Interval One
The massive fleet of spaceships slowly decelerated towards their target. Gouts of fiery flames and exhaust spewed from the behemoths, gradually slowing the fleet, these engines had been firing for the last eight days, gradually bringing the fleet out of its faster then light speed that had taken them weeks to reach as they had left the system of their birth.
Now as the ships decelerated, lights began to flicker on across the hull as the ship's super-computers ran calculated analysis, the voyage was finally over, they had reached their destination.
Rear Admiral Higgins awoke with the taste of bile in his throat and a bright white glaring light full on in his face.
He coughed loudly as above him the protective film of glass opened up and a blast of hot air washed away that fifteen-year-old air out of his lungs. Stepping naked out of the cryogenic pod, his legs buckling at first then becoming steadier he reached over to a nearby desk and picked up the waiting glass of clear water. Dropping two nearby tablets into the water and watching them fizz for a few moments he downed the glass in one gulp feeling it wash away the groggy sense of fatigue still lingering in his body.
"Admiral Higgins sir we have arrived in the Dellios system" The bodiless male voice echoed around the small chamber.
Higgins coughed again clearing his throat. "What's it look like?" The words came out as a pathetic husk of words from a throat that hadn't talked in a long time but the AI would have heard him even if he had whispered or talked in any other Earth bound language.
"The system is perfectly in line with the observations made from Earth." The clipped voice came back in through the speaker system as Higgins began to pull his military attire on. "One B class Sun, two class three uninhabitable worlds and four gas giants, there are numerous comets and an asteroid belt between the third and fourth planet."
"Huh." The admiral grunted as he finished straightening his overalls, careful to check the many shinning gold medals and the ranks of insignia he had won in fifteen years of service in the EDF, well, thirty to this day. He turned to the mirror where a small wash basin was attached to the wall and began to shave the long hairs that had gathered across his face. "Fleet status?"
"All ships are still in formation and accounted for." The AI replied again. "The crew are now thawing out of Cryogenic freeze, ships will be fully combat ready in thirty minutes, ship systems are recharging and our declaration will be complete in five minutes when we will have reached normal cruise speeds. Our FTL drive engines are fully powered down."
"I see." Higgins finished the last of the hairs and quickly smoothing his hair and trimming the first few grey hairs back. "All right Adar." He addressed the AI directly. "Sound condition two throughout the fleet, ready the bridge crew, I will join them in five minutes."
"Yes sir." The AI replied.
Exactly five minutes later the Admiral walked onto the bridge of his flagship, the EDF – Soloist. The massive Terran battleship nearly five thousand meters in length and crewed by over ten thousand men made an impressive sight, huge particle cannons, torpedo launchers, lasgun drives etc criss-crossed the great ships silver hull.
Surrounding the great battleship was the rest of the 11th expedition fleet. Twenty-five destroyers, slim, sleek wedge shaped birds of prey bristling with cannons, five carriers, massive exotic ships housing the fleets fighter ships and four massive troop carriers, each two thousand meters apiece carrying thousands of soldiers and supplies within them.
The bridge of the Soloist was typical of an EDF ship. Circular and built to be basic and functional, desks and consoles sat around a single raised group of three chairs at the centre of the room, directly facing the large viewscreen that showed the rest of the fleet and the far off sun of the Delios system.
As the Admiral entered the twenty bridge crewmen and women stood and raised their fists to their chests as the Admiral strode past them, some he nodded too, greeting friends and comrades he hadn't spoken to during their long, dark voyage.
Finally he reached the central chair between his vice-captain, a tall black haired man of thirty-three years (well he was technically forty-eight but the voyage didn't count) who smiled at his admiral, the other person was harder to read. A strikingly beautiful middle aged, voluptuous woman who had chosen to wear a split dress that showed more then was allowed on an EDF ship, her long red hair swung back in the loose gravity, also longer then regulation length.
The admiral however nodded respectfully to the woman hiding his personal feelings. "Chairman liaison Rachel Cullivin, I request permission to take command of the fleet."
The woman eyed him, a loose smile on her face. "Do so Admiral James Raymond Higgins with the full blessing of the joint Council of Earth and Luna." Even her voice, was soft and extravagant, almost seductive with its rich tone, once again the admiral wondered why she had been sent by the chairman of earth to observe this mission.
"Thank you." He replied inclining his head again, turning in front of his chair he motioned to the rest of the crew. "Please be seated." They sat with a sudden rustling of chairs and the nervous intake of breath. "Adar, patch me through to the rest of the fleet, full band spectrum."
"Yes Admiral." The rustling AI voice sounded, a few seconds later… "Ready"
"Comrades." The Admiral took in a deep breath. "Men and women of the EDF, we have reached our destination, the Delios system. You know our mission, twenty years ago we detected a recognition signature of a ship designed by Earth all the way out here, in this system. Our council was baffled." He continued as he paced across the bridge aware of all eyes on him. "What could this signature be? Finally it was decrypted, it was the engine activation code of an ancient vessel, a legend long thought to have vanished all those years before even our fathers, fathers, grandfather had been born, a ship called EXILE."
Pausing for a quick dramatic silence he drove on. "Yes that's right, EXILE, the first colony ship of earth, the technology to create and maintain artificial worlds, this technology was spirited away when EXILE was illegally flown away from Earth and we have been unable to replicate that technology despite the many advances we have made over the centuries. As you all know Earth is facing desperate times, within a few short centuries she will become uninhabitable, the air un-breathable and her resources all used up. We must have the technology to create worlds so that we might loosen this burden on Earth. We have been tasked to seize EXILE by any means necessary and take it back to Earth where the technology stored in it can be examined and understood. We are doing a great thing for earth, by securing EXILE we are securing the future of the human race!"
Next to him the council liaison nodded grandly, her lips twitching in a smile, the admiral suddenly noticed the glint of red on them, lipstick? Surely not!
"All ships are to remain in formation while we commence scans to focus on EXILE's trail, Admiral Higgins out." He nodded to the communication officer who ended the transmission.
The admiral sank back into his chair as the liaison clapped slowly and Vice-Captain Sudler nodded. "A good speech sir."
"Thank you." The admiral nodded. "Helm, keep us on this heading, begin sweep for radiological trail matching EXILE's engine signature."
"Aye sir!" The replies sounded out.
Seconds passed as the crew worked, next to him the liaison, Rachel Cullivin leaned over her chair towards him. "Admiral." She began in that voice. "Tell me, what have you got planned if, as the council suspect that EXILE created a world on which now the great, great, great (etc) descendants of that project now live on, will we take it by force from them?"
"You know the answer as well as I do ma'am." He replied stiffly refusing to look at her directly. "We must have EXILE no matter what, the future of Earth depends on the technology to create worlds hidden in it, if EXILE has created a world then taking it away will leave that planet without its terraforming abilities, I doubt they will give it away just like that."
The woman clucked in satisfaction. "Good, because you know that the lives of tens of billions on Earth outweigh the lives of this project, they are after all renegades who abandoned us all those years ago, they deserve no mercy."
"I know that." The admiral muttered, then louder. "Any progress on the radiological scans?"
"Yes sir." The triumphant reply came back. "It's very old but the trail clearly matches EXILE's trace, it vanishes suddenly at point six, eight, nine, four, sensors are unable to penetrate that area of space for some reason."
"When the colonists fled earth they planned never to be discovered." Rachel Cullivin spoke up, damn that woman, this was his bridge. "No doubt that is where we shall find the world they created, no doubt protected by ancient clocking fields."
"Thank you chairman liaison." The admiral spoke up standing so that he stood over her. "Gunnery, fire a Xenical torpedo on that heading."
"Aye sir!" The reply came back, then a few seconds later. "Firing!"
The admiral remained standing as out of the bridge he watched as the single specialist torpedo streaked out into the blackness of space away from the fleet. The projectile continued its flight for several seconds fading into a dot as it super-accelerated away from the ship of its birth, away towards its target.
There was a blinding flash of light that for a brief second lit up the void of space with its fury.
The ships AI automatically compensated, the ships viewscreen automatically dimming then fading back as the glare receded. There, hanging against the tapestry of stars and space a new vision had appeared.
Shaped like a massive hourglass the huge object glistened, the admiral almost rubbed his eyes. Such a massive shape was clearly not natural, this had been created by EXILE? Surely now he could see why such a thing was needed if it could create such wonders.
"Cloaking field deactivated." The unnecessary report came in. "Two class nine planets, nitrogen and oxygen levels are similar to that of Earth in the late fourteenth century, we are still unable to detect EXILE's presence though sir."
"I see." The admiral nodded. "Well I didn't expect it to be easy, we're just going to have to comb the planets to find it, helmsman signal the fleet to advance towards the construct, remain at condition two."
"Sir!" The reply came back. "We're detected an ancient shield covering both worlds, it makes it impossible to enter the atmosphere of either world. Nothing short of an atomic barrage will destroy it"
"Hmm." The admiral stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well we need EXILE in one piece so that's out of the question, can our fighters penetrate the shield and destroy the generators."
A few seconds passed then, "Yes sir, Preybird fighters should be able to slip through the shield and destroy the generator."
"Where is the shield emanating from?" The Vice-Captain spoke up. "Is it from EXILE?"
"It appears to be coming from in-between both worlds sir." The reply came back. "There is a section in-between the worlds where the two atmospheres overlap, its very turbulent, very strong winds can be detected, some-sort of construct is in there, that is creating the shield."
"Very well then." The admiral switched to his air of command. "Take the fleet into orbit above the section between the worlds, once there, launch three squadrons of Preybird fighters, they will destroy the generators and the fleet will proceed into the clouds. If we remain in the gap between the worlds we should be able to maintain a stealthed presence for us to plan our next move."
"Aye sir." The reply's came back.
The massive fleet rumbled forwards again, the proud emblem of the EDF embezzled across the ships as they moved, towards the glittering hourglass station that was so utterly unprepared for the hammer of long delayed justice approaching it.
EDF – Earth Defence Force, Combined air/space fleet and land army for the protection of Earth and Luna
Xenical Torpedo – A special torpedo that releases a high-energy pulse that cancels out cloaking fields
Chairman Liaison – A person who represents and speaks for the high council of Earth and Luna
FTL drives – Massive engines that accelerate for weeks to reach the faster-then-light speed
AI – Artificial Intelligence that dwell in ships computers, able to think rationally and plan out missions among other things
Preybird Fighter – Small three-man fighter of the EDF, armed with linked kinetic cannons and a lasgun