A King's Ship (Empire Rising Book 2) Read online

  “And yet, despite being more than a century behind us in shift drive technology,” she said as she brought up a short series of images on the holo display, “the Vestarians were able to take out the frigate from an extreme range with a directed energy weapon.

  “We have analyzed the smaller hits Endeavour took from the same weapons and it appears that they use some form of x-ray laser. Our own scientists have been working on directed energy weapons but when it comes to laser technology they have reached an impasse. The effective range of a laser is determined by the energy supplied to it and the laser’s rate of diffraction. We have theoretically had the ability to produce ships with similar x-ray lasers but at present it would take a ship the size of the Chinese battleship we captured at the end of the Void War stuffed full of fusion reactors to power one laser with enough range to compete with our plasma cannons. So either they are way ahead of us on energy production or they have found a way to significantly reduce a laser’s diffraction rate, or both. Added to that, the aliens must have some pretty impressive targeting computers if they can hit ships at such long ranges.

  “However, they do not appear to have incorporated their laser technology into their point defense network and the only reason I can imagine for this is that they haven’t been able to miniaturize their larger lasers. Yet given the technical skills required to build the things in the first place it shouldn’t have been too hard to do this.

  “Certainly this strange mix of technology suggests the Vestarian’s story, of looking for weapons technology to help overthrow some other alien civilization that has enslaved them is legitimate. Haven has many technologies that are way ahead of the alien’s, particularly their sub light drives and missile tech. However, the Vestarian’s subsequent actions suggests that their request was a front.”

  Taking a break to have a sip of water Scott asked, “Are there any questions so far? My team have put together a fuller brief on our best guess of the aliens’ technological abilities for you all to look over later.”

  She took another sip as she waited to see if there were any questions. When no one spoke up she changed the image on the holo display to show the Haven system.

  “Let’s move on to Haven itself then,” she said. “The system still has a number of functioning asteroid mining facilities along its outer rim, ones the Vestarians didn’t touch. The Havenites have also established a significant presence on the system’s seventh planet. They call it Athena. It seems they have found rather large deposits of valstronium on the planet and they have built up an impressive extraction and refinement operation. Alongside the development on Athena there are two gas mining stations around the two gas giants in the system. Both orbital structures are significantly larger than any similar gas mining stations we have, suggesting they are used for other purposes as well.

  “If we turn to Haven itself. A large part of their orbital industries have been destroyed but at least forty percent survived. Groundside, our best estimate is that there is a population of at least twenty million. Almost a quarter live in Haven’s capital but the rest are spread out all over the planet. Their news organizations are reporting that upwards of twenty thousand were killed in the orbital bombardment. Most were killed by the debris that fell from orbit. The two nuclear missiles that managed to detonate on the planet’s surface didn’t hit any population centers and only killed a few thousand each.

  “Putting all that information together with what we know the Havenites brought with them on their colony ship, we have an approximate date of founding.

  “2250,” Scott announced and then paused to take in everyone’s reaction.

  “Impossible,” Driscoll the Chief Engineer shouted, “there’s no way they could have gotten out here that fast. When did they leave Earth?”

  “Our records indicate they left in 2198,” Scott answered.

  “You see, impossible,” Driscoll repeated.

  “Impossible, but clearly undeniable,” Ferguson said. “We have seen what they have accomplished with our own two eyes.”

  “There must be some other explanation,” Bell added as she jumped into the conversation. “There is always a plausible explanation. In this case, one I think we’re all going to find very interesting when we figure it out.”

  “What have you managed to get from their communications?” Mallory asked. “Surely there is lots of information out there about their history?”

  “Yes and no,” Scott answered. “The Haven authorities have flat out refused every request my team has made to gain access to their datanet. For the first two days after the battle we were able to break the limited encryption on many of their COM channels but then everything went dark. We believe their government issued a strict ban on all non-essential COM chatter.

  “That being said, we were able to get enough information from casual conversations about grandparents and great grandparents as well as from a number of discussions about business deals that dated back decades. They all support our estimate that Haven was founded approximately two hundred years ago. The real mystery then, is how they got here so quickly after leaving Earth?

  “We do have one clue,” Scott continued before anyone jumped in. “There were a few references to something called the Gift. As far as we can tell Haven isn’t a particularly religious colony, everyone is free to believe whatever they want. Though when it comes to the Gift, it is spoken of as if it was a gift from the gods or a god. There were a few phrases like; ‘the Gift brought us here’ or ‘this is all thanks to Maximilian’s Gift.’

  “Like I said, this is just a clue. As to what this gift is, I have no idea. Though it is a starting place. Whatever it is, it appears to have helped the colonists get this far from Earth as quickly as they did.”

  “So the impossible is possible,” Ferguson said looking at the Chief Engineer.

  “Maybe,” Driscoll conceded. “But I’ll tell you one thing. They didn’t do it using the shift drive. Remember, I had a look at the drive in that freighter, and there is no way they had the tech to get from Earth to here two hundred years ago. However they did it, they have me intrigued.”

  “There is one more thing we found,” Scott said as she changed the holo display again. “Does anyone recognize any of these ships?”

  “That’s a Webb class interstellar freighter,” Third Lieutenant Julius said, “it’s a British built freighter, where are these images from?”

  “It is a Webb,” Scott said as she gave Julius a smile. “In fact all of these eight freighters are British, French or Indian design. From the markings on the hull we have identified this freighter as the Rosemary.

  “These images were taken by our optical sensors as we rounded Haven before our final attack on the alien fleet. Our focus at the time was elsewhere and so no one noticed them, but one of my team spotted them as they were reviewing the battle sensor logs.”

  “How did they get all the way out here?” Julius asked

  “Piracy,” Scott answered and she was shocked to see the change that came across the naval officers faces. Major Johnston and Bell didn’t look best pleased but that was nothing compared to the rest of the officers.

  “Explain,” James ordered in a carefully controlled tone.

  “The Rosemary was reported missing five years ago,” Scott began. “She was actually one of the missing ships that prompted the Admiralty to build Innocence. We weren’t able to identify any of the other freighters but their type and class are consistent with other freighters that have been reported missing in the last seven years.

  “The only reasonable conclusion is that the Havenites captured these freighters themselves or they bought them off whoever did.”

  “Sir, we can’t let this stand,” Mallory said in indignation. “Even if they just bought these freighters from pirates, they are complicit in their crimes.”

  “And let’s not forget they intentionally took in Chang, a wanted war criminal,” Johnston said. “I think we may have been a little too nice to our new friends
,” he added, pouring sarcasm into his last word.

  “Yes,” James said. “But we need to tread carefully. We already knew they had intentionally given Chang safe passage. From the limited political reports I have been able to access it seems as if they have been playing hard ball with the Earth nations ever since they first met that French cruiser two years ago. Despite repeated attempts they have been flat out refusing to reveal the location of their homeworld. Their impressive military buildup suggests they have been paranoid about the Earth powers for a very long time.

  “I’m guessing they made contact with us long before we knew about it. At least eight years ago if the missing freighters were all stolen by them. That means they have been planning for when we would find them for some time. They probably wanted our freighters to get a look at our tech.

  “If you think about it, they probably feared one of the main powers would just claim their world and annex it into their territory. Certainly the Indians would love to get their hands on a fully developed colony.

  “All in all, I think that means we need to take a measured approach. Haven is going to cause Earth problems in the future. The presence of the Vestarians only complicates things. If we go in gung-ho now we might drive Haven into the arms of the Indians or the Canadians for protection.

  “However,” James said as he paused to let what he had just said sink in. “That doesn’t excuse their actions. Let me assure you. They will be held accountable. Nevertheless, for now we need to be a bit more circumspect. We need to treat the next few days as a fact finding mission. We need to bring as much information as possible back to the Admiralty, ultimately they and our political leaders will have to decide what to do with Haven. Our job is to give them as much detail as possible.

  “So, I don’t want any mention of Chang or these freighters at the reception. As hard as that may be,” James added, waving down the looks of protest that appeared on his officer’s faces.

  “We need to know how they got here, and how they built up their tech base so quickly. And, most importantly, we need to know all we can about these aliens. Whatever the Havenites have done in the past, these Vestarians are the real threat. We don’t know where their systems are nor how many ships they have. What we fought a week ago could just have been a scouting force.”

  The room went quiet as everyone contemplated James’ last statement. More than one officer suddenly realized that even as they sat, other alien fleets could be leaving a line of devastated human systems in their wake as they sought to attack Earth.

  “Cheer up,” James said, “we don’t know anything for sure. There’s no sense in worrying about unknowns. Let’s just focus on this reception. Try to make friends, get people to open up. And remember, you are permitted to have fun at the reception. The last week has been intense, so relax, unwind, but don’t give away any state secrets!” he said to a few chuckles.

  “Ok then, the reception is in six hours,” James added as he stood. “You may hand off your duties to your Sub Lieutenants and go prepare. I want you all in your dress uniforms. The more we impress the Havenites the easier our future with them will be.

  “You are all dismissed,” James said as everyone got to their feet and made their way out of the briefing room. Before James left he approached Third Lieutenant Julius and asked, “Can you join me in my office Lieutenant?”

  “Yes Sir,” Julius replied.

  As they both stepped through the adjoining door to James’ office he turned to the Lieutenant. “I’m afraid you’ll have to stay behind to command the ship. With Becket in sickbay I want at least one senior officer still on board. I do have a task for you though.”

  “I understand Sir,” Julius said with obvious disappointment. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Our sensors only got a short glimpse of the captured freighters. Since then the Havenites have been keeping them at the opposite end of the planet to Endeavour. It’s possible not all of the Haven government know about them. While we are at the reception I want you to take Endeavour out on a short cruise. See if you can loop around the planet and get a better sensor sweep of the freighters. If we can identify the rest of them, it may give us some useful information. If Haven ground control asks, tell them you are testing the repairs. I’m sure they will get a little nervous. If they do, remind them of who saved their colony and push on. If ground control gets nervous enough they will send a message to whoever oversees the freighters. I’ll be keeping an eye on their leaders, their response may just give something away.”

  “I understand Sir,” Julius said. “I’ll give them something to worry about.”

  “Very good,” James said as he clasped the Lieutenant on the shoulder, “just don’t let them know what you are after.”

  “Aye Sir,” she said grinning. “I know how to keep my cards close to my chest.”

  “Very well, go get ready to take over the watch then,” James said, ending the conversation.

  Chapter 13 – Introductions

  8th May, 2466 AD, Liberty, capital of the Haven Collective

  As James stepped off the maglev train that brought his officers from Liberty’s main landing port to the Collective’s Council Chamber, he couldn’t help being impressed. The Council Chamber wasn’t the largest building in the city but it was by far the most decorative. Whereas the rest of the colony was built purely for function, no doubt a necessity for a fledging colony, the council chambers were ornately decorated and clearly modelled after government buildings back on Earth. The whole building was made out of some local white stone. Along its front a flight of twenty steps led up to a series of what looked like marble colonnades. The shape of the building had been designed to reflect the images James had seen of the colony ship that had brought the colonists to Haven.

  As he went up the steps, James saw the First Councilor, Graham Maximilian, standing between the two largest colonnades with his back to the doors that led into the chambers. “Welcome Captain,” he said as he stepped forward, taking James’ hand. “It’s a pleasure to get the chance to honor the man of the hour.”

  “James, please,” James said, “and the honor is all mine. My crew have been very impressed with everything you and your ancestors have been able to do here in Haven.”

  “We have worked hard,” Maximilian said and then spoke up as he addressed the officers James had brought with him. “You all performed admirably, both in the battle with the Vestarians and dealing with the aftermath. I will be sending a message to your Admiralty praising every one of you.

  “Now come, come,” Maximilian said, shooing everyone up the stairs towards the main doors. “It’s time you all got a chance to enjoy yourselves. We have prepared a feast for you.”

  At the mention of food the pace of the group picked up and James found his mouth watering. Whilst the food on board naval vessels was usually pretty good, the frozen rations couldn’t live up to a freshly prepared meal.

  As they stepped through the main door it was obvious that whoever had designed the council chambers had spent as much time on the inside as the outside. “This is a very impressive building,” James said to Maximilian.

  “Yes, my Father took great pride in constructing this building. He said it represented everything we have accomplished here.”

  “Your Father was the First Councilor too?” James asked.

  “Indeed, and his before him and his before him starting with Harold Maximilian, the founder of the colony,” Maximilian replied. “The First Councilor is elected every ten years but so far our people have been happy to see Harold’s vision for our colony continue to rest in the hands of his descendants. We all still look up to him.”

  “You are a direct descendant of Harold Maximilian?” James asked.

  “Yes, he is my great grandfather,” Maximilian replied. “After being taken out of cryosleep he spent the rest of his life building this colony. My family have been dedicated to his vision ever since.”

  “Then you have done extremely well in just four
generations,” James commented.

  “Thank you,” Maximilian said, “though for most of the population I can assure you it has been more than four. We have a lot of incentives to help our population grow. I already have over fifteen great grandchildren and no doubt there will be many more before I step down as First Chancellor. My eldest son is eager to take over but he will have a few years to wait yet.”

  “That’s very interesting, James said, “I’m sure I will have lots more questions for you.”

  “I’m sure,” Maximilian said with a wry smile. “As I do for you. For now though, let’s enjoy our meal. If you would step into this room,” he added as he stood aside and gestured to the door in front of him.

  As James stepped through a loud round of applause greeted him. The room was over one hundred feet long and a single table stretched its length. Seated along the table were over eighty people, all of them standing, applauding Endeavour’s officers as they entered.