Chapter 1 Billions of years before, a star much like the one humans called Sol had formed, nuclear fires igniting to warm a bevy of planets, asteroids, and comets orbiting its mass. Millions of years ago, the star, its fuel dwindling, had gone nova, hurling its outer layers into space and ravaging the worlds that had once orbited it. No longer a nuclear furnace, the star still glowed with bright white light created by the heat of its collapse into a sphere the size of a world like Earth. Over the course of another billion years, the star would expend that heat and gradually cool. Humanity arrived, in ships that needed the mass of stars to create jump points allowing those ships to cross light years of distance in a few weeks. The star was given a name, Jatayu, but with only a few battered rocks still circling it, humans went onward to other stars that still warmed worlds where men and women could find new homes. Jatayu was nothing but a waypoint, a place the ships of humans had to go through to get to places they wanted to go. But one day some humans came to stay.
They brought a small outpost that they placed in orbit about the white dwarf star and claimed ownership of Jatayu. Billions of years after its birth, war followed humanity to the small, bright star. ÒLeaving jump space at Jatayu in five . four . three .Ó Commodore Erik Hopkins, formerly of Earth Fleet, braced himself for the familiar disorientation and dizziness that accompanied a drop out of jump space. He wasn''t otherwise worried. Freedom of Space Navigation Operation.
There was a checklist for that, and every item had been checked off. The destroyer Claymore, originally known as the Garibaldi when she was part of Earth Fleet, was at Standard Alert Condition Two, just as mandated by the checklist. The freighter they were escorting would come out of jump space behind Claymore, and they would proceed through Jatayu Star System, breaking the unofficial blockade of Glenlyon Star System. It had all been planned out. Scatha Star System had claimed control of Jatayu, a claim without legal merit but one that Scatha might try to enforce against any unescorted freighter. With other star systems within reach of Glenlyon either claimed or controlled by Scatha, or by its partners in strong-arming their neighbors, Apulu Star System and Turan Star System, trade between Glenlyon and the rest of human space had been choked off. Glenlyon faced the alternatives of either fighting or submission, but, unwilling to make that stark choice, had instead decided on trying to call what it hoped was a bluff by Scatha. Which was where Claymore and Commodore Hopkins came in.
He wasn''t worried about the outcome. Earth Fleet had had a checklist for everything, and checklists for the checklists. That was how Earth Fleet got things done, and Commodore Hopkins had risen to rank by making sure he adhered to those checklists. There wasn''t much left of Earth Fleet anymore, mainly the men and women still tasked with decommissioning the last remaining warships, archiving the remaining data and records, and preparing to turn out the last lights and lock the last doors. Hopkins himself, along with the great majority of the crew and the Claymore herself, had been declared surplus years ago and been forced to find new employment out among the new worlds being rapidly settled far from Earth. Glenlyon had been a decent place to work with, but Hopkins and most of the crew still thought of themselves as being from Earth rather than their new home, and Hopkins still ran everything by the rules that Earth Fleet had once lived by. As the destroyer left jump the formless, bland gray of jump space vanished from the displays on Claymore''s bridge, suddenly replaced by the familiar star-spangled black of normal space. One of those white dots was the star Jatayu itself, only a speck from the jump point five light hours away where Claymore had arrived.
Velocity couldn''t be measured in jump space, but back in normal space Claymore was only traveling at point zero two light speed, a crawl for a warship, because of the need to stay close to the plodding freighter she was escorting. Dizzy from the drop out of jump space, Hopkins was still trying to focus on the display before his command seat when Claymore shuddered, then jolted as if a giant had slammed a hammer against her hull. Alarms blared throughout the ship. "Situation!" ordered Captain Kanda Shade, commanding officer of the Claymore, as she also tried to shake off the disorientation. "We''re under attack!" the weapons watch officer reported. "Two opponents. Tentative ID-" Claymore jerked again, hard. More alarms sounded.
"Shield failure amidships! Hull breaches in two compartments!" Hopkins finally forced his eyes into focus, staring at his display. There were the two attackers, who must have been waiting at the jump exit for Claymore. And right behind Claymore was the freighter Bruce Monroe, having just left jump space as well. "Attackers are a Sword Class destroyer and a Founders Class destroyer." Hopkins opened his mouth to issue an order but hesitated. The relevant checklists had automatically appeared on his display. When Attacked By Superior Numbers, the first item demanded "Accelerate at Full." But the list for Freedom of Navigation Operations had a block for "Maintain Close Escort of Freighter(s).
" One list demanded that he order Claymore to accelerate at full, but the other demanded that he stay close to the Bruce Monroe. Claymore jerked again. "Another hit amidships! We''ve lost Particle Cannon One!" "Shields at full!" Commander Shade ordered from her own checklist. "Main propulsion-" She paused, staring at her display where the other two checklists offered the same incompatible choices. "Commodore?" Hopkins shook his head, wracked by indecision. "I don''t- We can''t-" Two more jolts. "Main propulsion down by thirty percent! Shields have collapsed!" The Commodore frowned at his display. Follow the checklists.
He knew he had to follow the checklists. "We have to ." He looked helplessly at Shade. "Captain . ?" Shade shook her head, baffled. "We''re supposed to ." Claymore groaned and shook as more blows landed. The lights went out, replaced by the dimmer glow of emergency lanterns.
"Grapeshot launchers disabled. Particle Cannon Two destroyed! Serious structural damage amidships!" "Orders, sir?" another watch stander pleaded. Hopkins hesitated. Shade tried to read through both checklists again. A shudder ran through Claymore, followed by a deep boom that rattled through the ship as she broke in two. Hopkins felt an overwhelming sense of relief as a new checklist appeared on the emergency display that had replaced his usual one. He knew what to do. It was right there, item one on the list.
"Abandon ship!" He was still running down Preparatory-to-Abandoning-Ship items on the list when a barrage of grapeshot struck and tore through the bridge of the wreck that had once been a destroyer. Rob Geary, Senior Dock Officer for the orbital shipyard and station that was GlenlyonÕs main link with space, glared at the image of Council Member Leigh Camagan on his desk display. ÒThe government really expects me to step up again?Ó "Yes," she replied. "You came through for Glenlyon three years ago, Rob." "What do they think I can do? Claymore was totally destroyed, I''m told, half her crew dead. I sent Hopkins a message before Claymore left, warning him that it had taken him so long to prepare for that mission that Scatha had to have plenty of advance warning. Everyone on this station seemed to know about it." Rob paused, miserable as he thought of the dead.
"I wish either I''d been wrong, or Hopkins had listened. Why has Saber remained in orbit here?" Camagan made a face. "Commander Teosig was ordered out but kept finding reasons to delay. He was fired this morning." "He should have been fired at least a year ago! I had to work with that guy whenever Saber was in dock for refit. All he cared about was looking good to Commodore Hopkins, so he''d do his best to avoid actually doing anything that might mar his reputation. I told you all about that!" "Yes, you did," Leigh Camagan agreed, exasperated. "And I told the rest of the council, who deferred to Commodore Hopkins, who as you say thought Commander Teosig was a perfect commanding officer.
Why are you venting on me? Because I was chosen to ask you to return to service?" Rob paused, angry with himself and with the universe. "I''m sorry. What is it the government wants me to do?" he asked again. "Assume command of Saber and all fleet assets to defend Glenlyon." "Saber is the only fleet asset left! Are they offering me a temporary, unofficial rank of lieutenant again?" "Commander," Camagan replied. "Official rank of commander. And status as Commodore in charge of all fleet assets." "They must really be scared.
" "They are. Glenlyon is being choked to death by the grip that Scatha and Apulu and Turan have established over the trade routes out here. If we can''t find a way to break through, Glenlyon will have no choice but to submit." "Submit?" Camagan''s glare wasn''t aimed at Rob this time. "What they did at Hesta. A so-called trade office that effectively ended up controlling not just trade but also the government." "We came out here to be free," Rob said, feeling bleak.