Hofstader smiled. He was glad that there was one other, at least, who had no time for the Committee and its endless debates. “Go ahead.” He was curious…he respected Travers and considered anything the Martian might have to say worth hearing.
“Friederich…” Travers paused and swallowed before continuing. “…this facility is not entirely dead.” He paused, seeing the shocked expression form on Hofstader’s face. “I have detected energy readings on two separate occasions.”
Hofstader gasped, but he quickly caught himself and forced a routine expression back onto his face. He could hear his heart beating in his ears, but there was no way to know if they were being watched, so he tried to hide his excitement. Travers was a reliable source, and Hofstader took his words at face value. “What kind of readings? Are you sure it wasn’t from our own equipment.”
“Two brief pulses.” Travers was also trying to look normal, despite his own tension. If anyone was watching, he preferred they thought he was just saying goodbye to Hofstader. “Definitely not ours. It’s type of energy I’ve never seen before, which is why none of the other equipment picked it up. I was testing some experimental scanners designed to look for life signs. The scanner was a failed experiment, actually. A complete bust as far as detecting life forms. But it seems to pick up this type of energy.”
Hofstader had a million questions, and trying to decide which to ask first had his head spinning. Travers reached over and dropped a data chip into his hand. “We don’t have time now, Friederich.” He was whispering, even more softly than before. “Every piece of data I have on the phenomenon is copied on this chip. Figuring out the source of this energy is more your area of expertise than mine.” Travers paused as Hofstader slipped the tiny data chip into his pocket. “I am trying to recalibrate my scanner to increase its sensitivity. I only detected the two pulses, but perhaps there are more readings – weaker ones I was unable to pick up.”
Hofstader had been silent while Travers spoke. Now he looked at his friend and colleague, his eyes wide with amazement. “Brad, have you considered the implications of this?”
Travers stared back, his eyes locked on Hofstader’s. “Oh yes. I understand. You need to look at that chip immediately.”
Chapter 8
“Ragged…very ragged. Let’s go; we’re going to do it again.” Cooper Brown stood atop a framework metal tower watching the militia below conduct their maneuvers. “We’re going to do this until you get it right.” Brown was speaking into a microphone that broadcast his voice across the muddy, rutted fields, now covered with khaki-uniformed men and women. He could have used the com, but he liked the style of the loudspeaker. He felt it amped up the pressure on the troops, and right now that’s what he wanted.
Adelaide was a frontier world and, though settled less than twenty years before and located far out on the Rim, it was well populated. The planet was blessed with especially rich resources, and before victory in the Third Frontier War gained several choice Caliphate possessions, it was the only substantial source of certain very heavy elements in Alliance space.
It was a barren world, scattered with small oasis-like patches where humans could eke out a fairly comfortable existence, but it was a paradise compared to the radioactive and toxic hells where stable trans-uranic substances were typically found. Its inhabitants were a hearty breed of adventurer, willing to brave the rugged conditions for the chance to build a fortune.
Its settlers had come mostly from the Oceania state of the Alliance, primarily Australia, and they quickly built a prosperous and growing colony. Exports of the nearly priceless elements had already repaid all of the costs of colonization and allowed the residents to accelerate the growth of the plant’s infrastructure. Adelaide had a small orbital space station, half a dozen satellites, and a moderate spaceport in the capital of New Sydney. It was the wealthiest and most populous world in the sector, and its residents took considerable pride in that fact.
The planet had a substantial militia as well, much larger and more powerful than typical for such a world…especially one located so far from any known enemies. Adelaide had become the destination of preference for Australian veterans mustering out of the Alliance forces and, during the purges following the end of the Third Frontier War, over 1,000 former Marines immigrated, including Major Cooper Brown.
Brown was a veteran of the final battle on Carson’s World, where his battalion had continued its drive against the enemy despite 50% casualties and a critical lack of supplies. It had been a hard experience for the seasoned officer, who lost several old friends over those few days, and hundreds of his troops. When the downsizing came he took his benefits and retired, having decided he’d seen enough of war.
Though he came to Adelaide determined to live a civilian’s life, he was a Marine deep in his soul. When the local government offered him a colonelcy and the command of the planetary militia, he accepted the post and gave up thoughts of becoming a miner. Leavened with so many discharged Marines, the Adelaide militia was formidable, far stronger than anything possessed by a comparable colony world.
When the rebellions came, Adelaide quickly declared its own independence and put its militia in the field to defend it. But the federals never came. The planet was too remote, too far out, and the Alliance Gov forces were hard-pressed dealing with the inner colonies like Columbia and Arcadia. The few federal officials who’d been present were interned and, when shipping became available, sent back to Earth.
Now Adelaide was part of the Colonial Confederation and, as such, it enjoyed a sort of quasi-independence. There were certain obligations to Alliance Gov, mostly in terms of tax payments and export quotas, and the navy and Marine Corps were responsible for its external defense. Otherwise, the inhabitants pretty much governed the planet’s affairs as they wished, which suited the sometimes-cantankerous expatriate Aussies just fine.
The militia lost some of its best troops when the Corps put out the call for retired veterans to return to the colors. Brown himself considered an offer to come back to active duty as a colonel, but he still felt burnt out, and he decided to stay on Adelaide and continue commanding the local forces. He was still plying his trade, but the likelihood of serious battle seemed remote, and he decided that suited him just fine.
Even with half its veterans returned to active Marine service, the militia was a solid organization, still well-provided with experienced combat troops. Except for Brown’s staff and a few small units, they were part-time soldiers, but the cadre’s proficiency and morale was high.
He’d been working them hard ever since the first message came in on Commnet. The colony at Newton had been attacked by an unknown enemy and was presumed destroyed. Newton was much farther out on the frontier than Adelaide, but Brown had put the militia on alert anyway. Better safe than sorry and, in matters of war, much better to be needlessly prepared than caught unready.
The subsequent communications vindicated Brown’s preparedness. Barrow was attacked and, a few weeks later, Wellington. Each colony had gone silent almost immediately after reporting approaching enemy ships. There had been no Alliance ships in Barrow’s system when that attack took place, but a freighter had been inbound to Wellington. It was able to transmit scanning data showing the planet’s satellites and orbital facilities being destroyed before the vessel itself was targeted. The last transmission carried Delta-Z protocols.
There was no longer any doubt…the Alliance was at war. The enemy was still unknown, though the general consensus was that one or more of the Powers had discovered a “backdoor” warp gate leading into the weakly defended Rim. Of greater concern was the apparent leap in weapons and propulsion technology. It was hard to project what would happen when an Alliance fleet engaged the enemy’s forces, but it was a good bet things would get ugly fast.