The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [28]
‘So the Earthsphere ship survived the Spiralist invasion of Darien,’ it said. ‘Which is more than the Brolturan battleship managed. Suddenly, elements of my assignment become clearer. I am curious as to how it comes to be there.’
‘Although the Earthsphere vessel Heracles managed to survive the thermonuclear explosion with drives intact, it very quickly came under attack. With the defences disabled, the captain ordered an emergency hyperspace jump.’ The Construct zoomed the frame in on the ship’s stern, where several sections lay exposed. ‘Certain control systems had been badly affected so the engineers had to make non-calibrated adjustments to the hyper-drive fields while traversing T2. Unfortunately this resulted in their unintentional descent to Tier 23.’
‘Uncalibrated tier descents are highly risky,’ said the semiorganic. ‘They were lucky that their ship did not fly apart in a blaze of energies.’
‘Indeed. I shall send a suite of ship-tech bots with you, and as much material as I can spare. You should provide the Human captain with a suitable story about my assistance without going into any intimidating detail then quickly move on to the matter of Horst’s rescue. Given your eventual circumstances, it should not be too difficult an excuse to concoct.’
The semiorganic stood, a naked male template without any apparent clue to its age, other than physical maturity. It looked at the Construct with a hint of a smile.
‘I assume you are aware that Robert Horst was holding something back,’ it said.
‘Behavioural analytics did bring this to my attention,’ the Construct said. ‘Finding this out is a vital part of your mission, although my own conjecture is that the Tanenth machine said something about its makers’ fate which cast meaning upon the death of Horst’s own daughter. Ideally, I should like you to help him to return here to the Garden of the Machines but if the information he possesses indicates another more valuable course of action then pursue it.’
‘I shall keep it at the forefront of my cognition,’ the semiorganic said, then strode from the room whistling a jaunty tune.
After it was gone the Construct replayed segments of the Horst recording, with behavioural data glimmering in overlay. Another part of its cognitive awareness was sifting and prioritising frontline bulletins and resupply requisitions, while its higher-level sentience pondered the meagre reports emerging from the Darien system. It seemed that in the wake of the loss of their most prestigious warship the Brolturans had requested assistance from their patrons, the Hegemony. Advance units were due to arrive in a matter of days, all while rumours abounded that an Imisil fleet was also on its way. Then there was the question of the part that Earthsphere would play, a part which might turn out to be crucial.
This convergence of multiple strategies felt oddly coincidental but the Construct was sure that this was the final grand marshalling, a colossal orchestration of pieces, tactics and strategies on a board that extended down into hyperspace as well as across the starry expanses of this region of the galaxy. And with the first wave of Legion cyborg-craft due to exit the Darien warpwell in three, perhaps four days, another more vicious, more chaotic element would be added to the mix. Then, as the Human expression put it, all hell would break loose. And if the Godhead and its Legion, Vor and Shyntanil puppets triumphed, then even the deepest, most far-flung corners of hyperspace might not be a safe hiding place.
GREG
The captain’s chair was significantly more comfortable than the fold-out seat. Slightly incurving parts of the moulding supported both the lower back and the shoulders, while the console with its holopanel could be swung out or brought in close and adjusted to whatever level the occupant desired.
‘Are you sure this’ll work?’ he said.
‘It’s going to have to, Mr Cameron,’ said Ash from the bridge entrance. ‘Ah, at last … ’
The Tygran commander hurried into view, arms full of grey garments.