Original Work Future Shock (The Final Countdown meets deep SPAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!)

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Diyang Prime, 2308

Ethan forced himself to think as the range closed rapidly.

What were the Chinese doing? The whole affair made no sense. They’d opened fire and damaged his ships and yet there’d been no way to guarantee taking out enough of his starships to prevent him from tearing their vessels to atoms. He could have lashed out and vaporised a number of starships, not all Chinese, if he had acted on instinct rather than the thought of a civilised man. The Chinese could have banked on it, but …

His mind raced. There was something he was missing. But what?

“Sir, the Jarheads are making their approach to the Chinese ships,” Abad reported. “They appear to have escaped detection.”

Let us hope so, Ethan thought. The Chinese were acting suicidal. They might not hesitate to blow up their ships once they knew they’d been boarded. He couldn’t afford to lose any more Jarheads and yet, he had no choice but to risk them. We have to know just what they’re thinking before we get surprised again.

His console bleeped. “Sir, this is Travis in Analysis,” a voice said. “The Chinese definitely modified their weapons to damage our shields. The modifications didn’t come from our tech, sir, I’d say they were alien …”

The display flashed red. Ethan froze as alarms howled. Killers. There was a Killer ship – several Killer ships – closing from the side … his mind simply stopped, unable to process what he was seeing, as the alien ships swooped into attack position. They couldn’t be there. They simply couldn’t be there. And yet, they were…

They couldn’t have helped the Chinese, Ethan thought, horror making it hard to think clearly. They never contacted us, never showed anything other than genocidal intent …

“Reinforce the shields,” he snapped, training taking over. The Killers would slaughter the entire fleet, right down to the very last ship. Should he try to jump out, luring the Killers away, or make a stand in hopes of giving the contemporary ships a chance to break free? The odds were poor, but … no, everything he knew about the Killers suggested the odds were precisely zero. Dispair howled at the back of his mind. “Why are they even here …?”

A thought struck him. The Killers should be opening fire by now. They should be wiping out the entire fleet with their impossible weapons. And yet … his eyes narrowed. The starship contacts were alien, naturally, but they weren’t alien enough. It was hard, almost impossible, to get a solid lock on a Killer starship. But these ships were visible. It made no sense …

Unless we’re being conned, he thought. And whoever is conning us has access to advanced technology of their own.

Ice prickled down his spine. The Chinese had risked everything … why? They clearly thought they’d get away with it, which meant they thought they had allies … someone who could help them stand off the rest of the human race. No defector, no matter how capable, could do so much and they’d know it. And that meant …

“Sir,” Abad snapped. “I’m picking up FTL emissions from Vendetta!”

Ethan swore. “All hands, brace for impact!”

***

“Fire,” Y’Opohan snapped.

Vendetta shuddered as she unleashed her final two FTL missiles. The Zargana had never put much faith in FTL weapons, knowing a single mistake in targeting could put a missile millions of kilometres from its intended victim, but they weren’t completely unaware of the technology nor unwilling to use it. The human cruiser was a very big target and, just for a moment, her crew and their automatic servants had been distracted by the drones. And if they hadn’t had time to repower their FTL shields …

“Missiles away, My Lord,” Y’Kentuck reported.

“Helm, take us to flank speed,” Y’Opohan ordered. “It is time to put an end to this.”

***

John Birmingham rang like a bell.

Ethan cursed, again, as his ship fought for life. The Zargana might have outsmarted themselves, just a little, when they’d forced him to prepare for the Killers. His ships had covered the FTL bands from the moment they’d realised the Diyang had come up with an FTL cannon, but the enemy targeting was poor and there’d been no need to divert more than the minimum power to the FTL shields. The Zargana had hurt them badly, but his ship was still intact. Barely.

“Return fire,” he snapped. There was no point in holding back FTL missiles now. “Damage report!”

“We’ve lost the jump drive,” Sadie reported. “Damage control teams are on the way, but it’ll be at least thirty minutes before the damage can be repaired … perhaps longer.”

“They aimed to disable the drive,” Abad confirmed. “Analysis programs confirm it.”

Ethan forced himself to think. Vendetta was built for war in a way John Birmingham was not, her hull crammed with energy weapons and missile batteries, but the Federation Navy’s cruisers had better sensors and much better shields. The odds would have been even, if his ship hadn’t already been damaged. Even so … Vendetta could have done far more damage if they’d aimed for the forward hull instead of the drive nacelles. Did they think they could shoot his ship to pieces in an energy weapons duel? It made no sense. The winner would be so badly damaged they’d be lucky to make it clear before the rest of the starships got them …

Unless that is the point, he thought, numbly. They want to keep us from coming after them.

He swore under his breath as the range closed. Y’Opohan couldn’t take out the entire human fleet, not alone, but that wasn’t the point. If he managed to cripple or destroy John Birmingham, he could set off for his homeworld secure in the knowledge it would be years, at best, before anyone could come after him. The Zargana Empire of 2308 would gain access to Vendetta and her technology and … why? What was the point? Y’Opohan had to know the contemporary Zargana Empire wouldn’t welcome his crew … didn’t he? They’d be treated as freaks, perverts, even traitors. Or did he think he could make a deal?

There are humans who sign up to be slaves or peasants or otherwise submit themselves, he reminded himself. It wasn’t something he shared, or understood, but he knew it was there. The alien crew might like the idea of bowing before their absolute emperor.

“Helm, open the range,” he snapped. “Comms, open a link to Anderson …”

His console bleeped. The Jarheads were storming the Chinese ships … he almost laughed at the sheer absurdity of the situation. The Chinese were no longer important, not with an alien battleship bearing down on them. They could live or die as they pleased … they would, he was sure, once the Zargana were finished destroying the Federation starships. Y’Opohan wouldn’t want to leave any witnesses to his crime, no one who could tell Earth what to expect. He’d slaughter the entire fleet before taking their ship home.

“The Zargana have betrayed us,” he said, shortly. In hindsight, it was clear why the Chinese had thought they could get away with it. They’d thought they’d have a future starship of their own and a crew willing to help unlock the secrets of their technology … no doubt, they’d thought the aliens had nowhere else to go. “If we can’t stop their ship” – he hesitated, all too aware John Birmingham was badly damaged – “you’ll have to. Before she goes home.”

***

“Sir,” Georges reported. “The Chinese ships have been suppressed.”

Howard nodded, torn between relief and a fear of what had just begun, The Zargana were advancing on John Birmingham, the Diyang were pulling back to their homeworld … he couldn’t tell if they intended to rearm and launch another attack or if they were waiting to see if the human fleet would keep tearing itself apart. He gave the order to refrain from further mass driver bombardments – a small concession, given how few targets remained in orbit – in hopes it would be enough to convince them the offer to accept surrender was sincere. There was no way to be sure, but …

“Signal the fleet,” he ordered. The united command network was up again, but fragmented. It would have to suffice. “Group One is to remain in position to block any offensive from Diyang Prime. Group Two and all remaining starships are to form up on the flag and advance to cover John Birmingham.”

He gritted his teeth. There wasn’t much data on the alien starship in the files he’d been sent, but if the Zargana had rivalled the Federation their weapons technology had to be at least the equal of their human counterparts. And that meant their starship was likely to do immense damage to the contemporary fleet, if it opened fire from beyond their own range. If they had any FTL missiles left … they didn’t need them. The energy weapons would be more than enough.

“Deploy all fighters,” he added. The tiny craft would be harder to hit. He hoped. “And open a link to the entire fleet.”

“Aye, sir.”

Howard tapped his console. “All units, this is the flag. The Zargana have betrayed us” – in hindsight, part of his mind noted, it was quite possible they’d set the Chinese up for disaster – “and we have no choice, but to stop them before they can destroy the fleet, perhaps even Earth itself. If we lose now, we lose everything.”

He took a breath. “All units, prepare to engage.”

Nimitz shivered as she accelerated, the rest of the fleet fanning out around the flagship. There was no hesitation now, save for the handful of stranded Chinese starships falling behind as the fleet picked up speed. The officers knew they had to stop the alien ship before it did something the human race wouldn’t survive … Howard had no idea how the aliens thought, but if he was in their shoes he’d destroy the future ships, jump to the refuelling station and destroy the fleet train, then head straight to Earth and smash humanity’s homeworld from a safe distance. The slaughter would be unimaginable, giving the aliens a chance to take control of the wreckage or … who knew what they were thinking? Boswell had talked about finding the Killer homeworld and removing the threat before it was too late … the Zargana might have the same idea. Why not?

If I knew humanity was going to lose a war in the future, he thought grimly, and my ship was tossed back in time to a point I could eradicate the threat before they even knew there was a threat, I’d do it even if it meant my ship and crew being erased from history itself.

“Lock mass drivers on target,” he ordered. God, he missed the FTL communications and sensor network. He hadn’t realised how badly he’d been spoiled until he’d lost it again. “Fire on my command.”

“Aye, sir,” Georges said.

Howard nodded. The Zargana would see the mass driver projectiles racing towards them, and they’d have plenty of time to evade or calculate point defence intercept solutions, but it would hopefully buy time for the future starship to repair itself or the contemporary fleet to get into energy weapons range. The more problems the aliens had to solve, the more chance he’d have of saving John Birmingham as well as his fleet. And then …

He shivered. No matter what happened, the cost would be terrifyingly high.

***

“My Lord,” Y’Kentuck reported. “The contemporary humans have opened fire.”

Y’Opohan bared his teeth. The Chinese had clearly failed to convince their peers to stand aside and let them destroy the Federation ships. They’d failed in more ways than one … he snorted in amused disgust, an emotion the humans didn’t seem to share. The contemporary humans were bright enough to realise their only hope of survival lay with John Birmingham and her crew and determined enough to put their lives at risk to save her. It was almost a shame he was going to have to kill them, but the humans were just too adaptable to be enslaved. The alliance between the two human groups – one advanced enough to pose a major problem, one ruthless enough to take the technology and use it to slaughter their enemies like bugs – was one that needed to be destroyed before it was too late.

He leaned forward. John Birmingham was falling back, a tactic that bought them time to make repairs. The contemporary ships were spitting mass driver projectiles at Vendetta, the ballistic weapons painfully slow as they crawled towards their targets … the shields might be able to handle the impact, he thought, but there was no point in testing the theory. Better to shoot the projectiles down before it was too late. He’d destroy their launchers later …

“My Lord,” D’Holin said. “The human fighters are entering attack range.”

“Take them out,” Y’Opohan ordered. The human ship had good shields, but she was a sitting duck. His energy weapons would tear her apart before she could hope to escape. “And open fire the moment we enter weapons range.”

***

Ethan felt despair howling at the back of his mind as Vendetta closed in for the kill. The heavy cruiser wasn't launching any more FTL missiles – the analysts thought the Zargana had shot themselves dry – but they mounted enough energy weapons to batter down his shields and atomise his hull. The contemporary fighters were doing what they could, yet their weapons were nowhere near powerful enough to do more than irritate the Zargana. His ship could neither run nor win a close-range engagement with their opponent. He had to admire Y’Opohan’s cunning. He hadn’t just pinned them down. He’d ensured John Birmingham was in no state to give chase – in the unlikely event of her surviving – and probably guaranteed a major war between the various human powers. The Zargana would be able to walk in and take over.

“Sir,” Abad said. “They’ll be within firing range in one minute.”

“Signal to Dauntless,” Ethan ordered, harshly. “She is to jump out in one minute and head directly to Earth. The contemporary governments must know what happened here.”

“Aye, sir,” Abad said.

Ethan gritted his teeth. Captain Bukharin wouldn’t be happy at being ordered to run. But her ship was the only one that hadn’t taken heavy damage, giving her the only real chance of getting clear before it was too late. The rest of the squadron had stayed behind. They had to know what had happened too. And if they lost the engagement …

He tapped his console. They didn’t have time to argue.

“Captain Bukharin, this is a direct order,” he said. “If you do not hear from us in two weeks, or either the contemporary governments or the Zargana make any attempt to seize the remaining ships, you are to declare yourself squadron commander, load the rest of our people onto the ships and jump as far as you can before setting up a new colony. Make sure something of the Federation survives. That is a direct order. Good luck.”

There was no answer. He hadn’t expected one.

Abad muttered an oath under his breath. “The enemy are preparing to fire.”

Ethan braced himself. It would all be over soon.

***

“We need to close the range,” Howard snapped. The mass drivers had been as ineffective as he’d feared. “All ships, prepare for microjump.”

“Sir?” Georges glanced up, shocked. “Sir, the risk of …”

“Do it.” Howard cut him off. He knew the risks, knew he’d be second-guessed from the moment the report reached Earth till the end of time, but he knew his duty. He had to take the risk. The responsibility was his and his alone.“All ships, prepare for microjump!”

He paused, waiting for the order to filter through the command network. “Jump!”

***

“My Lord,” Y’Kentuck said. “The humans …”

Y’Opohan snarled a curse as the human starships microjumped into point-blank range, their weapons already seeking him out. There’d been a few seconds of warning … not enough, not by any reasonable standard, for them to do anything to keep the humans from their final desperate play. It had worked too, he noted bitterly; the humans would lose hundreds of ships to his superior weapons, but in the end Vendetta would be destroyed by sheer weight of numbers.

“My Lord,” D’Holin said. “We have already won the battle.”

Y’Opohan snarled, again. What did a fool female know of winning battles? John Birmingham was crippled, the rest of the Federation Navy starships weren’t in much better shape, but they had to be destroyed. The contemporary humans might even win …

“Explain,” he snapped.

“John Birmingham is already crippled,” D’Holin said. She bent into a posture of absolute submission, a junior pleading with her superior to listen without hinting, even slightly, that she felt anything other than utmost respect for him. “She can no longer chase us. If we keep fighting now, we may lose everything. The homeworld will not be warned of the human threat.”

Y’Opohan glowered at her, but he had to admit she had a point. The contemporary humans couldn’t give chase and none of the surviving jump-capable Federation Navy starships were remotely capable of destroying Vendetta if they caught her. He had already won … and even if the victory wasn’t complete, thanks to his faltering human allies, it was enough to buy him the time he needed. The victory was his. He had no intention of throwing it away.

We’ll be back, he silently promised the humans. The Empire will learn from the future too and avoid the mistakes of the past. And the next war will be fought on our terms.

“Helm, jump us out,” he ordered, finally. It was a victory. His victory. “And then set course for home.”

 

Chapter Forty: Diyang Prime, 2308

The interrogation chamber was crude, little more than a pair of chairs, a table, and a single very obvious camera positioned to the side, a grim reminder that everything that transpired within the compartment would be recorded and the recording handed over to the investigators who’d assess the situation and determine what would happen next. Captain Cao Zongying sat on one side of the chamber, his hands manacled to the table. He looked as if he’d been pushed so far that he was no longer capable of thinking or feeling, no longer able to think or act or do anything other than wait to hear his fate. His crews had been captured, save for the security troops. They’d fought to the death, when their ships had been boarded, and then killed themselves to avoid capture. Two had taken an entire starship with them.

And now we have to decide what to do next, Howard thought. He studied the live image from the chamber. Cao had been a friend, Howard had thought, and yet Cao had stabbed the entire human race in the back. What do we do with them?

Cassidy glanced up at him. “What’s going to happen to them?”

“I don’t know,” Howard admitted. Strictly speaking, Cassidy shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the holding cell, but he wanted to make sure the various governments couldn’t cover the whole affair up. The post-battle discussions had been vicious, with accusations and charges of collaboration being hurled around freely. They were lucky the fleet was so far from home. They still had to work together or die separately. “I wish I knew.”

He paused. “Stay here.”

The airlock opened at his touch, allowing him to step into the chamber. Cao looked up as he entered, but otherwise showed no reaction to his arrival. Howard stared at his former friend for a long moment, a dozen different ideas running through his mind. He could shoot the man or beat him to death or give him a pistol with one bullet so he could take his own life, rather than stand trial. The vindictive urge to make the man suffer contrasted oddly with his need to find out what had happened, to understand the motive behind the senseless attack. They had to know if it was going to happen again.

And just how badly compromised the Chinese Government truly is, he thought, as he took a seat on the nearside of the table. If they’re completely under alien control …

He leaned forward. “Why?”

Cao gave a hint of a shrug. “Orders are orders.”

“That’s not good enough and you know it.” Howard couldn’t keep the irritation out of his voice. “Why?”

“They told me it was the only chance to save China from the future,” Cao said, finally. “That … if we failed, China would be humiliated again and again until there was nothing left of us.”

“And so you attacked our allies in the middle of a full-scale engagement,” Howard said. “Make it make sense. Please!”

Cao looked up. “You know as well as I do what happens to a primitive society when a more advanced one arrives,” he said, flatly. “The future people may be kind and friendly, and willing to help us win a war, but their arrival will damage our society beyond repair.”

“So I keep hearing,” Howard said, sharply. “Does that justify your betrayal?”

“We had to try,” Cao said. His voice dripped bitterness. “Blame everything on me, if you like.”

“Why?” Howard frowned as understanding hit. “They have your family, don’t they?”

“And everyone else’s family,” Cao confirmed. “Elderly parents, husbands and wives, sons and daughters … all held in custody, to ensure the mission was competed without a hitch. Except we failed and now …”

“Your government trusted aliens to assist you,” Howard said. Just what had happened between the Chinese Government and the Zargana? The aliens had clearly given the Chinese insight into weapons that could be turned on the future starships … they wouldn’t have done that unless they were sure the Chinese would do as they were told. “What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t involved in the discussions,” Cao said. “But from what I was told, they wanted to preserve what they could and now …”

“You failed,” Howard said. He felt a stab of sympathy. The United States of America had fallen far, in so many ways, but at least it wouldn’t execute his entire family if he screwed up. No wonder Cao had gone through with the mission, even though he had to know it was suicide. His family would be murdered if he didn’t. “I won’t insult your intelligence by claiming I’m sorry.”

Cao smiled, humourlessly. “I won’t insult your intelligence by pretending to believe it.”

He leaned back in his chair, pulling the manacles tight. “What now?”

“God knows,” Howard said. “That’s well above my pay grade.”

He scowled at the metal table. The governments would be pissed at the Chinese, both for the attempted stab in the back and because they’d given an alien threat a chance to attack the human race. The Zargana of this era might be primitive by Federation standards, yet they were still tough enough to crush the contemporary navies. They’d need to overcome the problems of getting their fleet to Earth, he supposed, but that wouldn’t be too difficult. They’d have the assistance of Vendetta and her crew.

God damn it, he thought. We told Boswell he should have interned the fucking ship and her crew!

He shook his head. The Chinese might talk their way out of it, somehow, or there might be a war … or there might be something, anything, in-between. Who knew how the governments would react? The future folk were another matter … how would they react? Their ships had been damaged, their people had been killed … Howard knew he wouldn’t take that lightly and Boswell would probably feel the same way. It was all a terrible ghastly mess.

“You’ll remain in custody, for the moment,” he told Cao. “We’ll make sure your government knows you did your best. Hopefully …”

Cao shot him a sharp look. Howard scowled – the man was right to be sceptical – and stood, leaving the Chinese officer behind. He’d be returned to the brig shortly, kept apart from the rest of his crew … and when they returned to Earth, the governments would decide what to do with them. Perhaps something could be done for their families, in exchange for the governments letting the Chinese evade blame for the disaster. Or perhaps not.

“Poor bastard,” Cassidy said, as he rejoined her. “What now?”

“Now?” Howard shrugged. “We go home. And deal with the nightmare to come.”

He let her take his hand as they slipped away. The only good thing about the whole affair was that they had a treaty with the Diyang, if a somewhat one-sided one. The Diyang wouldn’t be permitted any military presence in space, and their government would be held to account for crimes against humanity, but otherwise they’d be left in peace. There would be no occupation, no attempt to restructure their society. The xenospecialists believed the shock of the defeat – and the encounter with the Zargana – would do the work for them, as the Diyang struggled to come to terms with what had happened. Howard hoped they were right. The Diyang had been dangerously inventive. If they had a few years to prepare for the next conflict, the outcome might be very different.

Assuming any of us are still alive in the next few years, he reflected. His other self had died at ninety-four. Howard drew hope from it, even as he knew nothing was guaranteed. History has changed. There’s no reason it cannot be changed again.

Ice prickled down his spine. And the Zargana know it.

***

Ethan lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The repair crews had done their best, but it would be a week or more before John Birmingham was capable of FTL again. The destroyers would have to tow her back to Earth, where they could draw spare parts from the colony ship and its machine shops, giving the Zargana plenty of time to make their escape. He had wondered if they were prowling around the system, waiting for a chance to strike again, but there hadn’t been a single hint of their presence on active or passive sensors. No, it was wishful thinking. Vendetta was well on her way to the Zargana homeworld by now and there was nothing to be gained by thinking otherwise.

“I fucked up,” he admitted. “I trusted them not to be stupid.”

Rachel materialised beside him. “You couldn’t have predicted such … insanity.”

“The contemporary governments wanted to intern them,” Ethan reminded her. “I should have listened.”

He shook his head. What was Y’Opohan thinking? Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven? It was madness. Even the highest castes of this era had miserable lives, compared to the lowest castes of the future, and there would be little room for a shipload of reformists, freethinkers and sexual perverts. The contemporary empire would probably seize the ship and interrogate the crew … he shuddered, then frowned. Y’Opohan had manipulated the Chinese Government and done so very effectively, suggesting he was a past master of the art. For all Ethan knew, he could manipulate his own government just as well.

He shook his head, again. “I made a mistake,” he said. “And that is going to cost us.”

His mood, already dark, darkened still further. The contemporary Zargana were both more advanced than the contemporary humans and more numerous. They’d be fighting at the end of a long supply line, true, but the problem was hardly one that couldn’t be solved. They’d have some problems catching up with the future tech base, even with Vendetta and her crew serving as a cheat sheet, yet again … given time, they’d fill in the blanks and start churning out newer and better weapons. They would sweep through the stars and destroy Earth … unless they were stopped. They had to be stopped.

“It won’t happen again,” he told his wife. He’d been naive, in so many ways. He’d assumed the local governments would understand the threat of the Killers, understand they needed to work together to save themselves; he’d assumed Y’Opohan and his crew would have the sense to understand they needed to work with him, in order to avoid a second devastating war. And he’d been wrong. “Whatever it takes, it won’t happen again.”

He closed his eyes. Earth would have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future, no matter what it’s governments said, to protect the human race against the Zargana and the Killers. The Zargana would have to be stopped – again – before it was too late. And the Killers …

“Whatever it takes,” he promised himself, “we’ll save the human race.”

“Just don’t lose yourself in the process,” Rachel advised. “There is such a thing as too much change.”

Ethan had to smile, although it wasn’t really amusing. They’d changed history …

And now they were going to have to change it again.

Epilogue

“Jump completed, My Lord,” Y’Taslin reported.

Y’Opohan felt his jaws open in a wide smile as he beheld Zargana Prime, already the heart of a mighty empire. The Sol System had been busy, in a primitive sort of way, but Zargana Prime was far more impressive. Hundreds of starships were making their way to the nearest colony worlds, or setting out on missions of conquest; thousands of smaller spacecraft were buzzing around the orbital facilities, from giant industrial nodes to orbital battlestations. The Zargana had never forgotten the most fundamental rule of the universe – there were no rules – and they’d taken care to defend their homeworld, even if the threats were often imaginary rather than real. It was a vibrant sight before him, an empire that had never been forced to doubt itself by a single crushing defeat …

I should have been born in this era, he thought. He could imagine himself as a great lord leading his troops to victory over an alien race, then returning home to reap the rewards of his service. It would have been so much more fitting.

He stared at the display for a long moment, allowing himself time to indulge the fantasy. He had plotted with the rest of his cabal, before the Killers had arrived, to bring back the days of yore … and now he had his chance. His destiny lay before him, in the claws of an emperor whose name was still spoken with respect, even in his time. All he had to do was reach out and take it.

“My Lord,” D’Holin said. Her voice was quiet, respectful. It was good she was learning her place. “They have detected our presence.”

“Transmit our planned greeting,” Y’Opohan ordered. There was no more time for pleasant fantasies. Vendetta didn’t look that different from her ancestors, unlike the Federation Navy’s starships, but the contemporary Zargana would know she wasn’t one of their ships. “And then hold position. Let them get a good look at us.”

He felt his jaws open in a wide smile. The Emperor would be informed, of course, and then Y’Opohan would be invited to meet him. He’d be recognised as a noble caste and then … there would be no limits. Not for him, nor his crew. Their destiny awaited, he told himself, the dawn of a whole new era …

And the humans were about to discover, once again, that history could be changed.

End of Book One

The Story Will Continue In:

Future’s Past

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