Chapter 2
675 Words
Chapter 2
The Present Day. Aboard the EOH Prosperous
Captain Ronald Carver finished reading his orders one more time. The Empire of Humanity officer shook his head and grimaced putting the orders away. Still scowling, he turned to his navigation officer. “Notify our other ships to come about and set course for sector 52. We are to explore the Diablo sector.”
The young navigation lieutenant, not wishing to further anger her captain, chanced a question. “The Diablo sector, Captain?”
“Yes, the Admiralty wants us to report on the stability of the region. The area hasn’t been explored and surveyed since before the war. Fifteen years ago during the Battle of Diablo, several tactical nukes were set off destroying two fleets. The area is supposed to be filled with floating debris and asteroids.” The Captain’s mood had improved a bit at telling the story.
“The Battle of Diablo was the final battle of the war, wasn’t it? The armistice was signed then.” The young lieutenant asked.
“Yes, Lieutenant it was. Information the Admiralty sent me stated that the two opposing fleets were nearly wiped out in the battle. The loss of that many ships all at once convinced the peace negotiators to sit down and hammer out a deal. It was that deal formed the society we have today.”
The lieutenant continued to speak. “Sir, it’s kind of hard to believe it was only fifteen years ago.”
Looking at his officer, the Captain replied. “Humanity is now united, which is what matters today. Interstellar war is a thing of the past. This should be an interesting mission if you like history. As far as I know, none of the wreckage was ever removed.” The Captain returned his gaze to his console and began scrolling through reports.
“Captain, we should be entering the Diablo sector in ten minutes.”
The Captain looked up at Lieutenant Johanson. The tall officer was standing next to his console. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Sensors, start scanning as soon as we cross the frontier. Begin looking for ship debris and other hazards. This is a very dangerous area of space.”
He looked around the room and spotted the navigation officer. “Navigation? Wake up the survey teams and get them to start plotting positions. I need them to compare sector mapping with the old star charts. Have them checked for any changes in asteroid positions.”
The XO turned to his Captain. “Should we deploy communication satellites, sir?”
“That’s a good idea XO, make sure you tag them for easy pickup. They represent too many credits to just leave lying around out here. The satellites should make contacting HQ easier.”
The cruiser and its escorts slowly moved through the sector. The mapping data from the previous survey was holding true so far, anyway. As his ships approached the asteroid belt, Captain Carver began to tense up. The area they were approaching was where the battle took place. Many spacers called this area the Graveyard of the Lost.
Captain Carver was working in his Ready Room when he heard his name being called. “Captain to the bridge, Captain to the bridge.” He dropped what he was working on and hurried out of the room.
“Report!” The Captain shouted as he entered the room.
“Sir, we are picking up an anomaly ahead of us inside the asteroid belt. Sensors show it to be highly metallic.”
They disturbed him for this? “Ensign, that should be the battle site. The wreckage from two fleets is located there.”
“Sir, we don’t think the fleets are what we’re picking up. Sensors detected active weapons systems in the area.”
That brought the Captain up short. “Weapons systems? That’s a bit strange. There could be ships with trace amounts of power in them. Most were supposed to be destroyed.” He turned to the XO. “Bring the ship to a state of readiness, just in case. Communications, have the destroyer escort scout ahead and look for those traces with active sensors.”
The two escorts moved ahead of the cruiser at twice its speed, sensors active and scanning ahead.
The XO turned to his Captain. “Sir, the destroyers say they have found … something.”
“XO, transfer their scans to the main screen. Let’s take a look at this ‘something’ they have found.” He directed.
The whole bridge stared at the screen in shock. “What the hell is that thing?”
- Writer
