Arriving in low orbit over New Haven (Wolf 1061ca) 13.8 light years from Earth
Tina, sitting in her command chair on the bridge of her ship, smiled with contentment as the NOSTROMO was entering a low orbit over the large moon of New Shouria, the second planet of the Wolf 1061 System. She had received that moon, named by her ‘New Haven’, as a gift from the grateful Koorivars, for finding and rescuing their two missing refugee ships lost in Space for hundreds of years with their cargo of tens of thousands of Koorivars in deep cryogenic sleep. With that small but most habitable world, she had then created her New Haven Corporation, a recognized member of the Spacers League, with the main goal of turning it into a new home for thousands of impoverished and destitute unfortunate men, women and children victims of the droughts, famines, natural disasters and wars still afflicting Earth. Most of those unfortunate people had come from either Africa, Asia or the Middle East, picked up from refugee camps on Earth by Tina and her ship and then brought to New Haven, where they found new homes, caring community services, good jobs involving mostly food
57
production and, most importantly, peace and justice. Incorporated into the Spacers League in 2320, New Haven was an eco-friendly agrarian and pastoral world dedicated to refugee resettlement, with a minimum of heavy industries and mining operations on its surface. New Haven also exploited a flourishing tourism industry aimed towards the Spacers who wanted to see and visit pristine, unpolluted nature on a peaceful world. A bit over a million people now populated New Haven, living the kind of simple, peaceful life they had wished they had when on Earth. While the NOSTROMO was Tina’s true home, New Haven was the second home for her and her family when she wanted to spend some quiet vacation time. To say that Tina was proud of her accomplishments on New Haven would have been a severe understatement. Now, she was returning to it with her ship in order to bring in a load of supplies and extra materiel, so that she could further improve her world.
The NOSTROMO’s pilot, Frida Skarsgard, was still in the process of entering the ship into low orbit when Amin Jamilian, the sensors officer on duty on the bridge, spoke up, alarm in his voice.
‘’CAPTAIN, WE ARE RECEIVING A SYSTEM-WIDE ALERT MESSAGE FROM
THE KOORIVAR LONG-RANGE DETECTION NETWORK: MULTIPLE ASTEROID
SHIPS HAVE STARTED TO APPEAR AT THE FRINGE OF THE UPPER EASTERN
QUADRANT OF THE SYSTEM.’
Freezing for a short moment on hearing that terrifying piece of news, Tina then forced herself into action.
‘’CALL THE SHIP TO BATTLE STATIONS! MISTER JAMILIAN, CAN YOU
GIVE ME MORE DETAILS ON THIS?’
‘’I am now getting a string of data from the Koorivar surveillance network, Captain. I’m now passing it to you and to our weapons fire control stations.’
Her heart now beating faster, Tina looked at one of the small display screens attached to the armrests of her command chair and reviewed quickly the string of data now filling quickly the screen. The Koorivars, after establishing in 2320 their new home on Wolf 1061c and naming it ‘New Shouria’, had put in position six years later a sophisticated and extensive Space surveillance and long-range detection network around the edges of the Wolf 1061 System. The Koorivars, an eminently pacifist race, had not done this with some military purpose in mind but simply to alert themselves to any possible threat from asteroids or other celestial bodies which could enter the system and put in danger their
58
new home planet. Their original homeworld, Gliese 667Cd, which had been known to the Koorivars as ‘Shouria’ and had been situated 22 light years from Earth, had been destroyed in the year 1959, some 378 years ago, by a wandering brown dwarf3 which had come from Outer Space. The Koorivars had then been able just before the impact with that brown dwarf to launch three ships loaded with tens of thousands of refugees in cryogenic hibernation. One of those three ships, named VEON SHOURIA, had then flown to the Solar System at sub-luminic speed, taking some 301 years before arriving in the Solar System. Due to ageing and malfunctioning guidance and control systems, the VEON SHOURIA had landed on the dwarf planet Eris, situated at the outer confines of the Solar System, in the year 2260, where it was then buried into the methane ice mantle of the planet. The KOSTROMA, then Tina’s ship, had discovered the VEON
SHOURIA in 2317 and had freed it from its icy tomb, allowing Humanity to meet for the first time an intelligent extra-terrestrial alien race. That had in turn launched Humanity into its present interstellar adventure. Now, the detection system put in place by the Koorivars was showing the continuing arrival at the edge of the Wolf 1061 System of what could only be Space Predators asteroid ships, with 29 such ships already in the system and with more coming in at a rapid rate. Those Space Predator ships were in essence M-class metallic asteroids which had been gutted of most of its mass to create empty nickel-iron shells with very thick, tough hulls. Those nickel-iron shells were then equipped with propulsion, power and armament systems to turn them into starships, each measuring many kilometers in length and maximum diameter. The Space Predators, giant mantis-like carnivorous beings, used those asteroid ships to roam the Galaxy and find preys, which they then ate. Tina’s first encounter with the Space Predators, some nine years ago in the Ross 128 System, had ended in a costly victory for her, with her KOSTROMA being evacuated before making a suicide charge at the Space Predator ship attacking the Drazts of Ross 128b, destroying it in a titanic impact.
At first, the Space Predators’ asteroid ships had appeared nearly invincible, inflicting cruel losses to the Spacers League Navy, but new weapons and new tactics had changed that picture in favor of Humanity in a fight often spearheaded by Tina and her new ship, the NOSTROMO. On the other hand, vulnerabilities and shortcomings in 3 Brown dwarf: A massive gas giant planet which missed becoming a full-fledged star by only a small margin. Such brown dwarves are dark celestial bodies, making them very difficult to detect from long distance, and some of them are known to wander through the galaxy by themselves, unattached to any star.
59
Space Predators’ technology had revealed themselves, improving the chances of victory for Humanity. Notably, the sole heavy armament carried by the asteroid ships were very high-power lasers, with no missile armament. Also, the Space Predator ships seemed incapable of doing the kind of Space warp micro-jumps which Human ships could do thanks to their Koomak Drives. Those Koomak Drives had allowed Human ships and even missiles to jump very close to asteroid ships, penetrating their protective force shields and making possible direct hits on them. Another weakness was the inability of the Space Predators’ force shields to stop disintegrator beams. When coupled with the new matter-converter muzzle adaptors invented by the late Doctor Koomak, the Human disintegrator cannons were now able to make mincemeat of the asteroid ships.
However, an armed Human ship had to be present in a system in order to stop or at least slow down a Space Predator invasion fleet. Right now, the main weakness of the Spacers League was the limited numbers of warships left in its Navy after suffering a series of catastrophic defeats, defeats partly caused by incompetent tactical handling by its admirals. That numerical weakness was now at play again, with no Navy warship present at this time in the Wolf 1061 System. That left only the NOSTROMO as an armed ship able to oppose that incoming invasion fleet. That would have to change, and quickly.
‘’Amin, prepare a courier drone, to be sent as quickly as possible to Navy Headquarters in Providence with the following message: large Space Predator fleet emerging in the Wolf 1061 System. Need help ASAP4!’
‘’On it!’
Tina then analyzed quickly the picture she was getting from the Koorivar surveillance network, in order to decide how best to react to this enemy attack as the battle alarm horn sounded throughout her ship. Deciding on a battle plan in seconds, she was about to issue orders around the bridge when Anwar Duharto, one of the two communications specialists presently on duty in the bridge, spoke up.
‘’Captain, we are receiving a transmission from the Koorivar ship VEON
SHOURIA. I’m passing it to your command chair.’
‘’Thank you, Mister Duharto.’ said Tina before switching one of her chair electronic panels to that transmission link. She smiled with genuine happiness on 4 ASAP: As Soon As Possible.
60
recognizing the Koorivar who then appeared on her screen, sitting in the command chair of his ship.
‘’Shanandar, my old friend! You were on New Shouria with your ship?’
‘’I was, Tina, along with the SHUNDAR. We were on the surface to unload some new construction modules and materiel but I am now in the process of taking off after receiving that warning from our detection network. We are ready to help you defend the system against those monsters. What would you like us to do in support of your ship?’
Tina thought that over quickly, reminding herself of what the Koorivar ships could do...and not do. Being eternal pacifists, the Koorivars had at first no armament whatsoever on their ships. However, the apparition of the Space Predators threat had quickly forced them to reassess their posture. Counseled by Tina, they had then accepted to arm their ships but had given the responsibility on how to use and aim their new weapons to the central artificial intelligence of their computers, which had very close capabilities to those of the NOSTROMO’s own central computer, SPIRIT. In fact, SPIRIT could be said to be a close friend of those Koorivar ship computers, named SHANYA, SHEONA and SHIRY. With the Koorivar three main starships now armed with both disintegrator cannons with matter-converter muzzle adaptors and with missiles equipped with Koomak Drive generators, which allowed them to effect micro-jumps, those ships were now potent defensive assets when controlled by their central computers while in combat.
‘’I am preparing to send a courier drone to Providence, to ask for the help of our Navy. However, our three ships will have to block the path to New Shouria and New Haven to that invasion fleet until our Navy ships could arrive. How many Koorivar security androids do you now have on New Shouria to defend its surface?’
Shanandar made a smirk on Tina mentioning those Koorivar-looking security androids: it had taken some cajoling from both Tina and Shanandar to make Governor Sheraz accept the presence of armed androids on New Shouria and aboard Koorivar starships.
‘’We presently have a grand total of 64 security androids on duty on the planet, plus have a security contingent of twelve androids on each of our three main starships.
We also have anti-teleportation jammers around our surface installations on New Shouria, but Governor Sheraz is still resisting my counsels about getting some of your intimidating MRGSs.’
‘’Well, that’s better than nothing, my friend. What I propose to do is for my NOSTROMO to make a micro-jump within the system, in order to take an ambush
61
position on one flank of the arriving enemy fleet. That would normally leave our two worlds vulnerable but, with your VEON SHOURIA and the SHUNDAR, we now have something to form a second defensive line halfway to the emergence point of that enemy fleet. If any enemy ship breaks through me, then deal with them with long-range missile fire but withdraw if need be closer to our worlds in order to avoid any close combat, where the Space Predator heavy laser batteries would cut your two ships to shreds.
Even if I manage to destroy by myself the enemy fleet, the resulting Space debris will then still constitute mortal threats to both of our worlds. Your job then will be to destroy or reduce to manageable small chunks those asteroid debris with your disintegrator cannons, before they could bombard our worlds. As a third, final defensive line, I am going to send to the surface of New Shouria three full cohorts of my security androids, totaling some 1,500 androids and 36 MRGSs, plus an additional 48 MRGSs, in order to help for its defense if the enemy ever gets to the planet. On my side, I already have close to 500 security androids and fifty MRGSs on New Haven as its standing security force. I will keep my remaining 800 security androids on the NOSTROMO as a backup force against boardings.’
Shanandar nodded once his deer-like head to that.
‘’Sounds like a plan, Tina. Good luck and give those monsters Hell.’
‘’I always do, Shanandar. Good luck to you as well, my friend.’
Tina then closed that link and switched on to the ship’s intercom system, calling the commander of her android force, Jehanne De Domrémy.
‘’Jehanne, this is Tina. A Space Predator invasion fleet has started to appear at the fringe of the system. I am going to jump forward to an ambush position, while the Koorivar ships VEON SHOURIA and SHUNDAR will form a second Space defensive line. I want you to send three cohorts and a total of 84 MRGSs to the surface of New Shouria, to help defend it from any Space Predator attempt at landing there. Our present security force on New Haven will stay there in defensive positions around our settlements. The remaining 800 androids from the First to the Ninth Centuries inclusively will stay aboard the NOSTROMO as an anti-boarding force and possibly as our own boarding force if things go really well for us. Put Shaka in charge of the force to be sent to New Shouria but stay aboard yourself: I will want my most battle-experienced androids and commanders for any anti-boarding fighting. As well, send out most of our assault barges to New Shouria but keep twelve of them aboard the NOSTROMO, just in case.’
62
‘’Understood, Captain. I am going to issue the required orders now to my legion.’
Now reassured about that aspect of the incoming battle, Tina then heard Amin Jamilian give her some news.
‘’Captain, our courier drone has been launched and just jumped out of the system.’
‘’Excellent! Hopefully, Navy Headquarters will take off its led shoes for a change and will react with celerity.’
Quite a few smirks and eye rolls greeted her pious wish: up to now, the Spacers League Navy had proven to be everything but quick-acting. Next, Tina designated with an electronic pen a specific point among the system’s main asteroid belt, a point situated a bit to one side of the probable path of advance of the Space Predator fleet towards New Shouria. Her biggest worry right now was that her enemies would show some tactical savvy for a change and split their forces into multiple sub-fleets, thus forcing her to choose between what sub-fleet to attack. Thankfully, up to now the Space Predators had proven to be more like impetuous charging Polish Hussars than like disciplined Roman legionnaires. She then passed on more orders, first talking to her duty navigator.
‘’Reena, once our troopers will have left the ship, effect a micro-jump to the point I just designated. We will go hide behind one of the larger asteroids of the main belt and will wait in ambush there. Renée, once in ambush position, you will deploy three reconnaissance and fire control drones to widely separated positions behind small asteroids, with their datalink unidirectional antennas pointed at us. I want to be able to stay in complete passive mode while still able to direct missile fire via target line-of-sight triangulation from our drones. We will unmask our ship only once the most dangerous enemy ships will have been neutralized. Our heavy fighter squadron will fly out once we will be in ambush position but will stay behind cover, ready to react to any split in the enemy force which could possibly try to flank us.’
‘’Got it, Tina! Our fighter crews are already scrambling to board their craft.’
‘’Good!’ simply said Tina before sitting back in her command chair and trying to relax as much as possible before the start of what promised to be an epic battle. With over 83 asteroid ships having already arrived in the Wolf 1061 System and with more still coming in, this was definitely not going to be a cake walk.
63
Jehanne De Domrémy, acting with utmost celerity and efficiency, had her force of assault shuttles and MRGSs out and heading towards nearby New Shouria after a mere fourteen minutes, which allowed Tina to then have her ship jump to a position behind the large asteroid she had chosen as a cover and shield for her ship. Thankfully, the enemy commander had apparently decided to wait until his ow fleet had jumped into the system before moving, so that it could then advance as one solid wedge. The last Space Predator ship to jump in then proved to be of truly monstrous size, making Tina utter an exclamation.
‘’By the stars! This thing is even bigger than the flagship of the fleet which tried to attack the Gliese 581 System six months ago. It must measure over forty kilometers in length, with a diameter about as large.’
‘’Our preliminary estimates of its size are that it is a nearly round asteroid some 41 kilometers in diameter, Tina.’ said Renée d’Argenteuil, Tina’s weapons officer. ‘’If it has a consequently thick iron-nickel hull crust, then even our missiles with anti-matter warheads may have trouble piercing it.’
‘’But building such gigantic asteroid ships must represent a stupendous amount of effort in terms of work and resources. I doubt that the Space Predators could build more than a handful of ships like this one and the flagship we met around Gliese 581.
This looks like these monsters are scrapping the proverbial bottom of their drawers for this attack.’
‘’I believe so, Tina. The fact that they are attacking our system, which is one of the least populated one among the Spacers League’s systems, means to me that they realized that our ship is their most dangerous opponent and that they must destroy in priority our homeworld, even if that means temporarily ignoring the Solar System.’
‘’Gee! You may be right about that, Renée, but you certainly aren’t reassuring me with this right now.’
‘’Don’t worry, Tina: we will cut them to size quickly enough. From their mass attack approach, it seems that they still haven’t learned much from their previous defeats.’
‘’That’s because we didn’t let any of their attacking ships survive to bring back their lessons to their home commanders. We will thus try as much as possible to make a clean sweep among those monstrous bastards. How far from us do you estimate that their path of advance will make them pass by us?’
64
‘’About 200,000 kilometers from our cover asteroid, Tina. Their chances of detecting us at such a distance will be minimal, while they will still be well within effective range of our missiles. Our heavy fighter squadron is now flying out and taking waiting positions around us while staying behind our covering asteroid.’
‘’Excellent! Now we only need to wait for the enemy to walk into our trap.
SENSORS, MAKE SURE THAT NO OTHER ENEMY SHIPS TRY TO FLANK US OR
TAKE US IN THE REAR.’
‘’Aye, Captain!’
The next few minutes on the bridge were quiet but tense ones, as its crew anxiously followed the path of the advancing enemy fleet. Then, Renée d’Argenteuil spoke up with incredible calm, showing her to be a true combat veteran.
‘’The bulk of the enemy fleet has now passed by us and is still within optimum effective range of our missiles. There are no signs that the enemy has detected us or is even suspecting our presence. They are more like charging bulls eyeing a red flag ahead of them.’
‘’Then, fire a full ship missile barrage when ready. Target as many individual ships as you can but reserve at least four missiles for that big turd in the rear of the pack.’
‘’Aye, Captain!’
Less than one minute later, d’Argenteuil spoke again.
‘’Missiles fired! We now have 160 missiles on the way.’’
‘’Reload our silos at once. Tell our fighters to still wait.’
Another twenty seconds passed, then Tina was able to see on the inner holographic display surface of the bridge sphere the flashes of intense white light from multiple antimatter explosions illuminating the opposite side of the asteroid her ship was hiding behind. Then, what looked like a laser work display of red beams fired past the asteroid masking the NOSTROMO exploded, many actually burning the edges of that asteroid.
‘’It looks like those Space Predators did not like the menu we just served them.’
commented Renée in a stoic tone of voice.
‘’Too bad if they don’t like it: we have only one item on the menu for lunch.
Evaluate the damage quickly and select targets for our second salvo.’
‘’Aye!’ simply said d’Argenteuil, who then worked in silence over her fire control console for another minute or so. Then she made a remark, some surprise in her voice.
65
‘’Tina, I am now better able to evaluate the size and composition of the enemy fleet, or rather what’s left of it. From a starting count of 133 ships of all sizes, an unusual proportion of those ships appeared to have been either support or transport ships, rather than warships proper. Furthermore, that plethora of support ships appeared to have poorly resisted to our missiles, with the 91 lesser ships having been destroyed outright by single hits. Of the remaining 42 ships, all but sixteen of them, including that big potato, have survived and are still apparently operational, as they are now shooting their lasers at us. The 26 other ships still in one piece but not shooting now appear to be non-combat effective but are still able to navigate. We never saw such a large ratio of support ship to warship before in any attacking Space Predator fleet, Tina. Why is it so now?’
Tina had to think that one over but, before she could answer Renée, the voice of SPIRIT
came up on the intercom.
‘’Tina, I believe that I would have a possible explanation for this. Basically, this may represent the last gasp of the Space Predators. This fleet may well have been all that was left of their fleet, and possibly of their race. Those numerous, smaller support ships may well have been hastily built transport ships for the survivors of their race, while New Shouria and New Haven may have been for them a last occasion to collect large reserves of meat before they went in search of a new homeworld. That huge asteroid ship may also be more like a large refugee ship than like a warship. If we succeed in totally destroying this Space Predator fleet, then we just may succeed in getting rid of this threat for good.’
SPIRIT’s assessment left Tina and her bridge crew stunned for a moment as they realized that their central computer could well be right about this. Tina nodded once while watching the continuing rain of laser beam fire targeting the asteroid shielding her ship.
‘’Damn! This would be very nice indeed if you were proven right, SPIRIT.
Renée, target four more missiles on that giant asteroid ship, plus two more missiles against each of the remaining enemy ships still firing at us. Fire only one missile per ship still sailing but not firing. We will reserve the rest of our missiles for any ship that survives our second salvo.’
Instead of again playing her fire control console, d’Argenteuil made a slight smile and spoke up, addressing their central computer.
66
‘’SPIRIT, you came up with that proposed explanation. You may have the honor to target and fire our second salvo.’
‘’Why, thank you, Renée.’ replied SPIRIT in a suave tone of voice which made more than one crewmember on the bridge chuckle. ‘’Missiles programmed... Launching 61 missiles now.’
After another twenty seconds, a second concert of bright flashes of while light again illuminated the opposite side of their protective asteroid. This time, all enemy laser fire seemed to stop for good, raising Tina’s hopes for a quick victory with no casualties on her side.
‘’Sensors, what do our reconnaissance drones see now? What is left of the enemy fleet?’
As he reviewed his sensors’ images and data, a steadily widening smile appeared on Amin Jamilian’s face.
‘’Captain, there is nothing left of the enemy fleet but debris. The only Predator ship still in one piece is that giant asteroid ship...and it is in the process of turning around, possibly to flee.’
‘’Oh no it won’t!’ exclaimed at once Tina, fired up. ‘’To our heavy fighters: charge out from your present cover and start cleaning up what remains of the enemy ships, then stay behind to ensure the continued protection of the system against any possible second enemy force. The NOSTROMO will now pursue that giant asteroid ship and make sure that it doesn’t survive this battle. Reena, be prepared to record the jump vector of that giant asteroid ship and to calculate its intended destination. Frida, fly us around our lucky cover asteroid and go in pursuit of that remaining enemy ship. Renée, use our giant disintegrator cannons and fire them in matter-converter mode: let’s devastate the outer hull of that big turd.’
‘’With pleasure, Tina.’
As twelve MAMBA-Class heavy fighters rushed like sharks towards a piece of bleeding meat, the NOSTROMO finally unmasked itself and accelerated towards the large debris field created by the destruction of the Space Predators’ fleet. Its four super-heavy disintegrator cannons, each nearly 700-meter-long, then pointed at the now fleeing Predator flagship and stated firing red energy beams at it. Each hit then caused a huge, blinding explosion caused by the transmutation of some of the nickel-iron crust forming its hull into anti-matter, with an equal mass of matter and anti-matter then
67
annihilating themselves in blasts each equivalent to over 300 megatons. The heavy laser batteries which may have survived up to now in the aft section of the Predator ship were quickly destroyed, along with any external sensors located in that same section.
Clearly desperate by now, the giant asteroid ship hastily jumped out of the Wolf 1061
System, disappearing from view and prompting an immediate command from Tina to Reena Shapour.
‘’Calculate its destination and jump, Reena!’
Helped tremendously by STARCHILD, the sub-unit of SPIRIT dedicated to astrophysics studies and navigation, Reena worked as quickly as humanly possible, entering new coordinates and punching the ‘jump’ button after a mere six seconds.
‘’JUMPING NOW!’
An orange flash of light briefly bathed the whole of the bridge when the bow Koomak Drive generator of the ship was powered. Then, Tina was able to look at the outer edge of a totally new star system. Thankfully, she was also able to see the tiny shape of the enemy asteroid ship dead ahead, far away but still in her weapons sights.
‘’Renée, fire at will! Reena, where are we now?’’
‘Uh, one moment please, Captain... We now seem to be at the edge of the Avior System, in the constellation of Carina, 633 light years from Earth. We just covered some 670 light years in one jump, Tina. I believe that the enemy is trying to escape us by outdistancing our own jump capacity.’
‘’Nice try but it won’t help them: they have no idea of the limits of what our ship can do. Frida, push our propulsion to maximum: get us closer to that big bastard, so that Renée can better tan his hide.’
‘’Too late! He just jumped again!’
‘’Reena, stay on his trail!’
The poor Reena had no time to answer back to that, too busy to calculate the enemy’s trajectory. After nine seconds, she pushed again her ‘jump’ button, creating another orange flash that was brighter than the first one. When they were able to see their new surroundings, Tina was able to spot a nearby F8-type bright white star...but no enemy ship.
‘’Shit! Where is that bastard now? I don’t see it.’
‘’I HAVE HIM ON MY ELECTRONIC WARFARE CONSOLE, TINA.’ Nearly shouted Anwar Duharto. ‘’HE MADE THE MISTAKE OF POWERING ITS LONG-RANGE RADAR IN ORDER TO SEE IF WE ARE STILL AFTER HIM.’
68
‘’You can run but you can’t hide, buster.’ said Tina in a sarcastic tone. ‘’Pass its location vector to Frida. Reena, where did he lead us to this time?’
‘’The star we now see is Wezen, a star in the constellation of Canis Major. It is 1,787 light years from Earth, meaning that we just jumped a whopping 1,200 light years.
This is a record for any Spacers League ship’s jump.’
‘’Well, the prize I want for breaking that record is that bastard’s skin. Frida, make a micro-jump: let’s appear right into their face.’
‘’With pleasure, Tina.’
A very brief orange flash permeated again the bridge but, this time, the enemy ship was clearly visible on their holographic screens, only some 6,000 kilometers away.
‘’Nice jump, Frida! Renée, slap that bastard around.’
‘’With pleasure, Tina.’
A powerful salvo from their super-heavy disintegrator cannons then blasted the surface of the enemy asteroid ship, taking out its last functioning laser batteries. Now utterly defenseless and with its protective force shields collapsed, the enemy commander did the only thing he still could do: he fled by jumping away yet again. Reena, who was expecting that, immediately extrapolated its direction and power range of its jump, punching her own ‘jump’ button after only six seconds.
‘’JUMPING NOW!’
If that was possible, the flash of orange light proved even more intense than the preceding one, with the NOSTROMO ending in a star system in which throned a hot blue B5-type star. Tina made a ferocious smile on seeing the enemy ship still in sight, dead ahead of her ship.
‘’I told you that you wouldn’t be able to escape, you murderous bastards. Time for you to die.’
Her words were punctuated by a new salvo from her super-heavy battery, which managed to finally breach the hull of the enemy ship in its aft section. Air and debris blew out of the asteroid ship as Reena announced their new location.
‘’Captain, we are now in the Aludra System of the Canis Major Constellation, some 3,182 light years from Earth. We just jumped through some 1,300 light years. I doubt that we could jump farther than that in one shot. Hopefully, the enemy will also be unable to exceed its last jump, especially since he just sustained some serious dama...SHIT! HE JUST JUMPED AGAIN!’
69
‘’I have to give an ‘A’ for effort to that bastard. Calculate his course and jump and follow him, Reena.’
‘’That will be a bit dicey, Tina: we are getting at the fringes of our well-mapped star charts.’
‘’Well, we will be able to play the Space explorers...after we blow that asshole to bits.’
‘’Alright, here we go: jumping now!’
When they reemerged into normal Space,
they saw the enemy ship ahead, trailing debris.
They also saw one of the most bizarre sight they had even seen in Deep Space: what looked like a
huge bean-shaped black, completely obscure, bag
sitting in the middle of a dense field of stars. Even Tina was left to stare at it with some
incomprehension. The voice of SPIRIT, sounding urgent, then came out of the bridge’s loudspeakers.
‘’WARNING! INTENSE GRAVITY FIELD AHEAD! WE ARE HEADING
TOWARDS AN UNCHARTED BLACK HOLE.’
‘’SHIT! FRIDA, VEER NINETY DEGREES TO PORT! PUSH OUR
PROPULSION TO MAXIMUM. REENA, JUMP US OUT OF HERE AS QUICKLY AS
YOU CAN!’
‘’TO WHERE?’
‘’ANYWHERE BUT HERE!’
On the command bridge of the Space Predator ship, Queen Stilka calmly looked with resignation at the twin viewing screens showing both the nearby black hole, which had been charted out by her race hundreds of years ago, and the devilish Human ship which had caused so many catastrophic losses to her race. The attack on what the Humans called the Wolf 1061 System had been the last gambit by her race to stave imminent extinction through mass famine by raiding what was supposed to have been a near defenseless star system with millions of creatures to feed on. Then, her fleet and what remained of her subjects would have gone away to search for a safer region of the Galaxy to use as a feeding ground. Alas, that cursed Human ship named the
70
NOSTROMO had been there and had ambushed her ships, massacring them and slaughtering their crews and the twelve million Predators they carried. Now, she was left with a single, badly damaged and defenseless ship which was now carrying the last 1,200,000 Predators still in existence. Now knowing that she and her last subjects would not survive this day, she had decided to at the least to drag her enemy with her in a final death act. As her ship got closer and closer to the black hole hidden inside the dark nebula, she started to see her bridge starting to deform, as if it was a ball of soft rubber being pulled by one side while being held by the opposite side. Then everything went dark for her.
On the bridge of the NOSTROMO, Tina anxiously watched on as her crew desperately tried to fly their ship out of trouble, with the loud whining of the propulsion core and intense shaking as a background. Then, to Tina’s relief, a glow of light burst around her, marking a Space jump. She didn’t really notice then that that burst of light was of a strange orange-green color instead of being of pure orange color.
71
CHAPTER 5 – WHERE ARE WE?
The nebula surrounding the red hypergiant star VY Canis Majoris, 3,900 light years from Earth.
11:33 (Universal Time according to ship’s clocks) Friday, June 11, 2337 (Theoretical Date)
