Stories of the Confederated Star Systems by Loren K. Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

certain at this time.”
    “Very well. Keep me informed of any developments. Mister Frazier, analysis of their defensive capabilities.”
    “Ma’am, the weapon’s array is detecting electromagnetic shields. She...” Commander Frazier was interrupted by a crashing blow to the Wells’ shields by some weapon.
    “Battlestations!” Captain Reordan shouted, strapping herself into her command chair as her officers and crew sorted themselves out and the howl of the general quarters alarm echoed through the ship. “What hit us?”
    “Particle beam, Ma’am,” Lieutenant DeBaron reported from where he was clinging to the rail over the sensor station. “It would’ve sliced right through us if the shields hadn’t held.” A second strike shook the Wells , making the lights flicker ominously.
    “Mister Frazier, return fire. Gamma-ray laser only for now. Save the torpedoes for later. God help us if we need them.”
    “Aye, Ma’am!” Commander Frazier opened fire with both of his laser batteries. Coruscating lights shrouded the alien vessel as his beams hit, but the alien’s shields were as good as their own.
    The alien fired again, this time slamming the Wells repeatedly. Captain Reordan and her crew were violently shaken by the ferocity of the barrage, and she gave the order that she most dreaded. “Mister Frazier, torpedoes away!”
    “Torpedoes away!” Commander Frazier shouted as his fingers punched the appropriate keys on his board.
    Two hyperdrive-equipped torpedoes, each equipped with a 10-megaton thermonuclear warhead, dropped from their cradles and disappeared from view. Their hyperdrive engines carried them to their destruction undetectably until they returned to normal space inside the alien’s shields, just meters from their target. The alien crew never had a chance. One torpedo struck forward, the other aft.
    The crew of the Wells watched in fascinated horror as the alien ship was destroyed. The tremendous energy of the twin blasts, aided by the containing effect of the ship’s own shields, crumpled the ship as it was shredded, spilling its atmosphere into space. Secondary explosions ripped the ship apart, scattering millions of tiny fragments into orbit and the atmosphere of an all but uncaring Earth. Other bits were blown farther out, away from the Earth and its destructive atmosphere.
    Captain Reordan sighed as she sat back in her chair. “Secure from Battlestations. All hands begin damage assessments. Mister DeBaron, have your people sweep the debris for anything you can find out. I want to know who they were, and what they were doing here.”
    Commander Frazier sat at the weapons console with his head in his hands. “Ma’am, I think we can secure the weapons as well.”
    “Agreed,” Captain Reordan said, walking to his side. “What’s wrong, Kell?”
    “I just killed who knows how many sentient beings, Erica. Beings who we’ll never know, never understand. I didn’t sign on to a science vessel for this.” Inserting his key, he looked at her and nodded. “Time, Ma’am.”
    Captain Reordan nodded and walked around to the other side of the console. “3, 2, 1, turn. Weapons deactivated. You are relieved, Mister Frazier. Go lay down. If you need him, I’m sure Chaplain Harris will be available to you.”
    “Thank you, Ma’am.”
    Captain Reordan nodded as he walked away. Who were you? she asked the universe. Why were you here? Why did you attack us?
    * * *
    Three days after the battle, the Temporal Systems Officer reported their position. “Ma’am, we are in the year 5513 BCE, and the time of year is March.”
    “Very well.” Captain Reordan thumbed open her ship-wide paging system. “All hands, now hear this. We are nineteen years from our goal. All hands prepare for a microjump in three hours.”
    The Wells jumped to the year 5535 BCE and began her mission. All sensors and recorders swept the Earth, bringing a detailed analysis of the ancient home of mankind. The duty was mildly