The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [148]
Robert had warned Kao Chih about this possibility in advance and some containers had been rustled up or improvised. So while the crew were coping with the aftermath as best they could, Robert beckoned Kao Chih up to the cockpit section. He sat in the other padded chair and looked out at the star-strewn blackness beyond the viewport. Then he faced the elderly-looking Construct sim.
‘Kao Chih,’ he said in a low voice, ‘there is a slight problem. I’m picking up the approach and navigational beacons from the Roug world, the gas giant V’Hrant, but there’s no sign of the Agmedra’a orbital. In fact, I’m not detecting anything on the usual commercial and open channels. Now, I’ve checked and rechecked our location, and although the Shyntanil sensors are a heap of rudimentary junk they should still be able to find active comm channels and automatically go into transceiver mode.’ He shook his head. ‘Nothing.’
Neither said anything for a long moment full of dark imaginings.
‘They couldn’t have got here before us, could they?’ Kao Chih said.
‘We musn’t jump to conclusions,’ Robert said, turning to the controls. ‘I’m going to execute a microjump to get us closer, then we’ll know for … ’
He was interrupted by a sharp pinging from the pilot console. ‘Something huge has just … ’
The assault craft lurched sideways, provoking gasps and cries from the Heracles survivors. A curved expanse of pitted greyness that was clearly part of something larger swung in close to cover the viewport, then there was a sudden surge of acceleration that threatened serious discomfort until the inertial dampeners cut in. Robert lunged forward to the console.
‘A huge ship has us in a grappler field,’ he said. ‘Well, Kao Chih, you’re from around these parts – is this a Roug vessel?’
On an angled, grimy screen protruding from the console was the wireframe image of a big, V-shaped vessel. Kao Chih nodded.
‘It’s a system-defence ship,’ he said. ‘The Roug tend to keep them out of sight – I hadn’t even seen one until quite recently.’
‘Interesting.’ Robert consulted the console readouts. ‘Hmph. According to these pathetic instruments we are being carried at something close to a third of the speed of light towards the gas giant V’Hrant. We’ll be there in less than twenty minutes.’ He frowned. ‘But it seems unusual that there’s been no attempt to contact us.’
‘This isn’t the usual protocol,’ Kao Chih said, recalling the last time he returned to the Buzrul system. ‘However, we are still alive, so they do not perceive us as a threat. Perhaps we should transmit a message stating who we are, who we have escaped from and telling them about the asteroid-weapon.’
Robert nodded. ‘Even if they don’t reply they will have heard our explanation for why we came here in a Shyntanil combat craft. Also, it would make more sense if you delivered it, given your personal connections with them.’
Kao Chih agreed – it was sensible, so after clarifying his thoughts he spoke into the console’s audio pickup, a small circular grille. In his summary he detailed who they all were, who they had escaped from, and what they had come to warn the Roug about. After which he sat back, exchanging the odd glance with Robert, but the comm channel remained silent. Some of the Heracles crew had gathered round but when it became clear that no reply was forthcoming they went back to their seats, cradling their stomachs or trying to relax. Robert surveyed them all for a moment then leaned back, face unreadable as he stared at the obscuring greyness. Dejected, Kao Chih followed suit.
They didn’t have long to wait. Some minutes later they were assailed by unannounced shifts in momentum, some quite sharp. Then the curved grey surface lifted away to reveal a staggering sight.
The gas giant V’Hrant was a swirled and muddy immensity in the lower left, but the rest of that wide-open vista