Vinium (The Silver Ships Book 10) Read online

  VINIUM

  A Silver Ships Novel

  S. H. JUCHA

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by S. H. Jucha

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Published by Hannon Books, Inc.

  www.scottjucha.com

  ISBN: 978-0-9994928-0-2 (e-book)

  ISBN: 978-0-9994928-1-9 (softcover)

  First Edition: November 2017

  Cover design: Damon Za

  Formatting: Polgarus Studio

  Acknowledgments

  Vinium is the tenth book in The Silver Ships series. I wish to extend a special thanks to my independent editor, Joni Wilson, whose efforts enabled the finished product. To my proofreaders, Abiola Streete, Dr. Jan Hamilton, David Melvin, Ron Critchfield, Pat Bailey, Mykola Dolgalov, and Lucy Kelleher, I offer my sincere thanks for their support.

  Despite the assistance I’ve received from others, all errors are mine.

  Glossary

  A glossary is located at the end of the book.

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  -1- Negotiations

  -2- Seedling

  -3- World of Light

  -4- Planetfall

  -5- Life Giver

  -6- The Orb

  -7- Omnia

  -8- Fête

  -9- New Arrivals

  -10- Conference

  -11- Nua’ll Device

  -12- Probes

  -13- Home Worlds I

  -14- Decision Time

  -15- Farewells

  -16- Return to Ollassa

  -17- The Hunt

  -18- Home Worlds II

  -19- Sol

  -20- New Model

  -21- The Promise

  -22- Found and Lost

  -23- Last Chance

  -24- New Terra

  -25- The Dream

  -26- The Freedom

  -27- Haraken

  -28- Mock Fight

  -29- CO Tridents

  -30- The Wall

  -31- Knock Knock

  -32- Return Home

  -33- Master Race

  Glossary

  My Books

  The Author

  -1-

  Negotiations

  “The fleet is stationary. We’re receiving the Vivian’s telemetry,” Svetlana Valenko, the captain of the Trident warship, OS Liberator, announced.

  The Omnian squadron had emerged outside the system that the SADEs, self-aware digital entities, had named Vinium. The Omnians were intent on rescuing one of their scout ships, the Vivian, which had been captured by a Vinian warship.

  To be accurate, the two ships, Vinian and Omnian, had captured each other. The warship held the scout ship tightly tethered, and the scout ship, crewed by three SADEs, had shut down the flight control systems of the Vinian vessel. The pair were trapped together in a wide, circular orbit around the Vinian system.

  Neither ship had done anything remotely aggressive after achieving the initial impasse. For nearly a month, the ships had been stuck together, while each side considered their options.

  “Greetings, Alex,” came the voice of Killian, the scout ship leader, over the Liberator’s bridge speakers. “We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

  Alex Racine, leader of the Omnian forces, couldn’t resist a smile at the calm announcement of the Vivian’s SADE.

  “Have you been enjoying your tour of the Vinian system, Killian?” Alex asked.

  “The early moments proved fascinating, Alex,” Killian replied, “but it’s the consensus of those aboard that we are ready to come home.”

  “We’ll see what we can do about that, Killian,” Alex replied.

  Someone less familiar with SADEs might have urged Killian to be patient, but Alex, the human most intimately involved with the entities he helped to free from their boxes, felt no such compunction.

  Bethley, the second-positioned SADE in the Vivian sent to him via private comm.

  Killian sent in reply.

  Julien, Alex’s crystal friend, signaled.

  Alex replied via his implant. The tiny comm and data storage device within the human cerebrum allowed a multitude of capabilities, including private communications with other humans and the SADEs.

  “Killian, Bethley, and Trium,” Alex said, addressing the three SADEs wedged into the tiny scout craft, “please give us your assessment of what we face.”

  “Forgive my general characterization, Alex, but we face a most unusual situation,” Killian replied. “These entities are definitely floral-based but with faunal characteristics. We have nothing in our historical data that enables a comparison.”

  “We can tell you, Alex, that our attempts at communications have yielded little information,” Bethley added. “But we’ve gleaned some information on Vinian behaviors and the ship environment.”

  “Such as?” Alex queried.

  “We’re speaking, using arbitrary names for the aspects of these individuals, mind you, Dassata,” Trium, the third-positioned SADE in the scout ship, added. He was using Alex’s Dischnya name, which meant peacemaker. “The terminal pod of an individual acts as the head, and we refer to it as the bloom. It has no facial details, no eyes, nose, mouth, or ears.”

  “Their life processes must be plant-based,” Julien surmised, having quickly perused the data accumulated on the warship by the Vivian, as every SADE aboard the flagship had done.

  “Precisely, Ser,” Trium agreed. “We managed to link with their vid system, without opening the warship’s flight controls, and have been able to monitor much of their daily cycles.”

  “We discovered,” Killian explained, “that when they converse, the blooms turn toward each other, but that might simply be a courtesy.”

  “But how are they communicating?” Admiral Tatia Tachenko asked.

  “Unknown, Admiral,” Killian replied.

  “Best guess?” Alex asked, knowing full well that it took a SADE several years after release from confinement to be comfortable responding to that quintessential human expression. However, Alex had worked closely with Killian, while the SADE managed the buildout of the Sardi-Tallen Orbital Platform at Omnia.

  “We believe, Alex, that they’re using sonic waves or light frequencies outside the scope of human detection, but we’ve nothing to confirm that,” Killian replied. “It would require a SADE to be in their presence to determine the Vinians’ communications process.”

  “Wonderful,” Tatia grumped. “We’re supposed to negotiate with a plant species that doesn’t communicate in any manner we can hear or see. What are you two grinning about?” she asked, looking between Alex and Julien.

  “I’d imagine it’s the challenge,” Commodore Reiko Shimada posited. “After solving the dilemma of how to communicate with two alien species, these two are excited by a fresh opportunity.”

  “Sers, what else can you tell us about the Vinians’ habits?” Alex asked, refusing to rise to Reiko’s teasing.

  “You get a sense of a Vinian’s reactions by the opening and closing of the petals that
ring the blooms and the generous-sized leaves along the stalks,” Bethley said. “But we have no lexicon to translate any of these motions.”

  “A small but significant fact,” Trium added, “is that the individuals remain inactive for extended periods of time in a space that’s extremely bright. We estimate they’re using the light for photosynthesis. Interestingly, they stand in a shallow liquid during this time.”

  Julien caught Alex’s eye and sent a private message.

  Alex shot back.

  Because you’re prescient, in some manner, and refuse to admit it, Julien thought.

  Alex was dubious about the origins of the strange thoughts he occasionally had, which seemed to manifest themselves in future events. It did occur to him that the biotic-based minds of humans might have a capability that the crystal minds of SADEs would never possess.

  While Alex continued to probe the SADEs for more information about the Vinians, Tatia communicated privately with Reiko, Z, and Miranda.

  Z and Miranda, SADEs and close confidants of Alex, were busy plotting the course of the Vinian warship, and they shared their analysis with Tatia and Reiko.

  Z sent.

  Reiko asked.

  Tatia was paying close attention to her commodore’s communications. Reiko was the only officer with experience commanding a squadron of warships in battle, having been a member of the United Earth naval forces. It had been Reiko’s recommendation to wait outside the system, not only to buy time for Alex to assess the situation but to determine the Vinian warship’s armament.

  Miranda Leyton replied.

  Z added,

  Tatia asked.

  Z replied.

  Miranda sent privately,

  Z sent in reply.

  Tatia refocused on Alex’s bridge conversation in time to hear Trium hypothesize that the Vinians were relegated to traveling within the system, repeating what she learned, moments ago, from Z and Miranda.

  “Alex, the ships are on approach now,” Tatia said, interrupting the conversation. “According to Z and Miranda, if we launch within the next half hour, we can intercept the two ships as they pass in front of us.”

  “But would a fleet of Tridents rushing at the Vinian warship panic them?” Renée de Guirnon, Alex’s partner, asked. “And if it did, what would they do?”

  “Killian, what are your thoughts on the danger you might face if our ships approach the Vinian warship?”

  “Alex, we believe the Vinians didn’t perceive our scout ship as a threat, which is why we were captured. If they wished, they could have released us, at any time, and fired on us before we could have cleared their immediate space. Undoubtedly, our ship would have been either disabled or destroyed.”

  “Alex, there are small to moderate ports down the sides of the Vinian warship that hide what we believe to be armament,” Bethley added. “We had a glimpse of them before we were captured, but we have been unable to deduce any meaningful analysis from our brief imagery.”

  Alex controlled the temptation to pace. Instead, he stared thoughtfully at his friend.

  “The advantage of making the first move might soon be taken out of our hands, Alex,” Julien said quietly. “In five hours, the Vinians will know we’re here and might decide to make the first move.”

  Alex searched quickly through the data from the Vivian and pulled images of the Vinian warship taken from a variety of angles. He used the wide bridge monitors to display the critical angles he sought.

  “What are you searching for, Alex?” Tatia asked.

  “Angles of approach,” Alex replied.

  “Forward and aft,” Z replied. “My analysis of the Vinian vessel predicts a 98.8 percent certainty that this particular warship lacks bow and stern directed armament. The portals that Killian mentioned are embedded in the hull and lay along the median lines of the ship. It’s a most inefficient design.”

  “Like they haven’t had any real practice at war,” Reiko mused.

  Alex regarded the commodore, and she added, “It’s the response that you’d expect from a civilization that encountered an enemy or two and prepared for future conflicts by upgrading defenses, but the lack of in-depth experience means they’ll make the basic mistakes of amateurs.”

  “And, if that’s true,” Alex said, “it means their reactions will be unpredictable.” He accessed Z’s analysis of the plotted intercept vectors that he had supplied Tatia and used the bridge holo-vid to project the Omnian fleet and the approaching warship. Steadily rotating the view, Alex continued to study his options.

  “Admiral, I want you to assign one Trident to drop below the ecliptic, in an arc like this,” Alex said, adding a curving line to the display. It ended far below the system’s horizon and forward of the Vinian ship. “Be sure to use an OS ship,” Alex added.

  The squadron was composed of eight, tri-hulled warships. Five Omnian ships were designated by the prefix OS, and NT marked the three New Terran vessels.

  “Time your final maneuver for all squadron ships like this, Admiral,” Alex continued, adding three more lines. The first line marked the forward progress of the Vinian ship. The second line brought the remainder of the squadron close to the alien warship but stopped 10 million kilometers short of it. The final line showed the Trident emerging from below the ecliptic to intercept the warship.

  “What are you proposing for the final disposition of the Trident that we’re sending under?” Reiko asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “You should be quite familiar with the maneuver, Commodore. You saw it executed frequently at Sol by your partner,” Alex replied, grinning.

  “You want a Trident to go bow to bow with that warship?” Reiko asked, incredulous at the proposal.

  “I like it,” Tatia said enthusiastically, her eyes alight with mischief. “We stand the squadron off in a tight formation to demonstrate our power, without attacking, and we give them a taste of the incredible capability of one of our ships. And, providing Z hasn’t made an error in judgment, there’s little risk to our Trident.”

  Miranda immediately jumped to Z’s defense. “How can you doubt Z’s judgment, Admiral? After all, he chose me.” At which point, Miranda threw everything she had into her most alluring pose.

  “She has you there, Admiral,” Renée said, laughing.

  “True enough,” Tatia agreed. Turning serious, she addressed Reiko. “Commodore, your choice as to which Trident you wish to confront that warship.”

  “No choice there, Admiral,” Reiko replied. “I’ll assign Captain Thompson the task. With Ellie’s experience as a low-altitude racer before she was judged an Independent and sent to Libre, she’s the best choice. How close should she approach?” Reiko asked Tatia, who turned to Alex.

  “As close as the captain is comfortable,” Alex repli
ed.

  Reiko linked with Z to set up the maneuver, and the SADE laid out the ships’ courses, launch times, and accelerations. When Reiko approved the details, Z copied the plan to the controllers of the other Tridents. Reiko linked with her captains to review the squadron’s approach, assigning the frontal action to Ellie.

  It was Svetlana who had to curb her disappointment at not being selected to confront the Vinian warship. During the years of squadron training at Omnia, Reiko and she had repeatedly clashed. At one point, Svetlana requested a transfer to a newly commissioned Trident so that she could be relieved as captain of the flagship. That evening, Reiko had asked Svetlana to sit with her at evening meal, and the pair took a small table to be alone.

  “Your request for transfer is denied, Svetlana,” Reiko said bluntly after they had sat down with their meal trays. Reiko was forced to hold up a hand to forestall Svetlana’s response. “Now, I’m going to tell you why. It’s simple. You’re too good.”

  “Reiko that makes no sense,” Svetlana replied with a significant amount of heat, which attracted the stares of a few diners nearby.

  “And I can understand that, Svetlana, but you’ll have to forgive me. I’m starting to think more like our fearless leader,” Reiko replied.

  “Now, that’s dangerous,” Svetlana shot back, but the light in her eyes said that it wasn’t a bad thing either.

  “I want you to think about the events that will call our squadron to action. We possess this immense amount of firepower. But, what if, and I say what if, it’s not enough? What if we watch ship after ship be destroyed?”

  “That’s exactly why you need me at the forefront of the action, Ellie. I’ve proven my skills, and I can do the most good where the battle is greatest.”

  “That, Svetlana, is thinking like a captain. Now, I want you to think like a commodore, who has responsibility for the squadron. Most important, I want you to think about who will be aboard your flagship.”