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  “Because I can’t promise that,” Pershing said. “I don’t have the authority, and while we could send out word that your ship is no longer a priority to the Imperium, I doubt that would guarantee your safety.”

  “So we’re at a stalemate,” Kim said.

  “Someone has to do the right thing,” Ben urged.

  Kim looked directly into Pershing’s eyes when she spoke, “Whatever, but I don’t trust you.”

  “Unfortunately, we don’t have much choice at the moment,” Pershing said. “We can continue our fight once the alien problem is dealt with, if that’s what you want to do.”

  “No one wants to fight,” Ben said. “We’re not a warship. We’re not soldiers. We’ve done some jobs for the Confederacy but we’re just the transportation.”

  Pershing knew that no matter where the crew’s loyalties lay, they were much more than just a passenger ship. Even during the Great War, no one had done as much damage as the Modulus Echo had in the last month alone. Perhaps it was fate, or maybe the Royal Imperium was just too big to be effective any longer. Pershing didn’t know, and she didn’t have the time to reflect on the matter.

  “What’s your answer?” Pershing asked. “We will be in the Yelsin system in just over an hour. And my gut tells me we don’t have a second to waste.”

  Chapter 4

  The Nog’Deit was a collector ship for the Krah Empire. Her chieftain was certain that the new vessel he had captured near the strange power anomaly would boost his rank among the other commanders. His son had taken the En’Galla through the ring of fire in search of more prey. Glory was theirs for the taking when they returned with prizes. The priests would sing in honor of Chieftain Grubat, and his ships would be flooded with ambitious young troopers hungry for glory and fame. Even some of the other shipmasters would surely join his Thralldom and follow him back through the ring of fire.

  The return trip back to the Algonny Outpost had taken several hours, but it had also given his Builder caste time to explore their new discovery. It wasn’t a known type of vessel, which could only mean one thing—someone had found a way to bridge the galaxies. Perhaps the thought of such superior technology should have cowed the Krah chieftain, but Grubat was of the Warrior caste. Fear did not exist for him. In fact, the promise of a new foe, one strong enough to bridge galaxies, excited the Krah chieftain even more than the large ship he had managed to steal.

  Grubat sat in his command seat with his back to his underlings. They were all of the Warrior caste, but only Yarls. They didn’t have the experience needed to challenge him for command or branch out on their own. And the new find held not only the promise of wealth in salvageable material, but the opportunity to win glory, advance in rank, and build their reputations. Grubat never allowed himself to imagine that his underlings weren’t plotting his demise. Lowering his guard was an invitation for an attack, and while the Krah chieftain didn’t fear a fight, he loathed to throw his ship into chaos, which often resulted from leadership challenges. Anyone who stood with the challenger would have to be killed, and it had taken Grubat a long time to recruit enough followers to have a full ship’s complement.

  Soon, he would have an entire armada of Krah vessels. He would rise to the rank of warlord, and with any luck become an alpha before the new species was crushed and forced into subservience to the Empire. The power wave from the ring of fire had been a passing blip, just enough to get Grubat’s attention when his ship picked up the reading. He had gone to the epicenter of the power spike and found a new vessel just waiting to be taken up. They didn’t even fight back, which the chieftain found revolting. How could anyone simply submit, or in the case of the newcomers, turn and run? The new species were cowards, and Grubat feared that the ring of fire would close before he could lead others back through it.

  He rose up from his seat on the power legs he had won in battle. Each was a gift from the Priestly caste for his sacrifice and offerings. The servos buzzed slightly under the bulk of his massively muscled upper body. As he turned to face his Yarls, the tendrils from his mechanical headpiece that framed his grizzled face waved like snakes, each taking readings and shuttling the information to his mind. He could sense the excitement in his underlings, despite the stony expressions on their faces.

  “Alert me when we reach the outpost,” Grubat said.

  “As you wish, Chieftain,” said Yarl Hassik.

  Grubat flexed his spinal nodes, the artificial mechanics that looked like small horns twitched as they powered his artificial legs and the surgically added muscle fibers that covered his upper body. Despite the weight and power of the artificial legs, Grubat’s steps were not heavy. He would need upgrades soon, but his concern over the state of his implants had been erased by the capture of the strange new ship.

  He walked quickly back to his meditation chamber and sat in the reclining chair inside the energy field that recharged his biomechanicals. The energy seemed to resonate through his body, and he felt the fibers grow warm inside him. His mind, however, was on the portal. What lay beyond was a mystery. In fact, he couldn’t even be certain that it was merely a portal to another place in the universe. It could lead to another dimension, he supposed. The ships that came through might have been bait. He didn’t like the idea that he could have fallen so easily into a trap, but he would know soon.

  When the En’Galla returned, she would give a full report on what lay beyond the ring of fire. His pointed teeth open slightly, and his tongue ran over their sharpened points. His own galaxy was running low on resources. There was always more materials and rare elements to be mined, but the Krah weren’t miners. They had slaves to dig up the essential elements, but the Builder caste was growing in power without an enemy to fight. Grubat knew warlords who had grown lazy and weak with no one to resist them. He was determined not to fall into that trap. The Priestly caste may have lost faith in their warriors, but soon a new foe would be vanquished, and the Warrior caste would regain their former glory as new treasures poured in. The gods were with him, Grubat had no doubt of that. His troopers were hungry for blood and he would give it to them. They would devour anyone who stood in their way until whoever waited beyond the ring of fire quaked at the very mention of the mighty Krah Empire.

  Chapter 5

  Ben led General Pershing down to the engineering bay. He felt almost self-conscious as they approached the artificial gravity generator. He could see the wave projector resting beside the sphere that cast a bubble of artificial gravity through most of the ship.

  “This is it,” Ben said.

  “This?” Pershing said. “Isn’t this your gravity generator?”

  “You know your tech,” Ben said. “That’s good. Yes, this is the artificial gravity generator. With Professor Jones’s research regarding black holes, I built this little wave generator. It interfaces with the gravity to cast a moving stream around the ship, like the outer portion of a black hole. When we flew through the center of the black hole near the Griggs system, we proved the concept of neutral forces at the center.”

  “Like the eye of the storm,” Pershing said. “So with this device, your ship is perpetually in the center of this swirl of gravity.”

  “That’s right,” Ben said.

  “And nothing can touch you.”

  “Nothing has gotten through yet,” Ben said. “The gravity flux, that’s what I call it, slings most matter away, but it’s only useful for a short time.”

  “Because of the power drain?” Pershing asked.

  “No,” Ben said. “The flux barely increases the power draw of the gravity generator. The problem is the matter that gets caught in the swirl. Just like a black hole, the matter caught in our shield is compacted, which produces heat. If we get too much matter caught in the gravity flux, it would destroy the ship.”

  “How long can it run?” Pershing asked.

  “That depends on what the ship encounters. Like I said, larger items get flung away. But smaller matter just gets caught. It’s kind of te
chnical. I had to adhere sensors to the ship’s hull to keep readings on the gravity flux.”

  “And it operates from the bridge?” Pershing said.

  “Yes,” Ben replied. “We have it all set up through the ship’s computer system.”

  “These Kestrel class ships were unique,” Pershing said. “Atmo and space hybrid, passengers and cargo capable, and almost everything automated through the central computing system so that it can be flown with minimal crew. The drawback is if the computer system goes down, the ship is dead in space. That’s why the Imperium shifted each individual system to their own operating units. We can lose one system, but keep the others online.”

  “I guess I’m glad you didn’t hit us with an electromagnetic pulse,” Ben said.

  Pershing raised her eyebrows. “I wasn’t in charge.”

  “I have a question for you, since I’m sharing our secrets. How did you know who I was?”

  “We had a commando team monitoring your ship on Torrent Four,” Pershing admitted. “You, the pilot, and Magnum were all seen well enough for facial recognition to get a match.”

  “So it was your people who fought the Scalpers?” Ben asked.

  “We had orders to watch and make sure you got into orbit,” Pershing said. “The admiral general wanted to make an example of you.”

  “Wow,” Ben said, realizing that they could have been captured or killed on the ground while back on the junk world of Torrent Four. “I guess we got lucky.”

  “We didn’t know about this,” Pershing said, pointing at the device. “I’d ask for a demonstration, but I’ve seen it in action twice now. What other surprises do you have down here?”

  “Nothing,” Ben said. “We’re just a regular ship other than the gravity flux shielding.”

  “I think you’re more than that,” Pershing said.

  “We better get back up to the bridge,” Ben said. “We’ll be coming out of hyperspace soon.”

  Ben led the way back up to the bridge. Pershing followed, her eyes sweeping around, taking in every nuance of the ship.

  “It’s about time you two got back up here,” Kim said from her pilot’s chair, which she had swiveled around to face the curved row of consoles on the slightly raised portion of the bridge. “We’re just about to come out of hyperspace. Get ready to spin up that shield, Ben. There’s no telling what type of surprise she’s got waiting for us in the Yelsin system.”

  “You think I would have your ship fired on?” Pershing said.

  “I wouldn’t put it past you,” Kim said.

  “If your ship is destroyed, I’ll be killed,” Pershing said calmly. “You have nothing to worry about from me.”

  “Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  “Sixty seconds,” Nance announced.

  “Any objections to me sitting here?” Pershing asked.

  Ben was at the engineering console. He looked up and saw that Pershing was sitting at what would normally have been the navigator’s station. Like communications, it was rerouted through Nance’s computer console, but it was the only spot available.

  “No, that’s fine,” Ben said.

  “It’s getting crowded up here,” Kim grumbled.

  “Thirty seconds,” Nance said.

  “Your friend is still unconscious,” Professor Jones said from the communications console. “I’m afraid there might be cranial bleeding or some other problem we don’t have the equipment to diagnose.”

  “As soon as we’re in system, I’ll have her moved down to Yelsin Prime,” Pershing said. “They have state-of-the-art medical facilities at the Spec Op training center.”

  “Ten seconds,” Nance said.

  “If she’s leading us into an ambush, you can shoot her, Magnum,” Kim said.

  Ben heard the big man chuckle as Kim hit the switch that brought them back into real space. The swirling glow of hyperspace was replaced on the big bridge display with a quiet space system. In the distance, Ben could see Yelsin Prime. There were a handful of Fleet vessels in orbit around the planet, and nothing close to their position.

  “Go ahead with your active radar,” Pershing said. “And hail the Wind Sweeper. I need to speak with Major Le Croix.”

  “Look who’s giving orders, now,” Kim said.

  “Go ahead,” Ben told Professor Jones, who slipped on a headset.

  “We’re clear,” Nance said. “No vessels in the system other than those in orbit around Yelsin Prime.”

  “Unless they’re hiding behind that gas giant,” Kim said.

  “If they are, we have time to evade,” Ben said. “Nance, go ahead and calculate a jump point.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Pershing said.

  “I believe you,” Ben said. “But there’s no harm in being prepared if your people don’t see things your way.”

  “I have a Major Le Croix,” Jones said.

  “Put it on speaker,” Kim said.

  Pershing nodded, and a male voice boomed from the bridge speakers.

  “General Pershing? Is that really you?”

  “It’s me, Major,” Pershing replied. “What news do you have from the Celeste system?”

  “Nothing but one unbelievably terrible report after another,” the voice said. “Most of the fleet was lost, along with HQ.”

  “Yes, I was there,” Pershing said.

  “Are you on the Modulus Echo?”

  “That is correct.”

  “Okay,” he said, his consternation obvious.

  “It’s a long story,” Pershing continued. “For now, the Modulus Echo has special privileges. We are coming in for a landing, and I’ve promised the crew provisions.”

  “Roger that,” Le Croix replied. “I’ll notify the other ships and ground forces.”

  The radio contact was shut off and Pershing nodded at Kim.

  “You really want me to do this, Ben?” Kim asked.

  “We need food and fuel,” Ben said. “We have to trust someone.”

  “I can think of a lot of people I’d rather trust first,” Kim said.

  “Bringing up a trajectory to get us into high orbit,” Nance said.

  “And don’t forget to calculate that jump point,” Kim said. “Things could get dicey, and if they do, I’m suggesting we get out of this system as fast as we can.”

  Chapter 6

  “Modulus Echo, you are cleared to enter planetary atmosphere,” the flight controller said. “Please follow the assigned trajectory.”

  “Roger that, ground control,” Kim said.

  “Uploading the trajectory now,” Nance said.

  “When we land, I would like you to stay,” Pershing said. “The base has facilities your crew can use.”

  “We’d rather just get the supplies we need and take off,” Ben said.

  “Yes, I know,” Pershing said. “But until we get news from the Celeste system, it would be better if you stay. I can guarantee your safety while you’re on Yelsin Prime. You have my word that nothing will happen to your crew or your ship. And in time, you’ll be cleared to leave the system as you see fit.”

  “Fine,” Ben said.

  The ship shook slightly as the Echo passed through Yelsin Prime’s thick atmosphere. The planet was too close to her sun for optimal living conditions anywhere but on her poles. And the planet’s water supply was either underground or in the thick clouds that blanketed the planet. Storms were common, but in most places, the water evaporated from the residual heat radiating from the planet’s surface before it reached the ground.

  On the north pole, the Royal Imperium had a large training complex for their Special Forces units. There was a sizable air base as well, since the Spec Op teams often used their own transports and drop ships. There were members of both the Navy and the Army in the Special Forces division, which General Pershing oversaw.

  Kim descended slowly. Most of the planet was barren, gray rock, but as they approached the northern pole there were signs of life. Tall palm trees grew in abunda
nce, and eventual grass was seen on the wide, flat plain. The Spec Op complex was large, with numerous buildings.

  “Our trainers live here for extended periods,” Pershing explained as Kim moved toward the landing platform she’d been assigned. “It’s more than just barracks and training facilities. We have a commons area with shopping, entertainment, and just about anything you might need. Our Special Forces teams are based here, so when they’re not on a mission, they call Yelsin Prime home.”

  “Looks lovely,” Kim said. “I can’t wait for our tour of the holding cells.”

  “Let’s stay positive,” Ben said.

  “Once we land, our people will see that your ship has everything it needs,” Pershing said. “I’d like you to join me, Ben. And anyone who would like to join us is welcome. I need to find out what’s happening with our forces.”

  “If Ben is going, then so am I,” Kim said.

  “I would like to go as well,” Professor Jones said.

  “Magnum, would you mind managing the new supplies?” Ben asked.

  “Sure,” the big man said.

  There was no need to ask Nance what she wanted. Getting her to leave the ship on any planet or station was difficult. Ben didn’t bother trying to convince her that a Royal Imperium Special Forces training base was a place she’d enjoy visiting.

  Kim landed the ship gently and shut down the flight systems. Nance immediately began the diagnostic check on all the ship’s systems. When Ben got to the cargo bay and opened the door, two medics with a gurney were waiting. Ben led them up to the sick bay where Professor Jones explained what he’d done for the wounded captain. Then he, Ben, and Kim followed General Pershing off the ship.

  Ben had been around Royal Imperium Security Forces many times. And on their ill-fated trip to Brigston in the Briggs system, they had delivered a group of freedom fighters only to be ambushed by the Royal Imperium military ground forces. Yet none of them seemed half as scary to Ben as the men and women he saw on Yelsin Prime. The soldiers on the planet were all Special Forces commandos. They had the same steely-eyed look as General Pershing herself. Their bodies were thick with muscle, and every move they made seemed to have the grace and efficiency of trained killers.