Twilight Serenade, page 9
part #6 of Earth Song Series
“That’s not too bad,” Kal’at said.
“The probability will increase by one to two tenths of a percent per year until…”
“Until certainty,” Minu finished for her and quickly did her own math. “Ten years at the outside, then boom.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the logical outcome?”
“It’s difficult to predict with this much stellar mass,” Lilith said. “Especially with three stars involved.”
“You only said the M-class would hit the O-class.”
“Yes, at first. But once the M-class impacts, the increased mass will cause a gravitational spike that will almost certainly draw in the K-class.”
Kal’at whistled between his teeth, something amazing to see in a reptile with no lips. Lilith turned part of the CIC wall into a view screen and displayed a simulation. The dancing stars and the plasma streamers coming from the O-class seemed to coalesce into several large tornadoes of raw power. They acted like a rope, and the M-class star, similar to the one that nourished Minu’s ancestors, was pulled into the much more massive O-class stellar body.
The impact was like watching two snowballs smashing into each other. In moments, they went from two perfect spheres to one wildly undulating mass. Occasional pseudopods of star plasma were forced out, sometimes becoming miniature stars before falling back in and being re-absorbed. Then one hit the K-class star, and it was dragged down. The simulation ended.
“I cannot predict the outcome of this event with any certainty.”
“Will it go nova?” Minu asked.
“No, that’s certain. The stellar mass is insufficient. However, an extremely energetic explosion of some sort is probable. You will not want to be in the star system when it occurs.”
“Any signs of other ships? You’re being unusually cautious. What’s going on?”
“There are transient drive signatures in the area.”
“Can you tell what species’ ships?”
“No,” Lilith admitted. “They’re either old or muddled.”
“Or a type you’ve never seen?” Kal’at asked.
Lilith considered for a moment, then nodded, her short hair floating around her head. “I admit that is possible.”
Minu looked from her daughter to the wall of the CIC displaying the swirling dance of stellar death, considering. Her stomach suddenly clenched, and the baby kicked really hard. “Patience, little one,” she mumbled under her breath. “Another couple of weeks, and we’ll be home.” Lilith watched her with a critical eye. “How long until the Ibeen arrive?” Minu asked her daughter.
“Due to their circuitous route, Ibeen Gamma will arrive in about eight hours. The others’ arrivals will be staggered every few hours after that.”
Minu considered, then spoke. “Because of the presence of other ships, regardless of their origin, I believe we should get in and get out as fast as we can. Lilith, call in the Fiisk. We’ll use it as a shield escort for the Ibeen, as they arrive. Once we’re by the power station, it will shield as many ships as we need to bring in, within reason, of course.”
Lilith nodded and sent the message. The Combat Intelligence on the Fiisk responded instantly that it was inbound.
One light year away, the Fiisk jumped to supraluminal travel and accelerated to 10,000 times the speed of light. Its hybrid design, which used the command and control ball from the salvaged Kaatan that housed the Combat Intelligence, was not as quick or maneuverable as Lilith’s pure Kaatan, but it far out gunned Lilith’s ship.
The Fiisk arrived in less than an hour, and the sensor net Lilith deployed sounded the alarm soon afterwards. “Multiple inbound FTL ships,” she told her mother.
“They were waiting,” Minu said as she examined the three-dimensional map in the CIC. At least a dozen targets were closing from all directions. “Can we get away?”
“Yes, but we cannot contact the inbound Ibeen. They’ll be sitting ducks when they arrive. I believe our best tactic is to face these ships and defeat them.”
Minu thought for a long moment. Facing a dozen ships of unknown size seemed unthinkable. “Fight with the Kaatan, the Fiisk and the two gunboats? Is that possible?”
“Unless these ships are mostly dreadnoughts or battlecruisers, we can handle them,” Lilith confirmed. “The CI on the Fiisk evaluated the data from the previous battle. Will you report to the First?”
The voice of the CI projected into the CIC. “Based on the tactics I observed, the commanders of the T’Chillen ships are unschooled in even squadron-level fleet tactics. Their ability to coordinate a dozen ships should prove… amusing, at best.”
Minu found the CI’s contempt familiar. It reminded her of Lilith. That wasn’t surprising, considering the same sort of computer personality had educated her daughter. Minu had a tough call to make. Stay and fight, saving the Ibeen she’d just spent weeks in space making operational and the new alliance with the Beezer, or run for it and live to fight another day.
Lilith watched her patiently. Minu was sure the girl would follow her orders despite her growing self-assurance and willingness to make hard calls. The baby kicked, and another spasm hit her hard enough to make her grunt.
“We don’t run.” she said finally, “We fight.”
Lilith nodded, her face set in stone. She had the look of someone who was prepared to face anything and fully expected to beat it, no matter what.
* * *
Very little preparation was necessary or possible. The unknown ships sat two light years away observing the human ships. Minu believed they’d waited for the Fiisk to appear because they knew it was somewhere nearby and had previously encountered it. Lilith believed it meant they were tactically inferior.
“They should have attacked earlier,” Lilith said derisively. “Without the Fiisk backing me up, they might have stood a chance.”
“I don’t think they wanted us to get away,” Minu told her. Lilith shrugged; it didn’t matter to her.
Though there was no reason for Minu to be in the CIC, Lilith seemed to enjoy her presence. To that end, she had created a holographic work station for her mother. Minu also suspected it was a good way for Lilith to keep an eye on her.
As the hours crept on, Minu was increasingly certain she was in labor. Because of the time differences inherent in FTL travel, she was well past her due date back home. But according to her biological clock, she was just over forty weeks. She felt as big as a Tuck and was particularly grateful for the zero-gravity CIC at that moment. Each series of contractions hurt a little more than the ones before it. I’m not going to make it home, she finally admitted. She would be forced to give birth on the ship, soon.
The Fiisk slid out of FTL and came about less than a light second from the Kaatan, immediately disgorging the two gunboats which took up formation on either side of the hulking heavy cruiser.
Lilith did a graceful ballet in the center of the CIC. Temporary displays appeared, and she swiped or punched at them before they disappeared. “The squadron is in combat formation,” she announced. “All launchers are loaded, and we are ready. The enemy is spreading out, launching fighters and preparing to encircle us.” Lilith glanced at her mother. “We could still disengage by traveling through the maelstrom of Dervish opposite their line of approach. It is unlikely light combat craft would attempt to travel through the prominences of the stars.”
“No, we’re not running,” Minu said through gritted teeth. “But you are wise to renew the offer- yeagh!” She punctuated the sentence with a scream of pain, and she felt a wetness spreading between her legs.
“Mom?” Lilith looked at her in alarm.
“I think
The door to the CIC opened, and six blue, crystalline bots flew in to tend to the soon-to-be mother. Two of them took her arms and oriented her as gravity suddenly materialized and a narrow walkway appeared under her feet. Two others deftly formed an improvised combat suit, deftly catching her when her legs began to give out and wrapping around her limbs and torso. The other two cleaned up the mess.
“You knew,” Minu grunted as they took her away.
“Of course,” Lilith said, giving her mother part of her attention for a moment. “And I know you were desperately trying to wait until this fight was over.” Minu could only gasp and nod until the current contraction passed.
“I’m sorry, Sweetheart!”
“Don’t be, Mom, please.” And to Minu’s surprise, Lilith smiled the most natural smile she’d ever seen. “Bring my sibling into this world while I take care of our enemies. This will be my gift to my new brother or sister.”
Though Minu felt feverish, and her pulse pounded and sweat rolled from her forehead, Lilith’s words sent a chill down her spine as she turned back to the myriad of screens floating around her.
* * * * *
Chapter 14
February 14th, 535 AE
Dervish Star System, Galactic Frontier
The doors to the CIC closed, and Lilith unconsciously returned it to the more natural condition she preferred. The walkway vanished as did her mother’s work station. She reduced the lighting to the barest hint around the circular space, and the walls became transparent to show the stars outside. Behind her, the swirling dance of three dying stars feeding off each other played out, casting her face in stark relief, as she seemed to float in space. Time slowed as she took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Fiisk, stand by.”
“Standing by,” the CI from the Fiisk replied instantly.
“Combat Formation Iota,” Lilith said, and her ship blazed away at more than a thousand gravities of acceleration. The two Eseel, capable of considerably more speed and acceleration than the Kaatan, easily fell in behind, only a hundred meters to her stern, while the Fiisk accelerated at five hundred gravities.
The enemy fighters ignored the Kaatan and finished their encircling maneuver, coming around behind the Fiisk. The CI began to destroy them in efficient order, her lighter A-Paws swatting them from the sky, one shot, one kill.
Enemy capital ships appeared on the displays.
“You want us dead?” Lilith asked the enemy fleet as a trio of T’Chillen destroyers changed course. The enemy ships combined their shields and attempted a maneuver called “Vital Spear” in her tactical training. “Come see who will give their lives!” She launched two waves of missiles a fraction of a second apart.
Five Sub-C Kinetic Impactors slammed into the section of shield the three destroyers shared, flashing it out instantly. In the microsecond before the ships could rotate or move another shield into the hole, three shipkillers flashed through, and the destroyers bloomed into fireballs.
A score of particle beams flashed along the Kaatan’s flank, and Lilith unconsciously shifted weakened shields around as two T’Chillen cruisers bore down on her. The Fiisk rained energy weapons on one as Lilith attacked the other. Lilith was completely unaware that she was laughing in glee as she fought.
* * *
The bots got Minu to the medical bay quicker than she would have thought possible. Through the haze of the dizzying pain of the contractions, she was dimly aware of the sections of walls and doors opening before and closing after them. She screamed and tried to keep from grabbing the nearest bot and crushing it into blue powder.
She’d been wounded many times in combat, and more than once her injuries would have been fatal if not for advanced medical care. None of them were as painful as this.
“You are in labor,” the Medical Intelligence announced as Minu was transferred into a form-fitting examination table.
“No shit!” she cried and grabbed her belly. “What was your first fucking clue?”
“Scornful comments are of no benefit. Is the patient in excessive pain? Records about your subspecies indicates this is sometimes the case.”
“Does it look like I’m enjoying this?” she said as the contraction let up, and she leaned back.
“If you wish, I will anesthetize the patient. The infant can be delivered robotically to avoid discomfort.”
“No!” she cried out, suddenly afraid.
“You do not wish to avoid pain?”
“Yes, of course I do! What human wouldn’t want to avoid pain?” She felt the baby move inside her. “But Aaron isn’t here. The least I owe this baby is to feel it come into this world.”
“Your logic does not register.”
“That’s because you are a machine.” It had no reply to that. “Can you administer an epidural?”
“Yes,” the Medical Intelligence responded. “I will administer an epidural. If this is insufficient, communicate your distress, and it will be increased.”
“I want you to listen to this order and comply. I will be doing plenty of screaming in the next few minutes,” she said, then demonstrated as another contraction hit like a thunderbolt. “This is normal for human females, do you understand? It is normal! You will not knock me out, or when I wake up, I will disassemble this sick bay, find your electronic brain, and rip it to pieces with my bare, fucking, hands!”
She was fully aware that, as the pain built, she sounded more and more shrill, but she simply didn’t care. If this was all she had left of Aaron, she would be awake to the baby born if it was the last thing she did.
“That is against my ethical programming.”
“How does being dismembered by a pissed off mother align with your ethical programming?”
“Your orders will be carried out.”
Minu felt the cold prick of a needle in her spine, and the pain slowly decreased. She panted and gasped in relief, and the bed’s scanning arms swept over her body, spending an extra moment over her head and heart, then swirled around her distended belly.
“Your cervix is dilated five centimeters, and contractions are less than five minutes apart. Delivery should take place in approximately two hours.”
“Is that all?” she asked as she felt the beginnings of another contraction. “This labor thing sucks!”
* * *
The first cruiser was torn apart by internal explosions. The second one dodged and spun desperately to bring fresh shields to bear. Unlike the Kaatan, its shield projectors couldn’t be aligned in any direction.
The remainder of the enemy fleet—a huge dreadnought, two heavy cruisers, and four more destroyers—entered the threat bubble and began releasing waves of missiles. Lilith snorted in derision at their terrible tactics. They should have come in a unified formation. Instead, they were using a “Strong Screen” tactic. The cruisers were shielding the destroyers as they rained death on her, with the dreadnought hanging back.
However, that tactic called for heavy fighter support on the flanks, but they’d foolishly sent their fighters early without any support. Lilith sent the Eseel out to either side where their relatively light weapons intercepted the missile storm, blunting the heavy attack. With half their number already neutralized, Lilith’s point defenses chewed up almost all those remaining. A total of two missiles hit her shields: one a glancing blow, the other a solid impact. The ship shuddered from the blow, but she shunted the temporarily spent shields to a quadrant outside the threat bubble. Their attacks were useless against her.
“Is this the best you’ve got?” Lilith growled.
The Fiisk began to catch up with Lilith when she slowed to engage. As it drew closer, it turned for easier access to its heavier bombardment weapons and poured energy fire into the lead screening cruiser. Their mission to blunt the missile storm done, the two Eseel harassed the retreating cruiser and inflicted damage until the dreadnought sent a wave of missiles after them. The two gunboats darted away, nearly as fast as the pursuing missiles which the Kaatan’s point defenses wiped out.
The harried cruiser showed signs of weakening, and as the second one drew closer to aid it, Lilith jumped at the opening. The Kaatan tore forward, past the two screening cruisers. The cruiser that had managed to retreat past the screening ships was dumping energy, most of its screens recycling. The Kaatan caught it completely unaware and nearly cut it in two.
Lilith snarled in triumph as she pummeled the previously safe destroyers, causing the survivors to break formation and try to disengage. Then, with a snarl, she came about and went after the prize. The dreadnought lay exposed like a welcome feast.
* * *
“You must attempt to moderate your breathing,” the Medical Intelligence advised as a pair of probes with curved spoon-like endings penetrated her and began to spread Minu’s birth canal in ways she was certain it was not designed to be spread.
“You breathe, damn you!” she yelled and tried to climb backward out of the table. A restraining field activated, and she might as well have been glued to the table. She cursed and swore at the machine, all the time knowing that the last thing she needed to do was to go raging around the medical bay. She was suddenly struck with the thought that the way Lilith was born wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“I do not breathe because I am not a living biological, but if you do not breathe, your blood oxygen levels will drop to the point that you will lose consciousness. You have threatened me with bodily harm should that occur, so I would appreciate it if you would breathe more.”
She almost chuckled at the machine’s fear for its safety. The pain was intense, even with the anesthetic. The temptation to hold her breath and push was almost unbearable. But she resisted, lay back, closed her eyes and breathed hard and deep. It helped a little. She felt little mechanical arms wiping sweat from her forehead.
“Oh shit,” she moaned as another contraction took hold of her. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shiiiiiit!” The ship shuddered from more weapons fire, and she screamed.
