“They’re hailing us,” Carina added.

  Carter balled his hands into fists. “On screen.”

  The image flickered and the Grand Vizier appeared. The conceited, superior smirk on the Aternien’s sculpted face made Carter want to draw his 57-EX and shoot up the viewscreen.

  “Something the matter, Master Commander Rose?” the Grand Vizier asked, sounding like he was trying not to laugh. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Where did you get that ship?” Carter grunted.

  “The Senuset was rebuilt from scratch, and there are more Solar Barques on the way,” the Vizier answered, proudly. The Aternien then adopted a phony shocked expression. “Did you really believe we would spend our time in exile twiddling our thumbs? It took us a great many years to rediscover the secrets of the Solar Barques, but soon our mightiest vessels will sail the cosmos again, as symbols of Aternien superiority.”

  “I destroyed the Senuset once before, and I can do it again,” Carter hit back.

  “Really, Commander, I thought we were beyond such playground nonsense?” the Vizier replied, speaking to him like a child. “When you refused the god-king’s offer, you chose poorly, and now you shall suffer the consequences.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Carter grunted. His skin flushed hot as the Grand Vizier laughed in his face, making him feel suddenly small and humiliated. Carter was painfully aware that his threats were toothless and even pathetic, and he immediately regretted making them. The fact was he had no hope against two Solar Barques and a septet of Royal Court Khopesh Destroyers, and the Vizier knew this just as well as he did. On his best day, with a full crew, Carter might be able to take down one, and the obvious target was the god-king’s ship, but it was folly to believe he’d get within striking range of the Mesek-tet before the other Aternien warships swarmed the Galatine and destroyed her.

  “If you are done making idle threats, then I have a matter to discuss, on behalf of the god-king,” the Vizier continued, sounding suddenly bored. “Despite your continued slights against the great Markus Aternus, the god-king’s offer to you remains.”

  Carter had not forgotten the Aternien’s ‘offer’, such as it was, and it was his turn to laugh in the face of his enemy. “Is that the offer where I surrender to become your lab rat for DNA analysis, and you mercifully ‘put down’ the rest of my crew, like lame animals?”

  The Vizier’s arrogant smile widened. “Your words, Commander, not mine.”

  “Like I told the High Overseer, before I blew him sky high, you can tell Aternus to stick that offer up his golden ass.” Carter folded his arms and smiled. He admitted that the response was somewhat childish, but it felt good. “Now, if you’re quite done wasting my time, I have another weapon of mass murder to destroy.”

  The Vizier snorted and shook his head, causing golden strands of hair like fine silk to dance around the man’s perfect face. “When you step on a cockroach, Commander, you do not call it murder. It is simply eradicating a pestilence.” The Aternien waved him off, as if dismissing a servant. “In any case, I see that I am wasting my time. Till we meet again, Master Commander Rose.”

  The signal was cut at the Aternien side, leaving Carter even more confused than before he’d spoken to the Grand Vizier. He’d expected the Aternien to sign off by threatening their imminent destruction, but the Vizier had uttered no such warning.

  “They’re powering engines,” Carina reported, snapping Carter back to the moment.

  “Battle stations.” Carter returned to his chair. “Ready all weapons and charge the plasma shield.”

  “They’re not coming for us…” Carina added, sounding stupefied by her own statement.

  Carter jumped out of his seat again. He felt like a yo-yo. “Explain, Major…”

  “They’re turning away from the planet,” Carina answered, her brow wrinkled with confusion. “And I’m picking up warp signatures. They’re spooling their drives.”

  Carter was lost for words. He turned back to the viewscreen then watched as the Mesek-tet and Senuset both slipped through folds in space, followed immediately by the seven Royal Court escorts.

  Carina slammed her palms down on her console. “What the hell is going on?”

  Carter shook his head. “I don’t know, and right now, I don’t care.” He turned to his Master Navigator. “Amaya, give us a burst of gravitational propulsion and get us down to the North pole as soon as you can. Even with their head start, we can beat Krantz and the others to the device and take it out.”

  “Aye, aye, skipper, rigging for gravitational acceleration,” Amaya replied. “Hold onto something.”

  Carter turned to face his XO and gripped the back of his chair. There were so many chemical stimulants flying around his system that he couldn’t have sat down even if he’d wanted to. Carina met his eyes and gripped the top edge of the tactical console. Normally, the prospect of riding a spacetime distortion would trigger a sarcastic comment from his XO, but the unfathomable actions of the Aterniens had clearly gotten to her too.

  “Executing gravitational acceleration… now!”

  The soliton warp drive spun up and the Galatine shifted from a medium orbit above the North pole to practically skimming the atmosphere in an instant. The disorientation was brief but severe, and Carina was forced to flatten her body to the console and hold tight till the nausea passed. Then fire engulfed the viewscreen as the Galatine pierced the atmosphere like a flaming arrow.

  Seconds later, the viewscreen cleared and instead of flames Carter could see nothing but blinding ice, stretching all the way to the horizon. Then a golden sphere came into view and Carter focused the viewscreen onto the Aternien bioweapon, which was part-buried in the frozen continent. Union dropships were circling the structure, testing it with cannon fire and missiles, which the energy shield repelled with ease, but unlike on Terra Five, the Union forces were advancing completely unchallenged.

  “It’s undefended,” Carter said, massaging his wiry beard. “Other than the shield, there’s nothing protecting that weapon. No AA guns, no Immortals… nothing.”

  Carina didn’t answer, but he could see in her eyes that she was troubled too. Krantz had warned of the possibility that the attack on Terra Seven was a double-bluff, intended to lure them away from the original weapon. Yet, if that was true, then Carter couldn’t understand what purpose it would serve the Aterniens to make such a move after they had already disabled the device on Terra Five.

  “Amaya, put us down as close to the structure as you can get us, and direct the Union forces to hold fire,” Carter ordered. Speculating didn’t help them, he realized; they had a job to do, and he intended to carry it out. “Kendra, we need a way to prize open the armor panels on the structure that doesn’t involve a sword and me getting shocked half to death.”

  “I saw what you did on Terra Five, so don’t worry, I have a much better idea,” the engineer replied.

  Carter nodded then turned to leave. “Amaya, the ship is yours till I’m back. Kendra, Major, you’re with me.”

  The pilot responded with her customary acknowledgement, though she sounded less cheery than usual. The situation was even getting to his unflappable Master Navigator.

  Carter marched through the ship with his officers in tow, stopping by the armory so that he and Major Larsen could load up on plasma charges. Kendra detoured via engineering, and was there to meet them in the cargo hold when they arrived. She was flanked by two heavy-duty repair drones, which were designed for performing structural repairs to sections of the ship that didn’t self-regenerate.

  “These will crack open that Aternien scale armor long enough to plant the charges and blow us an access route,” Kendra said, banging on one of the drones with the barrel of her plasma pistol.

  The resonant clank of the drone was then drowned out by the thump of the Galatine’s landing struts hitting the ice. The cargo door whirred open, allowing the bitter, icy wind to whip inside. Their battle uniforms were able to keep them warm in cold climates and cool in hot ones, but at -40 degrees, even their advanced clothing wouldn’t protect them for long.

  Carter marched out in the lead, sword in hand and blade energized. Carina and Kendra had engaged their head coverings to help protect them against the abrasive weather, but Carter kept his head covering lowered. It would take more than a little cold to bother him.

  Amaya had landed the Galatine less than fifty meters from the perimeter of the shield, which was clearly designated by a perfectly circular groove cut into the three-mile-thick ice. The biting temperatures had already caused the moisture in his beard to freeze, though the icy color was a little different to his usual, sterling silver.

  “Remember to move through the shield barrier slowly,” Carter said, stopping and turning to face his officers, who were being battered by the arctic winds. “And this time, we don’t bother exploring. We crack open this golf-ball, fill it with explosives, and bomb it back to Aternus.”

  His officers nodded their compliance and Carter prepared to push through the energy shield, before the ground shook and he stopped dead in his tracks. A second later the ground rumbled again, and the top half of the golden dome burst open like a flower.

  “Kendra, report!” Carter said, wiping the ice and snow off his comp-slate.

  “The weapon is activating!” Kendra called back. “We’re too late.”

  Suddenly, thousands of drones raced out of the Aternien structure, like bats fleeing a cave, and blanketed the sky above them. Carter drew his 57-EX and shot down one of the drones, which landed at his feet. He grabbed it and quickly scanned it with his comp-slate, before uttering a curse even more bitter than the biting wind.

  “Amaya, get on the Galatine’s point defense guns and shoot down as many of these drones as you can,” Carter called out to his pilot through the comm system. “They’re carrying the Aternien virus!”

  The Galatine’s defensive weapons activated, and guns mounted all across the ship’s sword-like body began engaging the drones. The targeting systems were designed to intercept incoming cannon fire and missiles, and they were exceptionally good at their job. Soon, drones were raining down around them, like giant hailstones, and Carter realized that his order had inadvertently put him and his crew at risk.

  “Take shelter in the ship!” Carter yelled, batting away a falling drone with his buckler, while sliding across the ice toward the Galatine’s still open cargo bay door. “Hurry!”

  Destroyed drones were smashing into the frozen ground all around them, and it took all his wits to avoid being hit. Carina and Kendra were further ahead, and almost back to the protective cocoon of the Galatine, when a drone struck the major on the back of the head and knocked her to the ice. More drones crashed and exploded next to her prone body before Carter was able to reach her and use himself to shield her from further impacts. Her head covering was cracked open and in the process of self-repairing, but she was still conscious. Then the swarm of drones exiting the Aternien weapons platform stopped and the Galatine’s guns ceased fire.

  “I got maybe a couple of hundred of the drones, skipper, but that golf ball spewed out literally thousands of them,” Amaya said over the comm link. “There was no way to stop them all.”

  “Good work, Amaya, maybe it’ll help lessen the blow,” Carter replied to his navigator, though in his heart, he didn’t believe it. The number that had been released was more than enough to exterminate the entire population of Terra Seven. “Get ready to dust off. Maybe we can pursue some of the drones and destroy them before the pathogen is released.”

  Carter got to his feet and helped Carina up. She was still unsteady and using him as a crutch. Kendra arrived a second later and took Carina’s other arm, and together they eased her toward the ship. Then Carter noticed that the Major’s battle uniform had been punctured and torn in other places besides her head covering, and his heart sank.

  “Kendra, has the virus been released locally?” Carter said, asking the question despite being fearful of the answer.

  His Master Engineer worked her comp-slate while still helping to usher Carina into the Galatine, but Carter’s senses already told him it was bad news without the need for Kendra’s confirmation.

  “It’s airborne, and in a high concentration because of our proximity to the source,” Kendra replied. “The virus doesn’t affect us, though, boss, and the XO’s battle uniform will protect her.”

  Carter slowly shook his head, then his engineer also spotted the damage to Carina’s uniform, and her face fell. “Get to the medical bay and prepare a stasis chamber,” Carter ordered. “Hurry, Kendra…”

  The engineer ran up the ramp and Carina scowled at him. “I took a couple of bumps, that’s all,” she said, bemused by his reaction. “I’m fine, really.” Suddenly, she went limp in his arms, and were it not for his hold on her, she would have collapsed to the deck. Her strength returned a moment later, but her eyes were hazy and distant. “Okay, maybe I’m not quite a hundred percent…” she admitted.

  Carter scooped her up and ran to the medical bay. This time Carina didn’t protest about being carried like a blushing bride, which was the biggest indicator yet that his XO was in a bad way. Reaching the medical area, Carter saw that Kendra had prepared a pod. He ran to it and dumped his XO onto the bed inside the chamber.

  “She’s been exposed,” Kendra confirmed, already running a detailed analysis.

  Carter read the status display on the chamber and hissed a curse under his breath. Aternien biogenic compound detected. Patient positive for infection. “Activate the pod. Full stasis protocol.”

  His engineer gave him a grave look. “Boss, these chambers were designed for our biology. If we put her in stasis, I might not be able to bring her back.”

  “We’ll have to take that chance,” Carter said, and the look he gave his engineer told her that no further debate would be countenanced.

  The Master Engineer set to work without another word, and Carter turned to his XO. She looked terrified and he hated that he couldn’t do more for her.

  “Carter, what’s going on?” Carina said, her voice trembling. “Am I going to die?”

  Carter shook his head. “Not on my watch, Major.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “But I’m going to have to put you on ice for a while, while we figure this out.”

  Carina nodded and squeezed his hand back. He considered saying more, but he didn’t want to lie to her or himself by offering false hope. Instead, he released her hand and stepped back, forcing himself to smile as the canopy of the stasis pod lowered then sealed with a shrill hiss.

  Carina’s battle uniform adapted, reconfiguring itself to interface with the bay, much in the way that Amaya’s uniform had interfaced with the navigation console on the bridge. Carter continued to hold his XO’s eyes without blinking until the stasis protocol kicked in, and she was rendered into a deep, low-metabolic coma.

  “Skipper, I have an updated report from the admiral,” Amaya said, over the comm channel.

  “Go ahead, Amaya,” Carter replied. He felt numb and colder even than the arctic temperatures outside the ship.

  “The biogenic weapon on Terra Five was just reactivated remotely,” Amaya reported, and Carter’s blood froze. “It detonated two minutes ago. The virus has been unleashed there too.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  NEW TACTICS

  Carter stood and watched the Union doctors and hospital staff buzzing around Major Larsen’s medical pod, while scrutinizing their every move from the other side of the quarantine barrier. His arms were folded tightly across his chest, and his expression was just as taut. He felt helpless. He was helpless.

  After the release of the biogenic virus on Terra Five and Terra Seven, the Aternien forces had once again slipped into the void, warping back to wherever it was in the galaxy that the race now resided. With the admiral’s permission, Carter had travelled to Terra Prime and docked at Station Alpha, where Carina’s medical pod was transferred under strict quarantine protocols to an isolated unit inside the hospital wing. The facility on Station Alpha was one of the most advanced in the galaxy, but the virus they were dealing with was beyond the understanding of Union medical science. And it was slowly killing his XO, while he could do nothing about it but watch.

  His vigil was interrupted by the sight of Admiral Clara Krantz stepping out of the consultant’s office, her face drawn and shoulders sagging. There was a brief exchange between the admiral and the doctor then Krantz spotted him and lugged her weary frame over to his side. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days.

  “The stasis pod was quick thinking, Commander,” Krantz said, fatigue seeping into her every word. “It saved her life, but it is only delaying the inevitable.”

  Carter scowled at the admiral, the muscles in his arms still tense. “What does that mean? She’s still dying?”

  Krantz nodded, and it was clear that the admission pained her. “The stasis chamber has slowed her metabolic functions, and delayed the progress of the infection, but it hasn’t stopped it. The doctors estimate that she has perhaps four days, five at the outside, before the damage to her body becomes irreparable.”

  Carter shook his head. “There has to be more they can do. Give me access to the quarantine facility. I’m immune and so is Kendra. She’s one of the smartest people alive. Hell, I’ll even seek out Cai Cooper again if it comes to that. He’d help if he knew Carina’s life was on the line, I know he would.”

  Krantz raised a hand to stop him, and Carter realized that he was babbling. “Perhaps your officers would be able to assist, but you have other duties to perform, Commander,” the admiral said.

  “Duties?” Carter almost spat the word at her. “Your niece lies dying a few meters away and you’re lecturing me about duty? What about duty to your family, Admiral?”

  Krantz straightened her back and the viper-like sparkle returned to her eyes. “Yes, I’m lecturing you about duty, Commander, because this is bigger than one person, no matter who it is,” Krantz snarled. “Do you think I am not affected by this?” She stabbed a finger at Carina’s medical cocoon. “Carina is like a daughter to me. I would do anything to save her life, including sacrificing my own, but I cannot be that selfish. Billions of lives are at stake.”