Test of Mettle (A Captain's Crucible Book 2) by Isaac Hooke Read Free Book Online Page B

“Where is it?”
    Salari adopted a puzzled expression. “I have no idea, sir.”
    Jonathan waited another thirty seconds, and then said: “Obviously you have some more work to do.”
    “I don’t understand it,” Salari said. “The Gate is the perfect radius. The segments the ideal width. The countering gravitational distortions are just right. That should have worked. Everything is precisely within expected parameters.”
    “You’re certain a return Gate exists on the other side?” Jonathan asked.
    Captain Salari smiled sheepishly. “No, sir.”
    “What do you mean? You didn’t check?”
    “While we can use gravimetric fluctuations to detect whether a return Gate exists beyond a Slipstream,” Salari explained. “The process can take up to a week before any conclusive findings are obtained. I had neglected the procedure to accelerate our return. I had simply assumed that the return Gate was still in place. I mean, why would it be absent? None of us had any reason to believe otherwise. Besides, it doesn’t matter all that much... we don’t really need a return Gate. I don’t think any of us wants to come back here.”
    “Start the procedure, please,” Jonathan said. “And triple check everything else: all the parameters and formulas used in the Gate construction. When you’re sure everything is perfect, launch another test drone. Keep me apprised of your progress. Captain Dallas out.”
    He terminated the remote connection.
    “Looks like we’ll be staying here a while longer.” Jonathan sat back. He crossed his left arm over his upper chest, gripped the right bicep, and brought his right hand to his lips. The thumb, index and middle fingers formed the points of a triangle beneath his chin and upper lip respectively. He tapped his fingertips against the clean-shaven skin.
    Beside him, Robert extended his noise canceler around the captain.
    “I don’t like it,” Robert said. “What if the aliens did something to the Slipstream? Something to prevent our return? They did remain in orbit around 1-Vega for quite a long time.”
    “I have no idea what to think at this point,” Jonathan admitted.
    “Is it possible there’s no Gate on the other side?” Robert said.
    “Possible,” Jonathan said. “But unlikely. You’ll recall we were receiving comm drones from NAVCENT right up until redundancy protocol demanded that Central Command stop sending them.”
    “The Gate could have been dismantled after that.”
    “Why?” Jonathan said. “They would have no reason to dismantle it. That Gate was built at the natural termination of the Slipstream. If ships wanted to enter United Systems territory through 1-Vega, they could do so without issue.”
    “Which brings up another point,” Robert said. “Even if there is no Gate on the other side, we can still pass through.”
    “That assumes the aliens haven’t done something to damage the Slipstream, as you suggested,” Jonathan said. “We could be destroyed the moment we pass inside. I’m not ordering the fleet through until we’re certain there’s no return Gate.”
    “That brings up another point,” Robert said. “It’s possible the aliens mined the other side of the Slipstream. They can travel the wormholes without Gates, after all. So it’s reasonable to assume they were able to send objects through, such as mines.”
    “We’ve seen no indication they possess nukes or mines,” Jonathan said.
    “That doesn’t mean they don’t have them,” Robert argued.
    “All right,” Jonathan said. “If the aliens indeed mined the exit, that means NAVCENT had to clear those mines in order to send through their final comm drone to us.”
    “Good point. Is it possible Central Command itself has mined that side of the Gate, then? And that was what destroyed our drones?”
    “I don’t think so,” Jonathan said. “The automated targeting systems wouldn’t fire or detonate when United System property was recognized.”
    “Unless they had