Sagh’eld.

  NINE

  The New Beginning’s steady velocity brought it ever closer to the huge surface bowl on Scalos. While the sensor view was clear enough, Lanson couldn’t figure out what had been revealed, though he guessed he and his crew had located an underground facility. Given the size of the curved central dome – at several hundred metres across - and the similarly-large square sections nearby, he felt sure this was a place of significance.

  “We could be looking at an iceberg,” said Matlock.

  Lanson nodded. It was hard to concentrate with the New Beginning’s engines on the brink of failure. Still, he couldn’t do anything to assist Lieutenant Abrams, and that left getting on with the mission as the only option.

  When the warship was directly over the former surface works, Lanson brought the vessel to a standstill at an altitude of two hundred kilometres.

  “The propulsion instability has spread to a fourth engine module now, Captain,” said Massey, his voice edged with fear.

  “Keep me informed,” said Lanson, though he guessed he wouldn’t be alive to hear many more updates, nor Massey to provide them.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Lanson inhaled slowly to calm his own nerves. He looked at the underside feeds for a moment. Only a few minutes before, the excavations had been filled with shuttles, vehicles, and, doubtless, thousands of Sagh’eld personnel.

  Now the excavations were gone and the Sagh’eld with them. Lanson didn’t feel much of anything about the deaths of these aliens – the brutality of the attack on Cornerstone had drained him of any clinging vestiges of empathy he might have retained for these other living creatures.

  “Lieutenant Turner – commence an in-depth scan of whatever it is we’ve revealed,” said Lanson.

  “Yes, sir.”

  The frayed ends of Lanson’s nerves were on the verge of unravelling altogether, when Lieutenant Abrams uttered a sound that was somewhere between an exclamation of surprise and a triumphant shout.

  “Tell me,” said Lanson, snapping his head around.

  “I think I’ve done it, sir,” said Abrams. He exhaled noisily. “The reactions on our affected propulsion modules are dwindling.”

  Lanson didn’t turn to look at his console. “What did you do?”

  “Do you remember me telling you why the Sagh’eld’s Rodos drives work so much better than ours?”

  “I remember,” said Lanson. “They use the output from some of the engine modules to boost the output of the others.”

  “I’ve modified that process, Captain,” said Abrams. “The output from those booster modules is now being used to neutralise the unwanted reactions on the other modules.”

  Now Lanson turned to his console, and, sure enough, the propulsion output spikes had dropped noticeably.

  “So that means some of our engine modules are being used to stabilise the others?” he said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Assuming everything returns once more to stability, will we be able to use those modules as boosters again?”

  “I wouldn’t recommend you take that risk, Captain. I have a feeling that if we changed the function of the stabilisers, we’d see those reactions come back straightaway.”

  “This is like fighting the incoming tide,” said Lanson.

  “That’s exactly how I feel about it too, Captain.”

  “If we’re not running those modules as boosters any longer, what’s the effect on our overall output?”

  “Our output has only dropped by five percent, which, given that the stabilisers make up twelve percent of our engine mass, doesn’t make any sense, but—”

  “And what about instant lightspeed transitions?” asked Lanson. “Once the engines are fully stable again, will we be able to activate another?”

  “I was waiting for you to ask that question, sir,” said Abrams, sounding pained. “The best answer I can give you is maybe. I propose that I keep working on the activation coding like we discussed before, and, depending on how my fix for the runaway reactions holds, we decide later whether to implement the new ILT activation routines.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” said Lanson.

  Although the mission wasn’t yet out of the woods, he nevertheless felt an enormous relief that the pressure had been lifted for the moment. Lanson wanted a break from the combat, and the looming presence of death, in order that he could take stock and decide how best to proceed. According to the overlay on his tactical, the remains of the superheavy lifter wouldn’t come into sensor sight for nearly another hour. That was plenty of time for his sensor officers to complete their scans of the surface facility.

  “Good work, Lieutenant Abrams,” said Lanson. “If I’m still alive when we return home, I’ll personally pin the medal on your chest.”

  “I think I deserve two medals for this, Captain.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” said Lanson. He laughed suddenly, though it didn’t take away the tension. “But first, we have to get something out of this mission.”

  “Sergeant Gabriel is ready to deploy on your order, Captain,” said Perry.

  “Maybe once the scans are finished,” said Lanson.

  “You’ll need to reposition the New Beginning a few kilometres east, sir,” said Turner. “I think there might be an opening into the central dome, but it’s hard to be sure with our current viewing angle.

  “Will do,” said Lanson.

  As he guided the warship east, he kept his attention on the feeds. The visible metals within the surface bowl were unmarked from their time underground, though they appeared anything but new. In fact, Lanson was left with the impression he was looking at something old – perhaps even ancient.

  “There is an entry point into the central dome, Captain,” said Turner. “Check out the zoomed feed.”

  The place Turner had identified was a five-metre square of darkness, more than three hundred metres up from the lowest part of the crater. Lanson stared at the opening, but nothing was visible beyond.

  “I’d like to obtain a better view into the dome,” he said.

  “You’ll need to take us down to a much lower altitude, Captain,” said Turner.

  “Soon,” said Lanson. “Continue your scans.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything else to find, sir. The detonation wiped out everything except the exposed metal.”

  Turner’s words reminded Lanson of a question he should have already asked. “What property of that metal allowed it to remain undamaged by the explosion?”

  “I don’t know, Captain. Our sensors are unable to determine the composition of the alloys.”

  “And there are no discernible power readings from the surface,” said Abrams. “So the metal isn’t being actively shielded.”

  “If there were any Sagh’eld inside that structure when the bomb went off, it’s likely they survived, Captain,” said Matlock.

  Lanson drummed his fingers in thought. He was inclined to order Sergeant Gabriel to deploy immediately to explore the ground facility. Should the soldiers meet resistance they were unable to overcome, then they could return to the New Beginning.

  However, Lanson was aware that in slightly less than one hour, the probably wrecked superheavy lifter would pass by on its decaying orbit, and, now that the New Beginning’s engines were stable, he’d be obliged to investigate and perhaps engage in combat once more. Ideally, he didn’t want to leave Sergeant Gabriel and the soldiers without backup, even though it wasn’t certain what level of support the New Beginning could provide to the soldiers once they were inside and out of sight.

  “We have to act,” Lanson said at last.

  “It’s unlikely the Sagh’eld will have reinforcements here anytime soon, Captain,” said Matlock. “And even if that superheavy’s crew manage to bring its onboard systems back online, the lifter won’t be a match for the New Beginning – not given the damage it’s suffered.”

  “I agree with everything you’ve said, Commander. However, I have this feeling…”

  Lanson shook his head uncertainly. Only a short time had passed since the engagement with the Sagh’eld had finished, and it was this lull which had allowed him to notice the unease which was gripping him. With no obvious cause, Lanson could have told himself this disquiet was nothing to worry about, and yet, he sensed great danger.

  “I don’t much like this place either,” said Matlock. She shrugged, as if to say it was hardly much of a worry, but her expression told a different story.

  “Here’s the plan,” said Lanson. “I’ll pilot the New Beginning down into the bowl, and we’ll scan through the opening into that central structure. Once that’s done, and if it’s appropriate, I’ll order Sergeant Gabriel to deploy. His orders will be to explore the interior of the facility, shoot whatever enemies he might find, and hunt for useful tech. Meanwhile, we’ll wait for the superheavy to pass by on its orbit and finish it off.”

  “What if the lifter has gone elsewhere, Captain?” asked Perry.

  “Then we’ll act according to circumstance,” said Lanson.

  The decision was made. Lanson took the controls and guided the New Beginning lower towards the surface of Scalos. His eyes kept jumping of their own accord to the propulsion monitoring readouts, but the massive spikes which had brought the warship to the brink of failure had completely gone. Even so, the episode had served as a reminder that the behaviour of the New Beginning’s engines was not in any way predictable.

  After a short time, the warship entered the bomb crater and the view of the surface all around was lost. Lanson’s attention went between the feeds. Like he’d noticed earlier, the sides of the bowl were smooth and regular in a way that was not consistent with the rock being caught in the fringes of an extreme blast. The alien tech on the Sagh’eld shuttle clearly operated in a way that was different to anything in the Human Confederation.

  “I’m getting an improved angle into the dome opening, Captain,” said Lieutenant Turner. “It looks like a horizontal tunnel.”

  “Any idea where it leads?” asked Lanson.

  “Not yet, sir. You’ll need to bring us lower than this.”

  Lanson obliged, though the three-hundred-metre height of the opening meant that the New Beginning’s undersides were almost touching the ground by the time Turner was able to obtain a clear view inside.

  “The tunnel continues for about fifty metres, and then it opens into what appears to be a circular room, Captain,” said Turner.

  “As far as intel goes, this is not a good start for the deployment,” said Lanson.

  Having discovered almost nothing of use from the low-altitude scan of the dome’s interior, he pulled back on the New Beginning’s control bars and the warship rose to the level of the rim.

  “Lieutenant Perry, order the deployment,” Lanson said. “Make sure Sergeant Gabriel is aware that his exit from the shuttle will require extra care.”

  “I already let him know, sir,” said Perry. “And the order is given.”

  A few seconds later, one of the New Beginning’s two shuttles emerged from its starboard flank exit. The transport was a Sagh’eld model, but the Cornerstone technicians had seen fit to rip out its control systems and replace them with their Human Confederation equivalents.

  Without delay, the shuttle banked and headed towards the mysterious structures below. The moment the transport was clear, Lanson brought the New Beginning to an altitude of ten kilometres. From here, the warship’s sensors had a clear view of the crater, as well as sight across the surface of Scalos and into the skies above.

  In less than fifty minutes, the superheavy would race across the western horizon, and by the time it appeared, Lanson hoped Sergeant Gabriel and his squad would have something to report from their own mission into the surface structure.

  And still, Lanson’s feeling of unease hadn’t gone anywhere.

  TEN

  The cockpit of the Sagh’eld shuttle wasn’t much different to the equivalent model in the Human Confederation, with the exception of a few severed cables dangling from the walls, and a large crate of technical components which had been left near the rear bulkhead.

  Sergeant Evander Gabriel wasn’t too concerned about the mess, as long as the shuttle flew like it was supposed to, and right now, the transport was responding well enough to the controls.

  The view on the forward feeds was somewhat less reassuring. Gabriel had heard the tale of recent events from Lieutenant Perry, but the fifty-kilometre crater was more impressive now that he was viewing it with his own two eyes. Not that Gabriel was ready to concede it was impressive in a good way, since it was yet another reminder of how ephemeral life was when subjected to the worst excesses of modern-day weaponry.

  In the centre of the crater, the metal structures were larger than Gabriel had imagined them, and the light from the distant star cast long shadows up the sides of the crater. The vista was of desolation, yet hinting at ancient secrets.

  The lack of intel for this mission was disappointing, but also no surprise. Gabriel stared at the metal structures below, wondering how far underground the facility extended. He didn’t want to be searching for days, all the while fighting off attacks by however many Sagh’eld had been stranded by the detonation.

  “What’s your feeling about this one, Sergeant?” asked Corporal Brad Ziegler from the leftmost of the three cockpit seats.

  “We’re a long way from home, on a planet where humanity are fighting the Sagh’eld for some tech created by an alien species we know nothing about,” said Gabriel. “What do you think I’m feeling about it?”

  Ziegler grinned. “I thought these were the types of mission you liked, Sergeant.”

  “Into the great unknown,” said Private Stacie Wolf from the third seat. She was currently in charge of the shuttle’s comms and sensors. “With nothing but a gun and a pioneering spirit.”

  Gabriel laughed. “As long as this place isn’t full of Galos modules.”

  “I thought the acceleration field was kind of fun,” said Wolf.

  “Until we almost got imploded along with half of a damned planet,” said Ziegler.

  Gabriel didn’t respond. The time on Cornerstone had been hard, though no more so than some other missions from his past. However, what Gabriel didn’t like was the feeling he had that something really bad was on the horizon, and that his future would be filled with terrible and destructive technologies of a type that ought never to have been created.

  He shook away the negative thoughts. This was the beginning of a new mission, and another one in which he and his squad might actually make a difference that would be felt across the Human Confederation, rather than being no more than a forgotten, stalemate battle on a grey rock world nobody had ever heard of.

  Besides, if this unknown alien species had created all these supposed weapons, Gabriel would be far more comfortable with them being in HC hands, than have them being dropped from the bomb chutes of an Ex’Kaminar battleship onto a human populated world. Having seen how readily the Sagh’eld escalated the war on Cornerstone, he’d put nothing past those alien bastards. Not anymore.

  “That dome down there is curved, but our portside flank should fit nicely up against it,” said Corporal Ziegler.

  “I’ll bring us in as close as I can,” said Gabriel. “That way we won’t have to jump any more than a metre.”

  “I reckon you can shave a shave a few inches off that, Sergeant,” said Ziegler. “Just so I can step nicely over the gap.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  The opening wasn’t far now, and Gabriel was pleased that the size of the dome meant its curve wasn’t too bad from the perspective of a human on a twenty-metre shuttle. He rotated the vessel and reduced its velocity. Despite the altitude of the opening, it wouldn’t be too much of a challenge to exit into the dome.

  Holding the shuttle in a position flank first to the opening, Gabriel brought it steadily closer, his eyes watching the feeds. This was a prime opportunity for the Sagh’eld to launch an attack, though it was just as likely they’d mistake the incoming shuttle for a rescue vessel. Either way, Gabriel hoped Commander Matlock had an itchy trigger finger on the Kraal guns.

  No Sagh’eld appeared at the opening, though Gabriel didn’t relax. At two hundred metres from the entrance, he brought the shuttle to a standstill. “Give the order to open the flank door,” he said to Wolf. “This is going to be a quick exit.”

  “I’ve passed on the order, Sergeant,” said Wolf.

  Gabriel waited for the flank door to hinge outwards into its open position. This was a risky part of the mission, since he and his squad were about to deploy into a place with no reported cover. Should the Sagh’eld believe the shuttle was a friendly, they’d soon realise their error once the gauss bullets started ripping through their chest cavities.