Chapter Twenty-Two
Dekanna System
Dariama Naval HQ
Jim and Corporal Gaines pushed Rita’s medpod down the passageway to the exit hatch, where two medics and a Dariama doctor waited.
“Commander Carter? I’m Dr. Bosama. How are you?” said the doctor.
Jim nodded a greeting. “As well as can be expected, Doctor. Here she is.”
Jim had already had several discussions with Dr. Bosama on his way in from the outer system - but he said it anyway.
“Take good care of her. She’s important.”
The medics nodded and pushed the medpod out the hatch, down the boarding tube and into the station. Doctor Bosama gave Jim a final smile of reassurance and followed them. The station hatch closed behind them and she was gone.
Captain Inman placed a hand lightly on Jim’s back. “They’ll take good care of her, Commander,” he said. “The Dariama have the best physicians in the Arm.”
Jim spoke grimly. “If anyone can save her. She’s back into a deep coma.”
Inman squeezed Jim’s shoulder. “If anyone can find a way, they can.”
Jim closed his eyes and bowed his head. He heard the boat hatch close in front of him, and Captain Inman walk away, giving him some privacy.
Lord, I’ve asked you for too much in this life. I know that. I’ve taken far more than I’ve given. But if you can see your way clear to save her…I’ll give you whatever you want. If you want my life, today’s the day to take it. Whatever you want.
Opening his eyes and raising his head, Jim stared at the closed hatch in front of him for a moment. Then he turned and marched to the cockpit.
“Captain Gaines, kick this tin can in the ass and get me to the Merkkessa, please.”
“We’ll do that, Commander. Sit back and enjoy the ride.”
***
5.7 hours later, packet boat PB04 sat quietly, docked to the Merkkessa. Exiting the short docking tube, a weary Jim Carter stepped out into the flagship’s shuttle bay. He made his way toward Bonnie’s cabin, three decks above. Approaching the Flag Cabin, he nodded at the two guards stationed outside her hatch and knocked smartly.
“Come!”
Jim entered the cabin, closing the hatch behind him. Bonnie was sitting at her desk. She was wearing her full-dress whites.
She looks sharp, thought Jim. Dressed to kill, I guess.
Jim stepped to a spot precisely in front of her desk and came to a sharp attention. “Commander James Carter, reporting, milady.”
“You look like shit,” said Bonnie.
Jim nodded; his eyes still focused on a spot on the wall three meters behind her.
“Aye, milady,” he replied.
Bonnie sighed. “At ease, Jim.”
Jim took a parade rest position while Bonnie leaned back in her chair.
“I didn’t think you’d do it. But you did.”
“Aye, milady.”
“Relax, Jim. I know you’ve been through a lot.”
Jim made a conscious effort to relax a little more. He lowered his eyes to Bonnie’s.
“Rita’s safely at Dekanna?”
“Yes, milady.”
“Good. Let’s hope for the best.”
Jim nodded silently. Bonnie looked up at him sympathetically.
“And now I suppose you want a fighter?”
Jim nodded. “Yes, milady. If possible.”
Bonnie looked off to one side and sighed deeply. “Do you think it’s possible for us to escape our destiny, Jim?”
Jim stared at her, puzzled, as she brought her gaze back to his and looked him in the eye.
“I don’t know, milady. Maybe not.”
“Do you remember our first night together?”
“Yes. Always.”
Bonnie looked down at her desk. There was a bit of a silence. Finally she spoke again.
“Rita’s a lucky woman.”
Then, still staring at her desk, Bonnie spoke to the ship. “Merkkessa, reinstate Commander Jim Carter to full flight duties. Assign him a new Merlin II. Put him in the reserve squadron but hold him aside for a special assignment.”
Bonnie returned her gaze to Jim. “I’ve got a special job for you, Jim. You remember Paco, right?
“Yes, milady.”
“I’ve got another packet boat on approach right now. Paco is onboard, along with an AI by the name of Tika. You and Paco are going to deliver Tika to the battlefront. She’s going to piggyback on your Merlin systems. When the battle starts, the two of you will deliver her to a specific enemy ship. She’ll give you detail instructions once she is loaded into your Merlin. And you are to take orders from Tika as if they came from me. Any questions?”
Jim came back to a sharp attention. “No, milady. Thank you.”
“Then get your ass out of my office and go clean yourself up.”
Jim turned on his heels and stepped to the hatch. But before he could open it, he heard Bonnie once again.
“Jim.”
Turning, he looked at her. A strange expression was on her face.
“Always,” she said.
Jim nodded. He knew what she meant. “Always,” he replied, and left the cabin.
Dekanna System
Battlecruiser Merkkessa
Rachel and Paco left Donkey for the last time. As they walked through the docking tube to the shuttle bay of the Merkkessa, Tika followed behind them.
They had made a valiant attempt to convince her to put on a spare uniform. Tika just looked at them with a puzzled expression and kept repeating, “There is no reason to do such a foolish thing.” But she had finally relented and donned one of Rachel’s spare uniforms.
Unfortunately, the uniform was a bit too small. Especially on the top. So now there was quite a stir as the little procession marched from the ramp to the hatch leading into the main part of the ship. A rather shocked crowd of crew stood in stunned silence as the Goblin walked by them.
Commander Dan Worley had missed Rachel terribly while she was gone. Now Dan stood waiting for them by the shuttle bay exit hatch; and he was just as shocked as the surrounding crew. As the little procession marched up to him and stopped, he stood with his mouth open.
“Commander Worley. May I introduce Tika. She’s an android,” Rachel began. “And you should close your mouth.”
Dan snapped his mouth shut. Then he tried to talk, but nothing came out. Finally Rachel leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. With that, he managed to take his eyes off the well-endowed android and look at Rachel.
“Welcome home,” he said. Rachel winked at him. She knew they couldn’t do more with the entire shuttle bay crew watching. “Let’s get out of here, shall we?”
Dan nodded and turned. Leading them through the hatch, they proceeded down the passageway.
It didn’t get any better once they were out of the shuttle bay. Crewmen slammed themselves against the side of the passageway, frozen, as the four of them walked by. Rachel could hear a chorus of surprised voices following them.
I’ll probably get yelled at for this, but what could I do? It’s the only clothes we had!
Moving briskly, Dan led them up two decks to Officer Country. They turned and went aft a bit to Rachel’s cabin. Entering, Rachel showed Tika to a bunk.
“You’ll stay with me, Tika. This will be your bunk.”
Tika nodded and went to the bunk, sat down, tested the mattress with her hand, and smiled up at Rachel.
“So per the terms of our alliance agreement, may I now enter your ship AI and prepare for battle?”
Rachel hesitated. This was a big step. But the agreement had been made. Bonnie had approved it. It was a chance they had to take.
“Yes. But please remember your promise, Tika. You are free to partner with our ship’s AI system. But you are not to take command of it. That is our agreement. We are trusting you to abide by the terms of our alliance.”
“Have
no fear, Rachel. I will abide by the agreement fully.”
With that, Tika leaned back and lay down on the bunk. “See ya!” she said. Her eyes closed and she became inert.
And then Tika’s voice spoke in their internal comms. “Oh, wow. This is a nice ship!”
***
Twenty minutes later, Rachel sat in a chair in front of Bonnie’s desk. Bonnie had already read Rachel’s report. Now she had asked Rachel several follow-up questions. Almost satisfied, she lay her tablet down on the desk.
“You trust this AI?” she asked, for the second time in their conversation. Clearly, she was nervous about the agreement she had made.
Rachel spoke thoughtfully.
“I do. I see no benefit to them of signing the alliance agreement, sending Tika all the way here, and then double-crossing us. They know the Ashkelon are a serious threat to their future. I think they’ll stick to the agreement.”
“Well. I guess we’ll find out today,” said Bonnie. She folded her arms and gazed at Rachel.
“You did outstanding work, Commander Gibson. I know you’re worn out from such a long mission. But we have a battle to fight today. Are you good to go?”
“Yes, milady. Good to go.”
“Excellent. Then you’ll continue on my staff as assistant Flag Aide.”
“Aye, milady.”
“We expect the enemy fleet any moment now. You’d better get cleaned up and organized.”
“Aye, milady,” Rachel spoke.
Dekanna System
Battlecruiser Maebong
“Fleet entry!” called the Tac Officer. “Merge 8.9 hours at 300g nominal, 045.002.14.7, designate Ashkelon and Nidarian. Count thirty-two battlecruisers, fifty-six cruisers, seventy-two destroyers.”
Admiral Eunhie Sobong stared across the Flag bridge of the battlecruiser Maebong at Commander Michelle “Winnie” Winston.
“Well, Commander, we didn’t miss our estimate by much. They’re three minutes late.”
Winnie smiled.
“Aye, milady. They must’ve stopped for a bit of tea,” she quipped.
Sobong laughed.
“I guess you’ll be heading back to the Merkkessa?”
“Yes, thank you. I’d better get moving. I have a lot to do, making sure our fighters are ready and deployed.”
Sobong stood and reached out to shake Winnie’s hand.
“I’ll make an exception just this once, Commander. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
Winnie took the hand and shook it. She knew that the Dariama - like the Nidarians - didn’t like the Human custom of shaking hands. So this gesture from Sobong was meaningful.
“Good luck, Admiral. See you after.”
Sobong smiled tightly.
“See you after.”
Both knew there might not be an “after”.
Bracing up and snapping a salute, Winnie turned to leave the bridge of Sobong’s flagship. She hurried to the shuttle deck and jumped into her shuttle, strapping in as the pilot started engines and got clearance to depart. The inner door of the shuttle bay behind them closed, the outer door opened, and with a scrape and a lurch, she was off to return to the Merkkessa.
Passing through the entire fleet on her way back to the Human flagship, Winnie had to smile. As they flew, it was as if the fleet was passing before her in review.
First came the Allied ships, who had argued for the place of honor in the battle. Two cubes of destroyers were side by side - the outer bulwark. Each cube contained eight ships. A total of sixteen Dariama, Taegu and Bagrami destroyers would take the initial shock of battle, trying to knock down or delay as many of the enemy fighters and destroyers as possible.
Behind the destroyer cubes, a reserve of three additional destroyers waited, ready to hurl themselves into the slots of the first destroyers knocked out of action.
And that won’t take long, thought Winnie.
Immediately behind the destroyer cubes came two cubes of Allied cruisers. Four Dariama, two Taegu and two Bagrami ships filled each cube. Each cruiser carried a gamma lance and twelve missiles per volley. Dariama, Taegu and Bagrami destroyer cubes flanked the cruisers, one on each side of their formation, ready to protect their edges.
Behind the Dariama cruisers came two battlecruiser cubes. Four Dariama battlecruisers took the front edge of each cube. Behind them in the rear edge of the cube, two Taegu battlecruisers and two Bagrami battlecruisers were arrayed, licking their chops to get at an enemy which had bedeviled them for more than a year. A total of sixteen Allied battlecruisers waited impatiently, each with a single gamma lance and twenty missiles per volley. Flanking the Allied battlecruisers on each side was a cube of cruisers, protecting their edges.
Last came the Human battlecruisers. Not because Bonnie wanted it that way, but because the Dariama, Taegu and Bagrami insisted. As Winnie passed out of the Allied fleet and into the EDF fleet, she saw behind the Allied battlecruisers the single cube of Human battlecruisers - the last ships in the formation. They were naked on both sides - there were no more destroyers or cruisers left to protect them. It was up to Winnie’s fighter wing to keep them safe.
All told, Winnie could field 1,920 fighters, a mix of the original version and the new Merlin II models built by the Dariama factories. Each fighter was armed with a gamma lance and sixteen short-range missiles. With those fighters, she somehow had to protect the fleet from the onslaught of the Ashkelon fighter Wing - who would have 50% more fighters than her Wing.
And then there was Bonnie’s most recent directive. Winnie was thoroughly puzzled by it. It related to the Goblins from Stalingrad. According to the scuttlebutt, only one of them had arrived. Just one individual Goblin. Yet Bonnie had issued an order declaring them allies. Fleet Operations had issued codes to mark them as ‘friendly’ in the IFF systems. And call signs had been issued to them for the battle.
Yet there were none of their ships in sight. It was quite baffling.
Oh, well. If they don’t show, they don’t show.
Winnie approached the Merkkessa and the pilot sat them down gently on the sortie deck. The outer door closed, the turbopumps screamed for a few seconds, and the inner door opened as pressure was restored. With a clunk, the autodock raised the shuttle off the deck and it moved inside the main hangar.
Winnie picked up her things and strode to the hatch. When it cracked open, she pushed it outward, stepped down onto the deck, and headed for the bridge. Entering the Flag briefing room, she realized the final briefing had already started. Quietly, she went to the last empty chair in the room and sat.
Bonnie’s voice was probably not meant to be sarcastic - she wasn’t that kind of person — but it seemed to come across that way to Winnie, because she felt guilty for being late.
“Thank you for joining us, Commander Winston. How are things with the Dariama?”
Winnie bobbed her head to acknowledge the question. She was now Commander Attack Group - CAG - for the Fleet. She needed to step up to the plate. Her predecessor Jim Carter was no longer in charge. He was just another pilot. And he had been assigned a special mission. She couldn’t reach out for advice on a whim. Good, bad, or indifferent, she had to make her own decisions.
“Things are good with them, Admiral,” she replied. “They are as ready as can be, given the time we had available to prepare. I think they’ll do us proud.”
Bonnie shook her head a bit doubtfully.
“I hope you’re right, CAG.” She looked down the table at Baysig, leader of the Bagrami detachment, attending by holo image.
“What do you think, Admiral Baysig?”
The bear-like creature wearing the uniform of an Admiral performed something like a shrug, not easy for a creature of his size and shape.
“Time will tell, Admiral. The history of the Dariama in warfare is not good. In prior wars, they have folded like a pack of cards at the first sign of trouble. But this is a new generation, and Admiral Sobong is a new type of leader. We shall see.”
&n
bsp; In the holo image beside Baysig, Admiral Woderas, leader of the Taegu detachment, nodded in agreement.
“I think you should be prepared for any contingency, Admiral. If the Dekanna fail to stick to the plan, if they break and run when the battle gets heavy, you must be prepared for that and respond accordingly.”
Bonnie looked back at Winnie.
“CAG? You’ve been closest to them these last few months. Will they stick to the plan?”
Winnie gritted her teeth. All she had to do was hedge her bets here - take a cautious approach, agree with Baysig and Woderas - and her ass was covered either way. If the Dekanna turned and ran at the first sign of trouble, she was covered. And if they held, she could still claim she was pleasantly surprised.
But that wasn’t her way. She knew why Jim Carter had originally selected her to be the liaison to the Dariama.
Because he valued her honesty and integrity. He had told her that flat out.
Jim would kick my ass if I just sat here and made kissy-face. He sent me here to do a job.
“They will, Admiral,” Winnie said. “They’ve had enough of being called weak and cowardly. They’ll do their job.”
There was a silence in the briefing room. Bonnie stared at Winnie for a long time. Then, she gave that abbreviated short nod she was noted for among the staff.
“So be it, CAG. But you won’t mind if I go ahead and develop a plan for the opposite case. Just to put my mind at ease.”
Winnie nodded graciously at Bonnie, who smiled back at her.
“Anything else?” asked Bonnie. Around the table, the dozen members of her command staff shook their heads, glancing at each other.
“Then let’s go kick some Ashkelon ass,” said Bonnie. Her staff stood to a position of semi-attention. Bonnie stood and winked at them. Baysig and Woderas flicked out.
Then Bonnie took her tablet and departed to her cabin.
Winnie stood for a minute as the remainder of the staff shuffled out of the briefing room.
Now it gets real.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dekanna System
Merlin Fighter “Angel One”
On the sortie deck of the Merkkessa, Jim Carter sat in the cockpit of his Merlin. All the other fighter groups had launched and were forming up for battle. Now it was just Jim and his new wingman Paco, waiting on the empty deck.
The Short End: Broken Galaxy Book Four Page 23