Black Queen

Note to the Reader

At my editor's insistence, I have created a more detailed description of the world of the Coalition, an explanation of weapons, ships, star systems and the cast of characters. It is in the Appendix at the back of this book. The reader may want to go there first or at least refer to it occasionally as the story progresses.

Preface

Like the unceasing tidal surge, a force pulls us to explore and colonize. We may as well try to resist the pull of a black hole than to deny it. It is something in our restless souls. Some dissatisfaction at not knowing what lies just beyond.

When the hyper tunnels were discovered running between class two gravitational singularities in the late 21st century, scientists and engineers set to finding a way to take advantage of these naturally occurring phenomena. They soon came up with the gravitudinal time-slip engine. It was able to condense galactic distances to something tolerable to most humans. Immediately humans discovered new star systems. Some of them had incredible planets and impossible eco-systems. There were hydrogen-based biospheres, methane-breathing reptilian creatures, small quadrepedal sentients that looked remarkably like otters.

A new race of humans was discovered that had apparently developed in parallel with earth. They were like us in almost every respect except they had faces that were slightly triangular and they had reedy voices. But how could two separate star systems evolve humans? Had Earth and the planet Krieg been seeded by the same god-like entity? There was much speculation on the subject in academia. The new humans called their star Kuladar. They had not yet developed interstellar travel, but being human, they quickly embraced it.

Like the flow of a massive river, humans flooded all the nearby star systems having inhabitable planets. First there were farmers, then there were mining companies looking for valuable raw resources such as titanium and purilium. Things that the Earth was out of. Interstellar trade quickly followed. Tastes for Xiübian spices jumped as did the demand for Okokes, adorable little creatures from the Lo Si'an System with furry red bodies and large eyes.

Then it finally happened! The world of humans was rocked when they encountered a new space-fairing non-human species. The Al Yo'osh. They were very advanced and they too had discovered the hyper tunnels and had established trade routes through two star systems.

Five Star Coalition

An alliance and common government was formed from the first five human star systems: Earth's Solar System, Xiüb System, Sholdién System, Kuladar System and the Lo Si'an System. By agreement a common military force was created and a contract was signed guaranteeing all would have equal protection and a say in any trade agreements and a share in profits.

When the Al Yo'osh systems, Pateene and Omrobee'u, were discovered, an alliance was formed with them. Demand for their technology, exotic art and spicy foods quickly grew and trade with the Al Yo'osh flourished.

The Coalition grew with the addition of new star systems, Dovrack, Odijough and Yamagoochee Five, but for simplicity, they decided to keep the name Five Star Coalition although it included ten star systems now.

But just as some men are drawn to explore, others are driven to seek and hold power. This inevitably leads to excesses and resentment. Currently, there is a great deal of unrest in the Coalition. A contract between the Al Yo'osh has been canceled and renegotiated when the Coalition leaders determined that the Al Yo'osh revenue had been greatly undervalued. This has infuriated the Al Yo'osh parliament who believe contracts are promises and must always be kept. The Kuladar people feel that they have been marginalized because they are paying heavy Coalition taxes but are getting very little in return, and they badly need revenue for rebuilding their crumbling infrastructure. A group called the Unification Committee has been interfering with any Coalition attempts to collect taxes or impose martial law and are openly calling for a movement to throw out the Coalition. They are simply called the Unification Rebels by the media.

Billé Sanmo monks

Named for the original Philippine monastery on Earth. The Billé Sanmo order is very old and based on an ancient belief in one all-powerful god. Originally he was called Yahweh, but now simply called the Master. The Coalition has no officially sanctioned religion, but most citizens worship a polytheistic array of gods based loosely on the ancient Roman Catholic collection of saints. There is Mary, goddess of motherhood and the life giver, Francis, god of animals, Christopher, god of travelers, Peter, god of business and good fortune and many others.

There are three separate arms to the Billé Sanmo. The first, the Guro, is dedicated to bringing the Master to the people and are primarily scholars and teachers. The second is the Tagabantay. They are a spy network with eyes and ears everywhere. The third is the Kawal. They are the soldiers of the brotherhood. A secret order of fighters and assassins.

The Billé Sanmo believe they are currently in the dark age where evil rules, but their scriptures promise the Master will send them a leader, the Madilim Shee'a or Dark Queen, who will lead them out of the darkness. She will be born of strife and suffer at the hands of the evil. She will have the wisdom of a sage, the sensitivity of a poet and the heart of a warrior. She will be a uniter who brings all the oppressed together, vanquishes the evil ones and ushers in the golden age of prosperity.

Prolog

Dovrack System

Aboard Nemesis

Hey, said Damik. Someone's paintin' us.

The Coalition ships? asked Sheena.

No, the five approachin' us have stopped and turned to face Raven's bunch. Damik scratched his stubbly chin. It's somethin' else.

Where's it coming from?

Don't know. But it's definitely not comin' from the Coalition ships.

Sheena looked at the overhead display. Give me a tactical display on screen one.

Damik touched something on his screen and they instantly saw a tactical representation of Nemesis and the planet they were orbiting. According to the small triangular representations, the five Coalition ships had stopped and were squaring off with Raven's ten ships. Raven had formed a semicircle around them. All these ships were masked as freighters and ore carriers, but Kag suspected they weren't fooling anyone at this point.

Sheena frowned and chewed her bottom lip. She shook her head and said, Shit! Then she turned to the man on the weapons console. Robby, you had thorough training on that new gun's targeting system. Right?

Right, replied Robby. I had all the owl classes. So did Damik and Steel.

Good. From what I understand the detectors in the targeting sensors are very sensitive and multi spectral.

That's true. They can see 1300 bands of RF, 46 bands of IR, 56 types of particle and 78 phases of CA.

Do you think they could see a cloaked ship?

But we can detect cloaked ships with the J-scan set on sideband.

What if they have something new? Something J-scan can't see?

Do they?

Don't know. I've heard rumors, said Sheena, frowning at the tactical screen. So what do you think?

Robby looked to Damik and shrugged. Don't know.

Well, said Damik, shifting in his chair and running a hand over the burn scar on his cheek. "They should. Theoretically. A cloaked ship doesn't reflect or refract any light, and if she's runnin' in ultra stealth, she's not gonna give off much RF or a thermal trail, but it will create a cosmic disturbance."

That's right! CA, said Robby. "We should be able to see any cosmic anomaly. If we cycle through every phase, we should see something."

Alright, I want you to do that. Concentrate your search here. Sheena moved the screen cursor on the tactical display to the top.

Will do, said Robby. He got busy activating the targeting system for the heavy gun.

Kag tried to see Robby's weapons screen, but he was viewing it from an extreme angle. It looked very complicated. There were messages and flashing indicators with numbers and the screen kept changing color. It was a reddish hue, then a reddish brown, then an emerald green, then a aquamarine.

Got somethin' Said Robbie.

Sheena leaned down behind him to get a better look. What?

Don't know. About 12,000 miles out and coming this way. A disturbance in the cosmic flow. We're looking at a J phase disturbance. And I think that's too much turbulence for just one ship.

"Shit! screamed Sheena. I knew it! A trap! The gate traffic was a distraction. The Coalition jumped a fleet of Wikoff ships into the system while we weren't looking. She slapped her forehead. I nearly fell for it."

Wait, said Robby. Here's a better view. I just switched to M phase. I'm going to full magnification. They instantly had a view of the ghost ships.

My god! said Sheena. That looks like forty ships! I didn't think they had that many Wikoff ships.

And one heavy in the center, said Damik. Displacin' 90 to 100 kilotons at least. Look at the wake that thing is making!

Like Nemesis, said Sheena. Comm, give me a secure channel to the fleet.

The lady at comm said, You've got it, Sheena.

Sheena touched a spot behind her ear and said, We've got a problem, guys. Cloaked ships at coordinates... She leaned down to read the screen. 3455.6657.2907 local. They're moving this way. About forty of them. Does anyone know where Nemesis's sister ships are?

Wolf's voice came through the overhead speakers. "I heard that Gladiator replaced Nemesis on the Odijough border. If you see a twin, it has to be Assassin or Warlock."

Alright, Wolf, Dingo, Ghost, Zero converge on those coordinates, but slowly. And don't probe them. I don't want to let them know we can see them. Wait for Nemesis to get off the first shot.

"You got it, Sheena." Dingo.

"Will do." Ghost.

"Got it." Zero.

"Hang on. We're comin'." Wolf.

Leave no tracks, said Sheena.

There was another chorus of responses. "Leave no tracks."

Hull, how're they comin' on the cage?

Kag checked his camera views. They still have some of the starboard side to do.

Are weapons clusters clear?

Kag looked at the starboard missile tube assembly, then at the port multi-barreled heavy gun assembly. There didn't seem to be any of the metal structure blocking them. They're clear, commander.

Good enough. Comm, give me a channel to the Crossbow pilots.

The comm operator touched three spots on her panel. You're on, Sheena.

Thanks for the help, guys, but we have to go. Get aboard.

"Are you sure, sir," said a voice. We just have a little more to go.

We're out of time. Let's go!

"Alright, sir, replied the voice. Copy," replied another.

When Kag saw the Crossbows enter the hangar bay through the port bay door, he said, Crossbows have been recovered, sir.

Thanks, Kag. Helm, break orbit using thrusters only. Come to 0-1-1 and give me an up angle of 2-4 degrees.

Yes, sir, responded the helm. Coming to new course 0-1-1, and up 2-4. Thrusters only.

All eyes were on the triangular shapes on the tactical screen. There was a red blinking targeting cursor marking where they thought the cloaked ships were. At the far left edge of the screen was a blue cluster of twenty one ships. Kag assumed this to be the Blacks. There was another cluster of nine blue ships at the bottom. More Blacks. Kag wasn't sure which ones. He had heard that Sheena commanded around 155 ships spread through two fleets. She had one fleet here, the other was at the Black's base standing guard.

Weapons, I want Talons loaded in all available tubes.

Loading Talons. Tubes thirty two through sixty.

Target that center ship with the heavy gun, Robby. We're going to give it a good test.

Alright. We're still pretty far away. About 10,000 miles.

We can wait, said Sheena, then. Helm, ahead one third.

Ahead one third, responded the helmsman.

Kag knew a little about the Al Yo'osh targeting system. Damik had gushed about it. It was far more advanced than anything the Coalition had. It took into account the speed of the firing ship, the speed of the targeted ship, any gravity wells nearby which could influence the trajectory, as well as any cosmic disturbances or storms, ship exhausts, even microgravities of nearby ships and asteroids.

Now there was nothing to do but wait. Which was the worst part for Kag. He'd only been in one battle, but he knew what to expect. There would be a lot of waiting and then when things started happening, they would unfold very fast.

It must be the same for everyone else, for Robby asked, How long you want to wait, sir?

I'll let them make the first move, said Sheena. Right now they think they have the advantage. Helm, ahead two thirds.

Ahead two thirds, responded the helmsman.

Kag still had trouble resolving what he saw in Sheena. She was a bundle of contradictions. A very sensitive caring woman who streamed tears when talking about the family she'd lost. But also a steely-eyed warship commander, who could out maneuver the best commanders in the Coalition. She was small in stature. Petite even. And soft spoken. But when she stood on the command platform on the bridge shouting orders, she seemed a giant. An indomitable force of nature.

Distance is 8655 miles, said Robby, the weapons man.

Have they altered course at all? asked Sheena.

No, but they've picked up speed, said Robby.

Target the center ship with the heavy gun, said Sheena.

Targeting the center ship, responded Robby.

Kag saw the gun assembly move slightly as it finalized a firing resolution on the target. Kag adjusted all his portside hull cameras toward the mag gun assembly. He wanted to see it fire. He had a view from above and behind, one from the side that was so close all he could see was one large barrel and two from the front below and above. The last was almost looking down the top barrel of the assembly. These barrels had to be almost a thousand feet long. Most ships would never be able to carry such a weapon. The barrels sprouted from a large blocky receiver assembly which attached to the ship where the missile tube assembly used to be and were supported in three places structurally by large disks which kept them evenly spaced as they rotated.

We're locked onto the center ship, said Robby.

Helm, full speed, said Sheena.

Full speed. confirmed the helmsman.

Missiles inbound! screamed Damik. Over a hundred!

Chapter 1

Sholdién System

Planet Numbal

Gander Base

There was not much on Numbal. It had only one major city, Gander City, which was one of those rough port cities with plain unimaginative buildings with filthy windows. parts of it having fallen into ruin and now had garbage blowing through the streets. It offered comforts and vices to the hard-living military and other transients coming through. At one time when it was new, Gander had been vibrant and shining, but it had devolved into a cesspool of the worst things humanity had to offer: heavy crime, drug dens, gambling and prostitution. Everyone seemed to be coming from somewhere, going somewhere else. No one planned to come to Gander to settle and start a new life.

Gander City had grown because of the military base. The primary job of the Coalition Guard Units there was to patrol commercial trade routes and, of course, protect Coalition interests. The only reason the base was there was because of the central location of this planet in the Five Star Coalition. It was called the Five Star Coalition because originally it had been composed of the citizens from five star systems, Xiüb, Sholdién, Kuladar, Lo Si'an and the Earth's Solar system, but that was a millennium ago. Now there were nine systems in the coalition, but the government had not bothered to change the name because of the cost of reissuing badges, signs, uniforms and the like. Numbal was at an ideal point for both military and civilian cargoes to be transfered and people to disembark for other destinations. A nexus. A crossover. A place for ships to refuel. Although the newer ships with the Wikoff trans-event drives didn't need to refuel, but they certainly needed to resupply: food, water, oxygen and other consumables. The military and contractors both used the Gander base by agreement.

Corporal Kag Renfro hated Numbal. It was nothing like his home planet of Dulute. It was so hot! And there was a putrid death-like odor in the air constantly, like rotting meat and sulfurous vegetation. It was stomach churning, and there was nothing here but jungle and things that wanted to kill you. He squinted at the intense sun, removed his uniform hat and mopped at the sweat on his forehead with a rag he always kept with him.

He took in the landing pads. There were ten ships there. Two civilian liners and eight military cruisers. The nearest were the liners. Large vessels, elongated dull black ovoids, sitting on their bellies, streaming white lazy vapor trails out their vents into the afternoon sun. They bristled with antenna and dishes and rested on girder like legs with flat square feet on them. Ground crews hustled around beneath their looming shapes like tiny insects in blue coveralls driving carts or dragging hoses and lines. Beyond the pads, the cargo terminals, the military barracks and the electrified fence was the city of Gander. You could see its distant gray block-like buildings above the jungle treetops.

Get ready! It was Sergeant Warick, who was plugged into the comm system via his nanobots. Warick was noisily chewing on the fried carcass of a ...what? Kag didn't know. It looked like a Zedee lizard. Kag wrinkled his nose in disgust. He thought everything about Warick was disgusting. A fat pig of a man with misaligned teeth and a nose that looked like a misshapen piece of putty. Juice was dripping down his stubbled chin and onto his blue uniform shirt.

Warrick made a few sucking noises, threw his meal down, stood up and wiped his plump fingers on his wrinkled uniform pants. Okay, troopers, everyone behind the blast shield. Ship's comin' in.

There were five of them. Coalition Guard troopers. They all walked over to a thick transparent barricade made of Blockglass and crouched down behind it. Enlisting in the Coalition Guard was one of the worst mistakes Kag had made in his young life. He'd been abused, neglected, screamed at, disrespected, and when he had pointed out that his commanding officer had misappropriated (stolen actually) his little sport skimmer, he had been transferred to this hellish place and assigned to this cretin Warick. It was his punishment. He'd only been in for two earth revolutions, or revs for short, but he'd already had a bellyful of the Guard.

He felt the approach of the ship long before he saw it. There was a trembling of the surrounding foliage and a vibration in the ground beneath his feet. It grew stronger gradually as the rumble crescendoed. The troopers put their hands over their ears to protect their eardrums from the building pressure wave. A shadow fell across them and when Kag looked up, he saw the scarred bottom of a white Infinity Transport. It was going so slow it seemed to be standing still. The rumbling now had become thunder and the trembling beneath their feet had become a tectonic quake. A cloud of dust and debris rose from the landing area, but the barricade protected them from the assault of small projectiles and missiles.

The ship extended three spidery legs, touched down on its concrete landing pad and then settled its huge bulk gently onto its landing gear. After a few seconds the engines began to spool down. They wound down, down, down and finally the growl died, and there was nothing to be heard but loud hissing and chugging sounds from the ship's cooling vents.

Let's go, ladies! said Warick. The troopers stood and approached the ship. It had the Infinity Freight logo on its nose, an electric blue figure eight laying on its side. As they got closer, a ramp deployed from the near side. Almost as soon as the ramp touched the ground, something tumbled down the ramp like a disorganized collection of parts. Then another object.

As Kag got closer, he realized what the objects were. Bodies! What the...?

Whatsa matter, Corporal? Never seen a slave ship before? Warick grunted as he bent at the waist and took hold of a dead man's hand. He drug the body away from the ramp.

Slave ship? said Kag. "I thought you said refugees from Zolan."

Refugees, slaves, he shrugged. Same thing. Come on. Start dragging the dead ones away.

Kag approached one of the bodies. He quickly stepped out of the way as another body came tumbling down the ramp and almost hit him. It was a woman. Her age was fifty revs maybe. Her skin and hair were gray. Her eyes were milky white. She was dressed in a simple patterned dress, sweater and black lace up shoes and had an honest looking face. A look of respectability. She might have been a store clerk or maybe a teacher. And now, she was just something in the way. Something to be disposed of. He reached down and took her hand and began gently pulling on her.

Come on, corporal! She can't feel anything! Shug, give him a hand.

Another trooper stepped forward and took her other hand as another body tumbled down the ramp.

Warick turned to two other troopers. Get the loader. We'll dump them all in the pit.

Yes, sergeant. They ran off.

Kag couldn't believe it. You're just going to dump them in the land fill?

Don't think of them as humans, corporal. They're just property at this point. Actually the lucky ones. The live ones are going to the Kestrel colony. They'll be put to work in the Kork foundry and manufacturing facility making machinery. They'll be working in terrible heat and breathing toxic fumes. That's a slow death.

But what did they do to deserve that? Are they all guilty of some crime?

Yes, sneered Warick. They're guilty of opposing the Coalition. When they were asked to relocate, so President Parton could build the new communications center, they refused. They told him to go build his center somewhere else. Wrong thing to say. We warned them what would happen, but they didn't listen. They brought all this on themselves.

Some of these people look like they've been wounded, said Kag pointing at a blackened corpse. This man has an open wound and has been burned over most of his body.

There was some kind of skirmish before they left. Warick looked at the Infinity crewman standing at the top of the ramp. Is that all?

Yes, that's all the dead ones.

Shortly a parade of skeletal people began to shuffle down the ramp. They were connected to each other by a tether. Clothes hung loosely on their bodies and they had hollow eyes. Some were wounded and barely able to put one foot in front of the other. Kag's eyes followed one rail thin man who was dressed in rags. There were holes in his trousers and scorch marks on the back of his shredded bloody shirt. A small girl was being carried by a weary man and had both feet wrapped in bloody rags. Kag saw many bloody bandages. An old woman stumbled and fell in front of Warick. She looked up at him, fear in her gaunt face.

Get up, sneered Warick. You don't lay down until you've done some work!

The man next to her knelt and took her hand. Can't you see she's sick! She can't work. His mouth was twisted with emotion and there was worry in his wet eyes.

Warick knelt down and looked into the cloudy eyes of the wheezing woman. Please..., she gasped.

You're right, said Warick. She can't work. He stood and drew his pistol.

Pow!

He put a bullet through her temple. Blood and brains sprayed the old man holding her hand. He let out a heartrending wail. No-o-o-o! It was the most mournful cry Kag had ever heard.

Kag wheeled on Warick. He had just executed this old woman for being sick! Sarge! he screamed. Why?

I saved the republic some money. Shug, dump this one in the pit too.

Damn you! screamed the old man, his hands balled into fists and his voice full of defiance and hate. "She had a name. She was Lilly and she was my wife. You're going to pay for this. I'll see that you..."

Pow!

Warick put a bullet through his forehead. The blood and brains this time sprayed another man and trooper Shug, who was standing behind him and to the left. Shug made a face of distaste and started washing his broad beefy face with both hands trying to get the gore off.

Hey, shouted a man, wearing a uniform of some kind. Who's shooting my workers?

Who wants to know? said Warick, turning to face him, jutting his chin.

I'm Narv Loomis, director of operations for Cordell Corporation. I'm going to make sure you reimburse us for the two workers you just shot. He fixed Warick with a steely stare. He had the smug look of a self-important petty tyrant and was wearing a military style gray tunic with gold shoulder epaulets. He exuded confidence and bearing. A female aide came up behind him in similar gray livery with a digital tablet.

Kag had never seen Warick stymied before. He seemed to be looking around for help against the onslaught of this fierce little man. Warick didn't like having his authority challenged, especially by civilians, but he could tell by the look in this one's eye, he was someone important. Finally he said, Hey, the woman was sick. She couldn't do any work anyway.

"She might have gotten better, scolded Loomis. Anyway, it's not for you to say how sick she is. That's for the doctor to say. Now what's your name and unit number?"

Warick looked at his boots and responded, Dun Warick, Sergeant First Class, 3-4-G-3-6-1-8-N-G-9-7, 67th Expeditionary Guard, Unit 55, Platoon 2. The aide took it all down.

Kag was numb at the whole scene. Warick was a monster. He had cold bloodedly shot down two people for nothing. And the other guy, Loomis, was concerned only because he considered them company property. Their deaths represented property loss for him. Two workers came up and unshackled the dead man and woman and pulled them away from the rest of the refugees.

Kag walked up beside trooper Shug and murmured, I can't believe Warick just shot those two.

I got to do it once, said Shug, still wiping blood off his shirt.

Do what?

Shoot the throwaways.

Throwaways?

You know. The ones who're no good. This is the first time we ever got reemed for it though.

"Doesn't it bother you that these people might be parents or grandparents? They might have families? Be important to somebody?"

Shug looked at Kag with dull eyes. No. Does it matter?

Kag tried to perceive some kind of intelligence behind Shug's slack-jawed bovine face, but he could find none. How had he ended up with these thugs? Warick and his dimwitted dullards: Shug, Chalk, Jammy, Sasteen. They were all brutal men. They seemed to enjoy such fun things as shooting pets, beating panhandlers and raping the local women.

At this point Kag just wanted out. He had made a huge mistake by enlisting. He'd led a sheltered life and never been exposed to this level of cruelty before.

He wiped his face with his sweat rag and abruptly had an odd feeling. Like someone was watching him. He turned and saw an old woman with a craggy wrinkled soot-streaked face with dry leathery skin studying him. When Kag locked eyes with her, she quickly looked away. There was something different about her. What was it?

Chapter 2

Xiüb System

Planet Si'an

Kharu City

Five Star Coalition Guard Headquarters

Coalition Supreme Commander, General Walter Teeg, leaned back in his chair with his tired eyes closed and listened to the end of the briefing. He was beat. He'd been up all night dealing with the Lamprey uprising, the Unification Rebels and that idiot Parton. Colonel Ann Struthers was summarizing the plan to protect the Coalition's Odijough border against the Aganti. A new species of unknown origin. The Coalition forces were spread thin right now.

Are the Al Yo'osh on board with this plan? asked Teeg. He popped his eyes in an effort to fight off fatigue.

Yes sir, said Struthers. The owls ...er ...Al Yo'osh are going to provide two fleets, their second and fourth, which are going to flank our own third and sixth fleets.

Teeg cast a disapproving glance at Struthers for the owl reference. Although it's true the Al Yo'osh did favor owls of old earth with their large forward-facing eyes, small beak-like noses and dark furry faces, it was rude and disrespectful to call them owls. They were our allies and high command had forbidden the use of the term, but it was human nature for slips to occur from time to time. Luckily there were no Al Yo'osh here to hear it. The Coalition started as an alliance between five human star colonies but now included two Al Yo'osh systems. Humans had encountered several sentient species in their explorations, but only one with sophisticated space-faring technology. The Al Yo'osh.

Teeg heaved his bulk out of his chair and went to the window and gazed out at the magnificent gleaming glass towers of Kharu City reflecting the sun, or what passes for the sun here on this planet. The sun here had a red hue to it which made the sky always look like a sunset.

That will be all for today, said Teeg. As his staff rose and began to shuffle out, he turned to one of his advisors and said, Brag, you stay.

Colonel Dillon Brag stayed behind. When they were both alone, Teeg said, What of the bitch? Heard anything?

"We have a tip that she may try to move against